In this Exit Proof podcast episode, host Kwame Kuadey interviews Joe Apfelbaum, an ordained rabbi turned AI automation entrepreneur and LinkedIn influencer. The conversation traces Joe’s personal journey from religious leadership to building AI‑focused businesses, highlighting the pivotal moments and mindset shifts that enabled the transition. Joe shares practical strategies for leveraging LinkedIn as a sales engine, including content creation, follow‑up tactics, and the importance of phone calls in a digital age. They discuss how to catch up on the rapidly evolving AI landscape, using tools like Claude and other LLMs to boost productivity, and explore how individuals can stand out when AI democratizes content creation. The interview also delves into Joe’s personal health transformation—losing 95 lb—and the lessons learned about discipline and resilience. Toward the end, they explore legacy, the value of various personal and business assets, and Joe’s perspective on what he would keep or discard. The episode concludes with contact information for listeners to connect with Joe on LinkedIn.
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All right. Okay, good.
Um, Joe, welcome to the Exit Proof Podcast. I am really excited to have you today.
I know.
I know it's been too long. So I want to start. I don't know how much people online— I mean, you have a huge following on LinkedIn and other platforms, but I don't know how much people know about your personal background. You were an ordained rabbi. Today, your LinkedIn headline reads AI Automation Vibe Coder. So walk me through how you went from one to the other.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
嗯，嗯。 Right, right, right, right, right. What, what mission are we on? Right, right. Right, right. Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Exactly. Right. Right, right, right.
No, no. And, and so you mentioned your mother, and in one thing I read Recently you said you had watched your mom work 16-hour days. What did that teach you, or what did you have to unlearn from that?
嗯嗯嗯。 Yeah, and and I want to talk about Peter. I want to talk about Rufus. Um. But I want to segue into sales. I mean, one of the things that you, you know, just based on looking at your profile and the things that you've done, you have been able to leverage platforms like LinkedIn to really build a sales machine. And people like me, and I know people who are listening to this podcast, like some of us just get a mental block about how to You know, the mindset of sales. So based on your experience, what can you tell somebody right now that is, you know, struggling to just build that system to be able to scale what they're doing?
Mm-hmm. Right, right. Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
So that was one of the topics that since we're already on, and I want to talk about that. So there are a lot of people, there are two people, actually three categories of people right now. who with AI, the ones that are just like, I don't get it, which, you know, okay, you know, but then there are people who are dabbling in it and are just dabbling in chat, you know, the chat, you know, function. And then, you know, I've been, you know, I've been living in Claude Code for the last probably 2 months and the, um, what I can build and, and what I can, you know, in terms of just efficiently doing my work is mind-blowing. What would you tell somebody right now who is like, okay, I am behind the AI learning curve now? I get it. Where should I start?
Mm-hmm. What? Yeah, yeah. Right. Right. Right.
Right.
Right.
Yeah, no, no. And, and I, I'm telling you, from my personal experience, just what I've been able to do the last 2 months when I took Cloud Code seriously and went in there and wanted to learn. And it's transformed my business completely. Things that I couldn't do a year or two ago, I needed to hire somebody to do. Now I can do it on myself from A to Z. So one thing I wanted to talk to you about is content. And, and one of the— being in personal branding myself and telling people that, you know, you need to, in order, you know, for the people who need your service to find you, you need to be known. You need to, you need to You know, you need to be out there. Um, you need to build a brand that stands out. And so now that everybody has these capabilities, AI capabilities, how do you stand out? You know, when everybody can just produce, attention has become so commoditized that, you know, everybody can produce content at scale. How does an individual stand out on a platform like LinkedIn, even when you're being assisted by AI.
Great. Great.
Yep.
Yep.
Now, so for somebody that's listening right now, I meet a lot of people who have a LinkedIn profile they haven't seen in a long time. And so if for somebody that's listening, And thinking, okay, I need to get on LinkedIn. What are the 3 things you would tell them to do to get started? And what are the repeatable things they have to keep doing in order to stay visible?
Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I do.
Yeah. Hmm.
Correct.
Yeah.
Yeah. No. Hmm. Hmm. Right, right, right.
No, tell us.
Right, right. Yeah, yeah, right, right, right.
I want you to talk about follow-up. What do you mean by that? I get the 1,000, and what does follow-up specifically mean?
Mm-hmm. Right, right, right. Correct.
Introduction? Invitation?
Okay. Right, right, right, right.
So no, this is— so for everybody that's listening, I mean, I feel like one of the things, what has become clear to me just from the conversation we're having is that LinkedIn, there is a role for AI in terms of making your life much more easy in terms of being able to do things at scale on LinkedIn with the help of AI. But at the end of the day, it also boils down to the soft skills. And, you know, the 5 I's, especially what you have to do that, you know, builds the connections and extends the relationships and deepens the relationship. It has to be you. So you have to get in there on the platform and actually do it. And I think that's where a lot of people Think that you can just set it and forget it, and it doesn't happen that way.
