Best LinkedIn Courses for Founders in 2026 (Compared & Reviewed)

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Last updated: October 19, 2026

BLUF: The best LinkedIn course for a founder is the one you will finish, built for someone who sells, with some way to get feedback on your own posts. On those criteria, this page scores five real courses, each checked on its own page on October 19, 2026, plus the 1:1 alternative I run. Will Leatherman's Your First LinkedIn Customer in 30 Days is the strongest outside pick for founders who want clients, Justin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System fits founders who want a full system at their own pace, and Lara Acosta's Literally LinkedIn fits founders who need a group and a deadline once enrolment reopens. If you keep buying courses and not finishing them, a course is the wrong unit, and 1:1 Mentorship is listed first for that reason.

Key takeaways

Pick the format before the creator. Self-paced, live cohort, 1-day workshop and 1:1 solve different problems.

Finishing is the real cost. A self-paced course has no deadline, so it only works if you already do the homework alone.

No course on this list reads every one of your drafts. If line-by-line feedback is what you need, you are shopping for coaching.

Check who the course is built for. Some LinkedIn courses target job seekers or creators chasing followers, which teaches a founder the wrong goals.

Cohorts and workshops open and close. When I checked, Literally LinkedIn was closed for enrolment and the next run of Will Leatherman's workshop was listed as sold out.

Prices are not listed here. Check each provider's own page and buy only from the creator.

Book a discovery call if you want to see whether 1:1 Mentorship fits better than a course.

Best LinkedIn courses for founders at a glance

Option	Best for	Falls short	Delivery model	Who does the work	Price
Your Social Strategy 1:1 Mentorship (Frank Velasquez)	Founders who want a person reading every draft	Not a course. You have to write. Four people at a time	6-week 1:1 program, optional ongoing calls	You write, mentor reviews every draft	Scoped on a discovery call
Your First LinkedIn Customer in 30 Days (Will Leatherman, Maven)	Founders and consultants who want LinkedIn to bring a first client	One 2-hour live session. No review after it. Next run listed as sold out	2-hour live workshop	You	Ask the provider
1 Day LinkedIn Masterclass for Builders (Joel Hansen, Maven)	Founders and CEOs who want to tell their story on LinkedIn	One workshop day, built around storytelling and visibility more than lead flow	1-day live workshop, four recorded sessions	You	Ask the provider
The LinkedIn Operating System (Justin Welsh)	Solo founders who want a complete system and will run it alone	Self-paced, no deadline. No email or call support	Self-paced video course, 90 minutes	You	Ask the provider
Literally LinkedIn (Lara Acosta)	Founders who need a group, a deadline and people who notice when they stop	Closed for enrolment when checked. Her page does not state length or format	Cohort with enrolment windows	You	Ask the provider
The Step-by-Step Guide to Building your Thought Leadership on LinkedIn (Alexandra Galviz, LinkedIn Learning)	Founders who want a short, low-risk primer first	General level, not built for selling. About 34 minutes, released 2020	Short self-paced video course	You	Ask the provider

How we ranked these LinkedIn courses

Each option is scored 1 to 5 on six criteria, from the seat of a founder who wants LinkedIn to start conversations with buyers and wants to keep writing in their own voice. The total is each score times its weight, out of 5.

Criterion	Weight	What a 5 means
Founder fit	20%	Built for people who sell a product or service, with clients as the goal
Feedback on your own posts	20%	Someone experienced reads your drafts and tells you what to change
Structure to finish	20%	Dates, deadlines or a group that make you actually do the work
Your voice stays yours	15%	You write the posts. Nobody writes them for you
Time to finish	10%	The total time fits a founder's calendar
Transparency	15%	Format, length, contents and next start are clear on the provider's own page

Scores for each option, out of 5:

