Josh Linkner

Josh Linkner is not your typical business speaker. A seasoned entrepreneur, venture capitalist, jazz guitarist, and bestselling author, Josh is on a mission to help leaders and organizations Find A Way™ to solve problems creatively, unlock breakthrough ideas, and drive sustainable growth through everyday innovation. He is also well-known for his keynote and motivational speaking. Josh Linkner is available to be booked for corporate and private events. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group today to inquire about Josh Linkner’s fees.

Want to book Josh Linkner for an event?

Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at (215) 995-0905 to book Josh Linkner for corporate or private events, keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, motivational speaking, or virtual appearances. Our agency will work directly with your organization and our keynote speakers to create an unforgettable event.

The Mollie Plotkin Group is the leading keynote speakers agency and entertainment bureau bringing excitement to audiences, clients, and employees. We represent subject-matter experts in every possible field. So whether we’re your partner in creating a memorable meeting or your meeting planner’s secret weapon in securing the perfect keynote speaker, we’re in this with you.

Innovation from the Ground Up

Josh Linkner’s entrepreneurship started young when he ran (and quickly shut down) a fireworks business at 11. By the age of 13, he was playing paid jazz gigs. By 20, he’d launched his first tech company from his college apartment, assembling discounted computer systems and learning firsthand what it takes to build something from scratch. That entrepreneurial spark turned into a decades-long fire.

Five Companies. 10,000 Jobs. Over $200 Million in Exits.

Over the last 30 years, Josh has founded and led five tech companies as CEO, creating over 10,000 jobs and generating exits worth more than $200 million. He later became the CEO of an early-stage venture firm before co-founding Muditā Venture Partners, a VC firm investing in game-changing technologies, including many AI-powered startups redefining how we work, live, and create. With over 100 startup investments and $1 billion in investor returns, Josh brings a rare, front-line perspective on innovation that’s practical, proven, and personal.

The Music of Innovation

Before tech and venture capital, Josh’s first love was jazz. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he’s played over 2,000 concerts around the world. Jazz remains more than a passion; it’s a powerful metaphor in his work. His keynotes often highlight the creative improvisation, real-time adaptability, and collaborative mindset that jazz musicians use. The very same principles that drive modern leadership and innovation.

Proven Voice on Creativity and Business Performance

Josh has written four books on innovation and creative problem-solving, including the New York Times bestseller Disciplined Dreaming. His research and frameworks have helped leaders at organizations like Google, Disney, AT&T, the NFL, and Starbucks turn everyday people into everyday innovators. Through his global consulting and training firm, Platypus Labs, he helps companies embed innovation into their culture and develop inventive thinking across teams.

Keynote Speaker. Workshop Leader. Trusted Advisor.

With thousands of keynotes delivered to audiences in over 20 countries, Josh’s speaking is a blend of inspiration, entertainment, and actionable insight. Whether in a 60-minute keynote or workshop, audiences leave with specific tools, tangible frameworks, and a renewed belief in their ability to tackle challenges through creativity and ingenuity.

More Than a Speaker

Josh’s real-world experience, as a founder, CEO, venture capitalist, and artist, sets him apart from the usual innovation “experts.” He’s not just teaching theory; he’s lived it. And he brings that hard-won wisdom to every audience, helping them Find A Way™ no matter the obstacles.

To hire Josh Linkner for an event, contact the Mollie Plotkin Group with the proposed event date, location, audience size, event format and program goals. Josh Linkner is available for corporate events, conferences, leadership meetings, private events, workshops, fireside chats and virtual programs.

After receiving your request, a Mollie Plotkin Group booking agent will review Josh Linkner’s availability, discuss the event details and get back to you within 48 hours with next steps for securing Josh Linkner for your program.

The cost to book Josh Linkner depends on the event date, location, format, audience size and scope of the appearance. Josh Linkner’s speaking fee starts at $43,000. Speaking fees may vary for keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, private events, corporate meetings and virtual programs.

For the most accurate Josh Linkner booking fee, contact the Mollie Plotkin Group with your event details. Our team will help confirm availability, pricing and the best format for your event.

Find A Way™

A proven innovation framework to solve problems, accelerate opportunities, and sustain growth.

As we enter a new era of business, 50% of leaders in the United States have lost confidence in their ability to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. The level of disruption, technology threats, and volatility can be paralyzing. We are in a leadership crisis and must embrace a new model to meet today’s challenges.

Prolific entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and innovation expert Josh Linkner helps you Find A Way™ through his proven 5-step innovation framework for cultivating full-organization ingenuity. Whatever outcomes you crave the most — from sales growth to competitive advantage to employee engagement — you’ll walk away with specific tools to drive sustainable success.

The Find a Way™ framework prioritizes agility over brute force, creativity over hustle, and improvisation over perfect planning. Leaders who embrace the model are inspired and better equipped. They feel confident to move forward into the darkness and have a newfound capacity to win consistently, no matter the circumstances.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Facing uncertainty and volatility.
• Seeking better ways to drive the outcomes they crave the most.
• Struggling to keep up with the pace of change.

The audience will leave with:

• A proven model for harnessing ingenuity to solve any problem and seize any opportunity.
• Innovative strategies to drive better results every day.
• The confidence to walk into the unknown and emerge victorious.

Big Little Breakthroughs™

How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results

The pressure to generate big ideas can feel overwhelming. We know that bold innovations are critical in these disruptive and competitive times, but when it comes to breakthrough thinking, we often freeze up.