Right, right, right. Yes, I can see that. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
So, yes. So, so, and one thing that I have, I have learned from you, which I don't do and I want to Is that you will pick up the phone and call people.
I was, I was, I know I was.
Yes, I was on a live with you and you just like, what about that? Tell me more about that because it is such a thing that, I mean, a lot of people including myself just cringe on the idea of just picking the phone and calling, but you've had so much success. Why do you do it? Right.
Right.
Yes.
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
What is— what is— so let's, let's, let's stay on that for a second. Because that's something that I've been telling my clients, prospects also, that at the end of the day, the differentiator, it's you, the authentic you with your insecurities, your quirks, everything that you thought you didn't want to bring up is what's going to make you a certifiable human that people can trust. So can you speak a little bit to the fact that You know, we're entering an era where AI can do pretty much a lot, you know, but the human part of things is, I feel like, what is going to differentiate the people who are known from the, from, from, from the noise that we're seeing.
Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah, they share. Right.
Yes, I do. No, they text me.
Right. Right. Right. Yeah.
And you know what? If I didn't take anything from this conversation, that is the one thing I'm going to have to work on. And I mean, like, work here.
All right, all right. I'll pick you up on it. Yeah. I will. I will. I will. Yeah. I would do that.
I will.
I would do that.
Yeah, I love, I love, I love, I love Andolan.
Oh yes, that's right.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Can we, can we talk about that a little bit? Um, So yes, I will call you. I will. And 2, I want to talk a little bit about EO, you and I in EO. And one of the things that, you know, I have a business where I, you know, people in the EO community in terms of size of business, you know, all that, that's the audience I'm trying to reach, you know. But we all, we have this non-solicitation policy. So I'm always hesitant To reach out and build connection. What am I missing?
Yes. Talk about that. Talk about that. Right, right, right, right.
Yeah, that makes sense. So, um, I want to switch to family. You, you are clearly a very devoted family guy. I know that you've publicly talked about, um, you know, challenges that you overcome. You've talked about, you know, The thing that jumped out of me recently was the book you wrote about losing 50 pounds— 95 pounds. Let me not undersell it. 95 pounds. And so let's start there. What led you on that journey? And what did it teach you?
Mm-hmm.
Hmm. Is that what you do? Is that is that what you do now? You have a standing desk, and that's right, right, right, right.
Okay, right. Yeah, no, the energy—you're right.
The energy is different. It really is.
Right, right.
In in the beginning of. this part, you mentioned overcoming challenges, and I know that you were going somewhere with that, and I wanted to return to that. You know, you've had a very busy and, and, and, and very successful career. You've, you know, you've owned an agency, um, um, Heavy AI is doing really well. I mean, I see everywhere I turn, I'm seeing you somewhere, um, but obviously Every— it's not all, you know, it's always what we, you know, publicly what we see. There's— I'm sure there's been some very hard moments behind it. Is there anything that stands out to you that, you know, you want to share, uh, you know, that has really been an inflection point for you and has gotten into you to where you are in terms of overcoming a moment in your life that you felt like, wow, this is the turning point?
嗯。 Yeah.
Awesome. I have 2 last questions and then we'll wrap up. So I want to shift to legacy, um, and I have a specific question that I wrote, which— let me, let me get into that. So 30 years from now, you know, um, the products are Sunset, the agency, and Memory, uh, and then someone in Brooklyn Says your name. What do you want the next sentence to be? Explain.
Right.
Right. And, and why is that so important to you?
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Right. And, and, and a follow-up to that, 5 books, 2 companies or more, giving what we just talked about. I know it's more than 2. You have 2 podcasts from what I've researched. You have 57,000 followers and growing. If you had to sell all of it, but keep one, which asset would you keep and why?
I don't think I would keep any assets. I think I would just sell everything. I think that I'm not taking anything with me to the grave. Honestly, I'm not taking anything with me to the grave, so I would just give it all up.
Final, is there anything that you wanted to talk about that I haven't brought up?
No, I think you're doing great. I think we did a great conversation. I think we went through it. I appreciate you very much. And yeah, thank you for being in my life. Thank you for interviewing me. I'm looking forward to seeing the video.
Absolutely. And how can people follow you? Where's the best place to follow you?
If you go to joe linkedin dot com, my cell phone number is on the top right. That takes me straight to my LinkedIn, and then just hit me up. Let me know that you watched the episode. Let me know that you enjoyed it.
Joe, it's been a pleasure having you on the podcast today, and this was this was this was a tour de force, and I have to go back and listen. There's so many gems, and I have to go back and listen. But I really appreciate your time today.
Thank you for interviewing me. I appreciate you too, and we'll talk soon.
