Most professionals spend their careers chasing the spotlight, fighting for recognition, and building their own personal brand. They measure success by how many followers they have, how many speaking gigs they book, or how much media attention they generate. But while they're busy performing on stage, the real power players are backstage, systematically creating the next generation of stars.

The kingmaker strategy flips traditional success thinking on its head. Andy Grove at Intel understood this when he shifted from managing tasks to developing people, creating a generation of tech leaders who transformed entire industries. Instead of becoming the star, you become the star factory. Instead of building one successful career, you build ten. Instead of having one powerful network connection, you create ten people who owe their success to you. The compound effect is staggering, and the influence you generate dwarfs anything you could achieve alone.

When you create stars, you don't just build a business or advance your career. You build an ecosystem. Every person you develop becomes a walking testimonial to your methods. Every success story they generate reflects back on your ability to spot talent and develop potential.

The mathematics are simple but profound. If you spend five years building your own personal brand, you have one success story. If you spend five years creating ten other success stories, you have ten success stories plus the meta-story of being the person who systematically creates success in others.

Consider the difference in network effects. When you're the star, people want to know you. When you're the star creator, people want to be developed by you. The first generates admirers. The second generates devoted advocates who promote your methods everywhere they go because their own success depends on your credibility.

Make sure you keep getting the High-Stakes emails:

The reason most people never consider the kingmaker strategy is psychological. Our education system, our culture, our social media algorithms all push us toward individual achievement. We're trained to think in terms of personal accomplishment rather than collective elevation.

When you help someone achieve something they couldn't achieve alone, you create a psychological debt that never fully gets repaid. This isn't manipulation, it's human nature. People remember who believed in them when others didn't. They remember who saw their potential before it was obvious.

This psychological bond creates loyalty that no amount of money can buy. Your stars become your most passionate advocates because their success story is inextricably linked to yours. When they succeed, they prove your methods work. This creates a powerful incentive alignment where their success becomes your success.

Become the star and get 1 month free access to paid subscription content:

The first component of star creation is learning to identify potential before it becomes obvious. This isn't about finding people who are already successful, it's about recognizing the raw materials that can be shaped into success.

Most people look for completed products. Star creators look for the right combination of traits that, when properly developed, create exceptional results.

The Four Core Indicators:

When I'm building teams in my software project management role, I'm not looking for people who already know every framework. I'm looking for people who ask the right questions, who take ownership naturally, who can communicate complex ideas simply, and who get energized by challenges rather than defeated by them.

The same principle applies when identifying people to develop online. I'm not looking for people who already have successful businesses or massive followings. I'm looking for people who consistently show up, who implement feedback quickly, who think strategically about their market, and who focus on serving others rather than just making money.

Red Flags to Avoid:

Support the newsletter: Click and visit our Sponsor offer page

Long Angle is a private, vetted community for high-net-worth entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals across multiple industries. No membership fees.

Connect with primarily self-made, 30-55-year-olds ($5M-$100M net worth) in confidential discussions, peer advisory groups, and live meetups.

Access curated alternative investments like private equity and private credit. With $100M+ invested annually, leverage collective expertise and scale to capture unique opportunities.

Apply to Join

Once you identify potential, the development process becomes systematic. Most people try to help others by giving advice. Star creators build structured development experiences that create predictable transformations.

The Four-Phase Development Process:

Phase 1: Assessment - Understanding exactly where someone is starting from and what specific obstacles they need to overcome. This isn't a casual conversation. It's a structured evaluation of their current skills, resources, mindset, and commitment level.

Phase 2: Customization - Adapting your general methods to their specific situation, personality, and goals. Cookie-cutter advice fails. Customized development plans succeed.

Phase 3: Implementation - Creating accountability systems that ensure consistent progress. This means weekly check-ins, specific deliverables, and clear milestones.

Phase 4: Celebration - Recognizing and amplifying their wins in ways that build momentum and confidence. This isn't optional. Recognition fuels continued effort.

In my software teams, this looks like detailed skill assessments, personalized development plans, weekly check-ins with specific deliverables, and public recognition of achievements. Online, it looks like understanding someone's current business situation, creating custom action plans, implementing accountability partnerships, and showcasing their results.

The key insight is that development isn't about transferring knowledge, it's about creating behavior change. Knowledge is freely available on the internet. What's scarce is the structured support system that helps people consistently implement what they learn.

The final component is amplification. Most mentors help people succeed and then move on to the next person. Star creators turn every success story into a powerful marketing asset that attracts better opportunities and higher-quality people to develop.

This isn't about exploitation, it's about strategic celebration. When someone you've developed achieves something significant, you document it, share it, and use it as evidence of your development methodology.

The Amplification Process:

The amplification serves multiple purposes. It attracts better people to your orbit because they see concrete evidence of your development abilities. It builds social proof for your methods and approaches. It creates a feedback loop where success stories generate more opportunities to create success stories.

Ready to build your own star factory? The tool below will help you identify who has the highest potential for transformation in your network.

Use this framework to evaluate someone's readiness for significant growth and success:

Copy this prompt into ChatGPT or Claude:

Book Resources for Deep Dive:

Note: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The identification process is just the beginning. The real transformation happens when you have systematic tools for development, tracking, and amplification.

The Star Factory Blueprint isn't about becoming famous. It's about becoming the person who creates fame in others. It's about building influence that compounds through every person you develop. It's about creating a legacy measured not by your own achievements, but by the achievements you make possible for others.

The Human Edge Lab is your vault of career-growth playbooks, soft-skill deep dives, and AI-enhanced tools. Each new founder locks in access at today’s rate, forever. Once all spots are filled, enrollment closes for good and prices will go up.

🎯 Founders get in once. And never miss out again.
Claim your spot now