Instead of shooting for a $10 billion IPO or a Nobel Prize, the most prolific innovators focus on Big Little Breakthroughs — small, creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time.

The Big Little Breakthroughs framework provides a specific and practical approach to unlocking dormant creative capacity. Instead of wild, risky, and expensive moonshots, participants learn to unleash small, daily creative acts to drive gigantic results over time.

In this inspiring, timely, and high-impact keynote, New York Times bestselling author and globally-recognized innovation expert Josh Linkner shows us how to de-risk the creative process, build the capacity to unlock breakthrough transformations, and gain the creative confidence to take responsible risks.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Aware of the need to innovate but having a hard time getting started.
• Responsible for creating a culture of innovation.
• Feeling pressure to generate breakthroughs but struggling to deliver them.

The audience will leave with:

• A proven framework to cultivate a high volume of innovations without the typical risk.
• Inspiring and memorable stories that show how ingenuity, creative problem-solving, and inventive thinking can lead to breakthrough results.
• The mindsets, habits, and tactics of the world’s most prolific artists, business titans, and entrepreneurs.

The Music of Business

What business leaders can learn about collaboration, creativity, and performance under pressure from the mysterious world of jazz.

The mysterious and dangerous world of jazz is a caldron of spontaneous creativity. And in times of radical change and uncertainty, it serves as the perfect model for modern leadership.

Professional jazz guitarist and prolific entrepreneur Josh Linkner connects the dots between jazz and business, helping to unlock the secrets of some of the world’s most creative geniuses. Using live jazz as a metaphor for collaborative innovation, this session is entertaining, inspiring, and directly applicable to the daily challenges we face in business.

A fusion of live musical performance and keynote presentation, the session’s finale includes audience members “joining the band” to compose and perform a song in real-time to the delight of the audience. Cameras will flash as the entire group is dazzled by their colleagues’ improvisation and spontaneous invention.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Looking for an elevated experience beyond a typical keynote.
• Craving deeper collaboration, creativity, and performance.
• Seeking a way to stand out from the pack and lead in a fresh, creative manner.

The audience will leave with:

• The mindset and perspective of a jazz musician – serving as a creative new model for business growth and results.
• A deeper understanding of collaborative creativity and specific tools to harness inventive thinking and artistic expression.
• A memorable and inspiring sense of what’s possible and how to push boundaries and barriers to achieve remarkable outcomes.
• The creative confidence to pursue our highest calling and to never let the music inside us die.

The Innovative Leader

A modern framework to lead with confidence in the face of uncertainty and change

The business you’re running today isn’t the business you’ll be running next year. In this moment of volatility and uncertainty, we are being called to lead in a radically different way… more decisive, creative, and adaptable. So how can we use this defining moment to ensure relevancy, sustainability, and success in the future?

In this inspiring and practical keynote, battle-tested CEO, venture capital investor, and leadership expert Josh Linkner delivers a modern and accessible framework to help leaders thrive in the face of uncertainty and leverage their skills to move into uncharted territory with confidence.

You’ll learn how to unlock inventive thinking, creative problem-solving, and ingenuity in every box of the org chart. The most successful leaders today help everyday people become everyday innovators. They make sure that innovation is an everyday business.

This can’t-miss session goes way beyond the future of work. This is the future of growth, the future of relevancy, the future of leadership, and the future of success.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Being called to lead in a bold, new way
• Overwhelmed with the demands of modern leadership
• Craving a more innovative approach to drive explosive growth, a competitive advantage, and to get more from their teams

The audience will leave with:

• A modern framework for innovative leadership
• Insights from some of the world’s most prolific leaders
• A behind-the-scenes view of legendary business disruption
• Strategies to drive growth, engagement, and success amid change and uncertainty

Disciplined Dreaming™

A proven system to drive breakthrough creativity.

In our modern AI-driven world, creativity has become the currency of success. It’s the one thing that can’t be outsourced or automated; the indisputable competitive advantage. We are all hard-wired to be creative, yet most of us have underdeveloped creative skills. And today, more than ever before, creative problem-solving and inventive thinking are crucial to overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities.

Based on the breakaway New York Times bestselling book published in 19 languages and globally recognized by over 2 million readers as the definitive work on applied creativity, author and creativity expert Josh Linkner takes the audience on a journey to unlock their dormant creative capacity. Inspiring stories, surprising truths, and instantly-applicable solutions make this keynote both energizing and actionable.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Facing increasing challenges and competitive threats
• Craving a new approach to harness their full creative potential
• Struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation

The audience will leave with:

• A proven model for harnessing and applying human creativity
• An understanding of how the most innovative and disruptive leaders think and act
• Practical techniques to generate more high-quality ideas at any time and for any challenge

Rethink. Reboot. Reinvent.

How to drive disruption and accelerate transformation

We’re living in a rate of change like none other in history.

The hard truth is that we can no longer rely on the models of the past and expect the same results.

In this energizing and actionable keynote, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of rapid change and how to respond confidently and intentionally. New York Times bestselling author and lifetime disruptor Josh Linkner shares a proven model for you to take control and reinvent your own future.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

• Struggling to keep up with the rate of change.
• Overwhelmed with competitive threats, technology advancements, and shifting disruptive market forces.
• Recognizing the need for reinvention but struggling to gain traction.

The audience will leave with:

• A proven framework to lead reinvention efforts of all shapes and sizes.
• The confidence to walk into the unknown and realize they can now navigate whatever challenges or opportunities emerge.
• Mindsets and tactics to ensure relevance, adaptability, and sustainable success.
• The ability to rethink old approaches and discover new ones.