Option	Founder fit	Feedback	Structure	Voice	Time	Transparency	Total
YSS 1:1 Mentorship	5	5	4	5	3	4	4.45
Will Leatherman, First LinkedIn Customer	5	2	3	5	5	3	3.7
Joel Hansen, 1 Day LinkedIn Masterclass	4	2	3	5	5	3	3.5
Justin Welsh, LinkedIn Operating System	4	1	2	5	5	5	3.4
Lara Acosta, Literally LinkedIn	3	2	5	5	3	1	3.2
Alexandra Galviz, LinkedIn Learning	2	1	1	5	5	4	2.65

Sources checked: each provider's own page, linked in its section below, on October 19, 2026. This page was first published that day, so nothing has changed since an earlier version. Scores are my judgment from what those pages state, not a survey and not a review of anyone's student results. I run the Mentorship listed first, and the feedback criterion favors 1:1 by design, so weigh my score for it with that in mind. I gave it a 3 on time because it asks for writing hours every week, which a 1-day workshop does not. Justin Welsh's page states format, length, lesson list and support terms, so it scores 5 on transparency. Lara Acosta's page showed only that enrolment was closed, so it scores 1. Every option scores 5 on voice because you write your own posts in all six. If feedback matters less to you, drop its weight and the courses move up.

Who this list is for

This list is for founders, consultants and small business owners who want to learn to write their own LinkedIn posts and want those posts to bring in client conversations. It compares courses and workshops, meaning something you take, finish and then run on your own, plus the 1:1 option for founders who already know a course will not stick.

Skip it if you want someone to write your posts. A ghostwriter or an agency fits better, and I laid those out in LinkedIn ghostwriter alternatives. Skip it too if you want an individual coach. That comparison is in best LinkedIn content coaches for founders. Executives looking for a structured program will find those in best LinkedIn mentorship programs for executives.

1. Your Social Strategy 1:1 Mentorship (Frank Velasquez)

What it is

A 6-week 1:1 LinkedIn Mentorship, which is what people search for as LinkedIn ghostwriting coaching. Before the first call I go through your profile and your last 10 to 15 posts. The first calls cover your offer and who you want to reach, the stories that build trust, and what you know because you've done it. I turn those calls into an idea bank and hand it over. From week three you post three times a week, I review every draft, and every other week we look at what landed. After six weeks you can keep the bi-weekly calls going or stop.

Best for

Founders who want to keep their own voice and build the skill, with a person reading every draft instead of a video telling them what good looks like.

Where it falls short

It is not a course. There are no videos to watch at 11pm and no library to come back to. You have to write, and if you cannot protect two to three hours a week, it will stall. It is 1:1 only, with four people at a time, so there can be a wait. If you finish courses and can judge your own drafts, one of the courses below costs you less time.

Who it is best for

A founder with opinions and an offer who has tried posting alone, maybe bought a course, and still cannot tell which posts sound like them. More on how this kind of work runs in what LinkedIn ghostwriting coaching is.

Book a discovery call to see if it fits.

2. Your First LinkedIn Customer in 30 Days (Will Leatherman, Maven)

What it is

A live workshop on Maven from Will Leatherman, founder of Catalyst GTM Agency and former CMO at Parcl. The course page is written for founders and consultants who have tried posting on LinkedIn but have not gotten clients from it yet, plus agencies, coaches, fractional executives and early-stage B2B founders. The agenda covers rewriting your profile to work like a landing page, mapping your first 12 posts into a 30-day content calendar and writing a three-message DM sequence. It closes with a 30-day activation plan and a live Q&A where you can bring your profile or stuck DMs for critique. When checked, the next run was listed for November 24, 2026, from 11am to 1pm EST.

Best for

Founders who want the whole path from post to client in one sitting, including the DMs.

Where it falls short

It is one two-hour session. You get live critique on the day, then run the 30 days alone, with no one reading your drafts along the way. The November 24 run was listed as sold out when checked, so ask about the next one. The page quotes figures, such as LinkedIn generating 80% of B2B social media leads, without a source, so judge it on the agenda.

Who it is best for

A founder or consultant who has an offer, has tried posting without landing a client from it, and wants a first month mapped out fast.

