Thursday February 19, 2026
Get inspired to turn thinking into making with world-class strategist and cultural builder Joe Burns – live in Amsterdam.
CLAIM YOUR TICKET - €125,-
WHEN
February 19, 2026
Starts: 19:00
Ends: 23:00
WHERE
CREA Theater
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170
1018 WV Amsterdam
WHO
Marketing & branding professionals, startup and scaleup founders, investors, management teams..
The Substance Club night #2
Strategists love to muse about thinking.
But this talk is all about doing.
Joe Burns will show you that the best strategy doesn't live in decks; it lives in the world. The question isn't "what should we think?" but "what can we make?" What if we treated strategy less like consulting and more like running a record label or publishing house? Testing ideas in public. Building modular IP. Creating culture, not just commenting on it. This is strategy as a creative practice. Strategy with fingerprints on it.
What you will take home
Across the talk, Joe will unpack some of the foundational concepts that shape his universe of strategy. From how ideas move, to the fundamental importance of edge, to how strategists can think more like makers, publishers, and producers.
See Joe’s most viral LinkedIn slide decks
Joe Burns: The strategist shaking up
LinkedIn and the real world.
Joe Burns became a rising star on LinkedIn by doing what strategists rarely do: saying what he actually thinks. Irreverent, candid, unafraid to ruffle feathers. His no-BS posts paired with provocative insights and beautifully designed slides struck a nerve with the marketing world. He went from 0 to over 44,000 followers at lightning speed. His strategy snippets now rack up around 10 million impressions a year. Not bad for a self-proclaimed "occasional internet nuisance.
Before the LinkedIn fame, Joe spent two decades sharpening his edge in the ad world. He's helped brands like KFC and Google cut through the noise with strategy that's both smart and sticky. Now, as Strategy Lead at Quality Meats Creative and founder of Home, he builds and shares ideas designed to survive contact with reality. He writes for Fast Company, appears on marketing podcasts, and ships work that actually matters. This will be Joe's first appearance in the Netherlands.
Follow Joe on LinkedIn
ABOUT THE EVENT
Get inspired by Alex MH Smith’s down to earth business strategy approach and meet an inner circle of both promising and seasoned entrepreneurs, management teams, investors and top marketing and branding professionals.
Date
Thursday evening
February 16, 2026
Start: 19:00
Ends: 23:00
Programme
19:00 - Walk-in & drinks
19:30 - Start
21:00 - Audience Q&A
21:45 - Drinks & networking
Venue: CREA Theater
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170
1018 WV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
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ABOUT THE
SUBSTANCE CLUB
The Substance Club is an initiative of Amsterdam-based Creative Brand Strategists Jesse van Hoefen Wijsard and Niels Vrijhoeven. We share an interest in seeking genuine content and depth in the often superficial world of marketing and branding. With The Substance Club, we bring inspiring thinkers operating at the intersection of creativity and business to the Dutch entrepreneurial audience.
