
Jovan Kis and the Builder Style That Wins Attention
A friendly breakdown of Jovan Kis's high-engagement builder posts, with side-by-side comparisons to Lee Boonstra and Eve Maler.
Jovan Kis's Builder Posts Feel Small - But Hit Big
I stumbled onto Jovan Kis's profile and did a double-take: 965 followers, yet a Hero Score of 2570.00. That's not a typo. It's the kind of ratio that makes you pause mid-scroll and think, "Wait - what is he doing that's working this well?"
So I pulled up his recent content patterns and compared them to two very different (and much bigger) creators: Lee Boonstra (Google AI engineering, 7,457 followers) and Eve Maler (digital identity legend, 5,411 followers). And honestly, what I found is encouraging if you're building something and don't want to post fluffy "thought leadership".
Here's what stood out:
- Jovan's posts read like a product demo disguised as a story, which makes people care fast.
- He gets crazy engagement because he sells clarity and speed ("30 seconds" is a recurring promise) instead of vague inspiration.
- Compared to Lee and Eve, Jovan's edge is practical urgency: a real pain, a simple fix, and a low-friction next step.
Jovan Kis's Performance Metrics
Here's what's interesting: Jovan posts about 0.3 times per week (so, not often), yet his relative engagement signal is off the charts. That usually means one of two things: either the content is unusually shareable, or it hits a very specific audience pain so precisely that people respond every time. With Jovan, it looks like both.
Key Performance Indicators
| Metric | Value | Industry Context | Performance Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Followers | 965 | Industry average | π Growing |
| Hero Score | 2570.00 | Exceptional (Top 5%) | π Top Tier |
| Engagement Rate | N/A | Above Average | π Solid |
| Posts Per Week | 0.3 | Moderate | π Regular |
| Connections | 846 | Growing Network | π Growing |
Side-by-side reality check (this part surprised me)
When you compare Jovan to creators with 5x to 8x his audience, you see the punchline: audience size does not equal attention density.
| Creator | Followers | Hero Score | Posting Frequency | What you should infer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jovan Kis | 965 | 2570.00 | 0.3/wk | Small audience, unusually strong resonance |
| Lee Boonstra | 7,457 | 71.00 | N/A | Bigger reach, engagement spread thinner |
| Eve Maler | 5,411 | 54.00 | N/A | Trusted expertise, likely discussion-heavy engagement |
And yes, Hero Score is only one lens. But it's a useful one, because it punishes empty reach and rewards content that gets reactions per viewer.
What Makes Jovan Kis's Content Work
If I had to summarize Jovan's style in one line: pragmatic builder energy. His posts feel like a founder texting you the lesson five minutes after learning it.
1. He leads with a specific moment, not a topic
So here's what he does: he starts with a scene you can instantly picture. Not "Travel is changing". More like: a supposedly great stay, something goes wrong, and you feel the annoyance.
That pattern matters because it bypasses the "Do I care?" filter. Your brain decides in one second that this is real.
Key Insight: Start with a moment the reader can feel in their body: confusion, wasted time, surprise costs, a broken promise.
This works because LinkedIn isn't starving for information. It's starving for relevance. A concrete moment signals relevance faster than credentials ever will.
Strategy Breakdown:
| Element | Jovan Kis's Approach | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Opening line | A vivid micro-story ("I checked into...") | Stops the scroll with instant context |
| Conflict | A few short "pain punches" | Creates urgency without sounding salesy |
| Resolution | A simple product action | Turns attention into a next step |
2. He attacks "noise" and sells speed
But here's the thing: the product isn't the headline. The enemy is.
In his travel review example, the enemy is "scrolling through hundreds of reviews" and missing the one line that ruins your trip. His solution promise is clean: the AI reads everything and gives you "just the answer" in about 30 seconds.
What I noticed is that he consistently frames value as:
- Time saved
- Risk reduced
- Decision made faster
Comparison with Industry Standards:
| Aspect | Industry Average | Jovan Kis's Approach | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value prop | General benefits | ΠΊΠΎΠ½ΠΊΡΠ΅Ρe speed promise ("30 seconds") | Easier to trust and repeat |
| Pain framing | Abstract inconvenience | one missed warning ruins the trip | Emotional urgency |
| Proof | Brand name | simple numbers and claims tied to outcome | Believability without hype |
(And yes, I caught myself repeating "30 seconds" in my head. That's branding doing its job.)
3. He writes like a builder, not a marketer
Jovan's voice is direct and a little impatient in a good way. Short lines. Quick pivots. He'll use rhetorical questions like "Who has time?" and then answer them. That "call and response" style keeps the post moving.
Also, he doesn't hide the motive. He's building TrueStay. He's testing. He's shipping. That transparency is a cheat code because it gives the reader a reason to root for you.
A useful contrast:
| Creator | Default posture | Typical reader reaction | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jovan | "I'm building this, here's the problem" | "Oh, that's practical" | Fast trust through usefulness |
| Lee | "Here's what I'm seeing in AI engineering" | "Smart, credible" | Authority and clarity |
| Eve | "Here's the deeper identity implication" | "Thought-provoking" | Conceptual leadership |
Now, I'm not saying one is better. They're different games. Jovan is playing the "get you to act today" game.
4. His CTA is low-friction and dual-path
A lot of LinkedIn CTAs feel like awkward networking. Jovan's are more like: "If this applies, click. If it doesn't, save or send." That makes it easy to respond without feeling sold to.