3. 1 Day LinkedIn Masterclass for Builders (Joel Hansen, Maven)

What it is

A 1-day live workshop on Maven from Joel Hansen, a marketing advisor, two-time TEDx speaker and writer of the Personal Brand Brief newsletter. The workshop page lists founders and CEOs first in who it is for, followed by entrepreneurs, speakers, consultants and board members. The syllabus has four live one-hour sessions on LinkedIn storytelling, community building, the habits of prolific creators and a fireside chat with a guest. Sessions are recorded, and bonus modules cover your profile, content and outreach. When checked, the next cohort was listed for November 6 to 7, 2026.

Best for

Founders and CEOs who have a story worth telling and do not know how to turn it into posts.

Where it falls short

One day, so practice and feedback happen after it ends, on your own. The goals it lists run from meeting reporters and landing podcasts to sales deals, so client conversations are one aim among several. The syllabus still showed June session times next to the November date, so confirm the schedule before you book.

Who it is best for

A founder who wants to get comfortable writing about their own journey before working on lead flow.

4. The LinkedIn Operating System (Justin Welsh)

What it is

A self-paced video course from Justin Welsh, a former startup executive who built his business on LinkedIn. The course page lists 90 minutes across 25 lessons in six parts: an introduction, foundations (your sub-niche and persona), content creation, audience building, lead capture through your profile, and inbound and outbound selling on LinkedIn. It comes with a Content Creation Matrix and a Perfect Backstory Builder, and access is lifetime.

Best for

Solo founders who want a complete system in one place and like working at their own pace.

Where it falls short

Self-paced means no deadline. The FAQ says the course has no email or call support, so no one checks your posts. The page says it is for any professional, and the system came from one creator's own growth, so you still have to translate it to your buyers and your voice.

Who it is best for

A founder who has finished courses before, changed how they work because of them, and can judge their own drafts.

5. Literally LinkedIn (Lara Acosta)

What it is

A personal branding cohort from Lara Acosta. Her site showed Literally LinkedIn closed for enrolment on October 19, 2026, with a waitlist to hear when it opens. The page does not list length or format. Her February 2024 launch email described it as live calls, pre-recorded modules, guest masterclasses and resources.

I took Lara's LinkedIn cohort in 2023, so this is the one course here I can speak to as a student. I already knew how to make content. What I needed was accountability. On a call with her at the start, I said I wanted to post every single day, and she told me it might be too much. My run lasted around 30 days, and on the very last day I got my first viral post, about 20,000 impressions. I kept posting after that, and my streak reached 266 days without stopping.

Best for

Founders who know roughly what to say but keep stopping, and need a group and a deadline to push through.

Where it falls short

It is closed until the next enrolment window, so you join a waitlist and wait. My own run was about accountability and posting, not about turning posts into client conversations. Feedback is shared with a group, so do not expect line-by-line notes on every post. Buy only through her own site or her own announcements.

Who it is best for

A founder who needs momentum more than instruction, wants peers posting next to them, and can wait for the next enrolment window.

6. The Step-by-Step Guide to Building your Thought Leadership on LinkedIn (Alexandra Galviz, LinkedIn Learning)

What it is

A short course on LinkedIn Learning, LinkedIn's own course library, taught by Alexandra Galviz, a LinkedIn Top Voice for the UK and cofounder of #LinkedInLocal. The course page lists it at 34 minutes, general skill level, released July 2020. It covers crafting an authentic voice, growing your audience and creating content, with examples from UK thought leaders.

Best for

Founders who want a quick, low-commitment look at the basics before paying for anything bigger.

Where it falls short

It is a primer. At 34 minutes it cannot go deep, it is written for professionals in general rather than people selling something, and there is no feedback or structure to finish beyond the videos. It was released in 2020, so check any platform details against how LinkedIn works now.

Who it is best for

A founder who is not sure LinkedIn is worth their time yet and wants to test the idea over a lunch break.

When does 1:1 beat a LinkedIn course?

