LinkedIn Adds Paid Advice Sessions, Network Feed for Founders

LinkedIn is introducing paid one-on-one consultations directly on its platform, opening a new monetization channel for professionals as the company restructures its interface to accommodate users juggling multiple careers simultaneously.

The feature, called Advice Sessions, allows business owners and subject-matter experts to charge for individual meetings booked through their profiles. Access is currently restricted to U.S.-based users holding a Business Premium subscription. Unlike creator economy platforms such as Patreon or Substack that levy percentage fees on earnings, LinkedIn confirmed it will not take a cut of the revenue generated from these sessions. This zero-commission approach positions the Microsoft-owned network to compete directly with standalone consultation marketplaces like Clarity.fm and Intro, leveraging its existing professional graph rather than forcing creators to build an audience elsewhere.

Monetization tools extend beyond direct consultations. The platform is expanding a revenue-sharing program for video creators, distributing a portion of income generated by pre-roll advertisements. A dedicated analytics dashboard is also rolling out to give users granular performance data on their posts, mirroring the backend insights long standard on consumer-focused networks like Instagram and X but historically absent from LinkedIn’s professional environment.

These commercial additions arrive alongside structural changes to how profiles represent employment. Acknowledging that the traditional single-employer career path no longer reflects modern work patterns, the platform is redesigning user profiles to prominently display multiple concurrent roles. Internal data shows a 70% year-over-year increase in members adding “founder” to their credentials, alongside a broader trend of users listing several active positions at once.

Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, acknowledged the surge in entrepreneurial activity but cautioned against attributing it entirely to generative AI lowering technical barriers. While acknowledging that artificial intelligence accelerates software development—often referred to as “vibe coding”—Srinivasan noted that building functional code differs fundamentally from operating a viable enterprise. The company’s data confirms more businesses are being started, though isolating whether this stems from AI-enabled efficiency or labor market displacement remains difficult to determine.

To address persistent complaints about algorithmic content diluting professional relevance, LinkedIn is testing a chronological “network” feed. This opt-in view strips away recommended posts from outside a user’s immediate circle, displaying only updates from established connections and explicitly followed accounts. The test represents a notable retreat from the engagement-driven algorithmic feeds the platform adopted in recent years to mimic consumer social media behavior.

Bridging physical networking events with digital follow-ups, the company is also launching a digital business card feature compatible with native smartphone wallet applications. Users can store a scannable credential in Apple Wallet or Android equivalents, allowing instant profile connections when meeting contacts offline without relying on QR codes or manual search queries.

The suite of updates targets a user base increasingly treating the platform not merely as a job-search repository, but as an operating system for independent ventures. Advice Sessions and the expanded video revenue-sharing program are currently rolling out to eligible U.S. accounts, while the network feed and digital business card features remain in active testing phases.