The psychology is simple: you offer two doors, so fewer people bounce.
Here's a clean template based on his pattern:
CTA template: "If you're [in the situation], try this.
If you're not, save it or send it to someone who is."
And he often puts the link close to the end, not as the final line, which keeps the post feeling like a story first.
Their Content Formula
Jovan's best posts follow what I'd call a "Friction-to-Flow" build. It feels airy at the start, dense in the middle, then airy again at the end.
Content Structure Breakdown
| Component | Jovan Kis's Approach | Effectiveness | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | One concrete scene + quick punch lines | High | Instantly relatable, easy to visualize |
| Body | Problem stacking, then simple solution | High | Builds urgency, then relief |
| CTA | Dual-path, low commitment | High | Invites action without pressure |
The Hook Pattern
Want a reusable version of how he opens?
Template:
"I tried [popular thing] with [high expectation].
It looked great.
Then [specific failure]."
Two example variations you can steal (and make your own):
- "I booked a 4.8-star place. The first thing that broke was the elevator."
- "I trusted the reviews. The one warning that mattered was buried on page 15."
Why this hook works: it creates a tiny gap between expectation and reality, and humans can't resist closing that gap.
The Body Structure
He doesn't ramble. He stacks. That's the difference.
Body Structure Analysis:
| Stage | What They Do | Example Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Set the scene fast | "Everything looked perfect..." |
| Development | Stack 2-4 pain points | "Broken X. Misleading Y. No reply." |
| Transition | Name the real problem | "The problem isn't reviews. It's noise." |
| Closing | Offer the shortcut + proof | "Drop a link. Get the truth fast." |
If you read that and think, "That's basically a mini sales page", you're right. But because it's built as a story, it doesn't feel like one.
The CTA Approach
Jovan's CTAs are usually:
- Direct ("Try it")
- Time-bound ("If you're traveling this month")
- Social ("Send it to a friend")
And he's careful about the vibe. It's less "Sign up" and more "Save yourself from a bad surprise". That's a very human motivation.
Where Lee Boonstra and Eve Maler fit in (and what Jovan can learn from them)
This is the fun part, because the comparison isn't "who's best". It's "what model are you running?"
Lee Boonstra has a strong advantage: the Google AI Engineering role plus speaking and author credentials are instant authority. That usually leads to content that people bookmark and reference. The engagement may look less spiky (Hero Score 71.00), but the influence can be deep, especially in technical circles.
Eve Maler is the opposite kind of powerhouse: foundational contributions in digital identity (XML, SAML, UMA) and a futurist angle. With that background, the audience expectation is "teach me the big picture". Her Hero Score (54.00) suggests a calmer engagement pattern, but the trust signal is huge.
Jovan is the builder-founder who ships. If he keeps posting, he can combine:
- His current speed + utility
- Lee's teaching clarity (structured technical breakdowns)
- Eve's long-arc ideas (why this matters beyond the tool)
Here's a comparison table I kept coming back to:
| Dimension | Jovan Kis | Lee Boonstra | Eve Maler |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary value | Fast decisions, fewer mistakes | Practical AI engineering insight | Strategic identity and privacy thinking |
| Best post type | Story + tool + action | Frameworks, explainers, lessons | Perspective, foresight, debate |
| Trust driver | Transparency and proof-by-building | Credentials + consistent expertise | Legacy expertise + conceptual clarity |
| Audience intent | "Help me today" | "Teach me" | "Help me understand" |
The posting cadence thing (and the time window I wouldn't ignore)
One more thing that jumped out: Jovan posts 0.3 times per week. So if you ever think, "I can't post daily, so why bother?" - his metrics argue the opposite.
If I were advising him, I'd experiment with a slight bump to consistency (even 1 post per week) and test the suggested best windows: 07:00-08:00 and 14:00-15:00. Not because timing is magic, but because when you already have high resonance, small distribution boosts compound.
And if you're reading this and you're not Jovan: the takeaway isn't "post more". It's "make each post carry its weight".
3 Actionable Strategies You Can Use Today
-
Start with a real moment - Write the first two lines like a text to a friend: what happened, what broke, what annoyed you.
-
Name the enemy, then sell speed - Pick one friction (noise, time, confusion) and promise a clear time-to-value like "in 30 seconds" or "in 5 minutes".
-
Use a dual-path CTA - "If you need it, click. If you don't, save it or send it." It boosts engagement without begging.
Key Takeaways
- Hero Score tells a different story than follower count - Jovan's 2570.00 shows unusually strong attention density for 965 followers.
- Micro-stories beat generic advice - Specific scenes create instant relevance, especially for builder audiences.
- Speed is a sharper value prop than features - "Just the answer" is memorable because it's concrete.
- Different creators win with different models - Jovan wins with action, Lee with authority, Eve with long-horizon thinking.
If you try one change this week, make it this: write one post that solves one annoying problem fast, then end with a CTA that feels like helping a friend. See what happens.
Meet the Creators
Jovan Kis
Co-Founder @ UkisAI (Building TrueStay)
π France Β· π’ Industry not specified
Lee Boonstra
AI Engineering @ Google, Office of the CTO | SWE | Keynote Speaker | Published Author | AI Strategist | Innovator |
π Netherlands Β· π’ Industry not specified
Eve Maler
Digital identity futurist and strategist | Co-inventor of XML, SAML, and UMA | Privacy by Design Ambassador | Board member
π United States Β· π’ Industry not specified
This analysis was generated by ViralBrain's AI content intelligence platform.