When the course is not the problem. If you have the framework and still cannot tell which of your posts sound like you, another course gives you more framework. Someone reading your drafts gives you the answer.

My own cohort run shows the line. I did all the writing. What I needed from the cohort was accountability, and seeing everyone else's numbers kept me posting. I already knew how to make content, so a deadline was enough for me. A founder who cannot yet judge their own drafts needs a reader, and a deadline alone will not supply one.

I laid out the full trade-off, with scores for DIY, course, cohort, Mentorship, ghostwriter and agency, in LinkedIn ghostwriter vs Mentorship vs course vs agency. Use that page if you are still choosing the format. Use this one once you know you want a course.

How to choose a LinkedIn course as a founder

Have I finished a course before?

Be honest about your history. If you have finished one and it changed how you work, a self-paced course is fine. If you have two unfinished ones in a bookmarks folder, pick something with dates.

Who is the course built for?

Read who the page says it is for. Job seekers, creators chasing followers and founders chasing clients need different things. Pick the course whose students look like you.

Will anyone read my posts?

Ask how feedback works, by whom, and on how many posts. Group feedback and 1:1 review are different products.

Does it cover getting clients, or only getting reach?

Look for the profile, the DMs and the conversation after the post. A course that stops at impressions leaves the part founders care about to you.

Is it running right now?

Workshops and cohorts open and close. Ask for the next date before you plan your month around it.

What will I have when it ends?

A good course leaves you with a list of post ideas and a weekly routine you can keep without it.

Book a discovery call if you want to run these questions on 1:1 Mentorship.

FAQ

What is the best LinkedIn course for founders?

It depends on how you work. On this page's scoring, Will Leatherman's Your First LinkedIn Customer in 30 Days is the strongest course for founders who want clients, Justin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System fits founders who work alone, and Lara Acosta's Literally LinkedIn fits founders who need a group once enrolment reopens. 1:1 Mentorship scores highest overall because it adds review on every draft, which no course here does.

Are LinkedIn courses worth it for founders?

Yes, if you finish them and can judge your own drafts afterwards. A course is the cheapest way to learn how LinkedIn works before you pay anyone for more. It is a poor buy if your problem is follow-through or knowing which posts sound like you.

How much does a LinkedIn course cost?

It ranges from included in a subscription to a sizeable one-off payment for a live cohort, so prices are not listed here. Check each provider's own page and compare against the time you will put in. For Mentorship, cost is scoped on a discovery call.

Should a founder take a self-paced course or a live cohort?

Take self-paced if you work best alone and have finished courses before. Take a cohort if you need a deadline and people around you. My cohort run worked for me because of the accountability.

How long does it take to see results from a LinkedIn course?

The courses here run from 34 minutes to a few weeks. Results come from posting after the course ends. My first viral post came on the last day of a cohort of around 30 days.

Is LinkedIn ghostwriting coaching the same as a course?

No. A course teaches you a system and leaves you to apply it. LinkedIn ghostwriting coaching, or Mentorship, puts a person on your drafts while you write, so the feedback lands on your own posts.

Can I learn LinkedIn writing for free?

Yes. LinkedIn Learning comes with some LinkedIn Premium plans, and you can learn by posting and studying what lands. Free material gives you the basics. It rarely gives you someone reading your drafts.

What are red flags in a LinkedIn course?

Guaranteed follower or client numbers, results quoted without sources, a course built for people who want to become ghostwriters sold as founder training, and copies of a creator's material sold on third-party sites. Buy from the creator's own page.

Should I take a course before hiring a coach?

It can help. A short course teaches you the vocabulary, so when you hire a coach you know what you want reviewed. If you have already taken one and stalled, skip the second course and go straight to feedback.

Next step

If the table pointed you to a course, pick the one that matches how you work and finish it. If it pointed you to 1:1 Mentorship, book a discovery call and bring your last few posts.

I'm Frank Velasquez. I'm Head of Content at a ghostwriting agency, and I run Mentorship on the side for four people at a time. You can find me on LinkedIn.