# Thiago Valentim, the person behind Scout With Me and the account every number here comes from Builds the app, runs it on his own LinkedIn account and publishes what it measures. The company behind it is RigelRise OÜ, in Tallinn, Estonia. ![Thiago Valentim](https://www.scoutwith.me/thiago.jpg) Thiago Valentim builds Scout With Me and is the person whose LinkedIn account every number on this blog comes from. The app runs on his own account, from his own computer, prospecting for his own product. What it measures along the way is what gets published here, under the rules on [the method page](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/method). The company behind the app and the Worth Contacting channel is RigelRise OÜ, registered in Estonia in December 2023, in Tallinn. The channel shows the app working on that same account, live: [youtube.com/@worthcontacting](https://youtube.com/@worthcontacting). Where to reach him: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thiago-dos-santos-valentim), or thiago@scoutwith.me. - [What makes a first LinkedIn message get a reply? In 96 messages of 41 to 61 words, nothing in the text moved the 51%: what moved it was who received it](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/what-makes-a-first-linkedin-message-get-a-reply.md): 96 first messages sent after a LinkedIn connection request was accepted, between September 16 and October 19, 2026. All of them 41 to 61 words, with one question at the end and the person's name. 49 got a reply. Length, number of questions, time of day and how soon after the acceptance made no difference to the rate. What made a difference was who received the message, and whether I read it before it went out. - [Do people who accept a LinkedIn request fast reply more? No: 63% of the fast ones and 67% of the slow ones replied, and the fast ones became conversations only a little more often](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/do-people-who-accept-linkedin-requests-fast-reply-more.md): 95 strangers accepted a connection request from one LinkedIn account between September 15 and October 19, 2026. 65 accepted within a day and 30 took longer. Both groups replied to the first message at the same rate. The fast ones became conversations a little more often. The post explains what a fast acceptance really means, with two large studies and LinkedIn's own help page, and what to do with the people who take a week. - [How many LinkedIn profiles do you have to read to find one worth messaging? 4 in 10 names from a search were worth opening, 7 in 10 opened were worth a request, and one conversation took 17 names](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/how-many-linkedin-profiles-to-read.md): 581 people read from LinkedIn searches by one account between September 14 and October 18, 2026. At first look in the search results, 252 fit, 157 were a maybe and 172 did not fit. I opened 234 profiles; 162 were worth a connection request, 87 accepted, 56 replied and 35 turned into a conversation. The post explains why 72 opened profiles were not worth a message, what became of the maybes, and how many names one conversation took. - [How many LinkedIn connection requests per week does prospecting take? Between 17 and 53, never more than 20 a day, no restriction in five weeks](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/how-many-linkedin-connection-requests-per-week.md): 178 connection requests to strangers from one LinkedIn account in five weeks, September 15 to October 19, 2026: between 17 and 53 a week, never more than 20 in a day, a pending pile that never passed 59, every unanswered request withdrawn after 21 days, and no warning from LinkedIn. What a real campaign needs, and how to keep the pending pile small. - [Do LinkedIn follow-ups work? The first one brings back 28% of the silent, the second one 1 in 24](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/do-linkedin-follow-ups-work.md): 95 strangers accepted my connection request and got a first message; 48 replied to it. One follow-up to the 43 who had stayed silent brought 12 of them back. A second follow-up to 24 people brought one reply, and it was a no. What a follow-up adds, when to send it, and when silence is the answer. - [How much time does LinkedIn prospecting take per week? 287 decisions in four weeks, about half a minute each](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/how-much-time-does-linkedin-prospecting-take-per-week.md): Four weeks, 158 connection requests, 75 accepted, 47 replies, and every decision of mine stamped with its time: 287 decisions on 24 of 29 days, a median of 9 a day, in sessions of 3 or 4 decisions that take under two minutes. The arithmetic of the week, what the stamps do not see, and how to keep it that small. - [LinkedIn cold outreach benchmark 2026: acceptance, reply and follow-up rates from one account, updated weekly](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/linkedin-cold-outreach-benchmark-2026.md): One account, 178 connection requests to strangers since September 15, 2026: 56% of the requests old enough to judge were accepted, against a platform average of 28.5%. Time to accept, time to reply, follow-up yield, decisions per day and the week-by-week table, refreshed every week with the method behind every number. - [Is it rude to cold message strangers on LinkedIn? I messaged 133: nobody got angry, 4 said no, 31 kept talking](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/is-it-rude-to-cold-message-strangers-on-linkedin.md): 133 connection requests to strangers from my own account, with no note; everyone who accepted got a first message written from their profile. 72 accepted, 43 replied. Of the 43, 31 kept the conversation going, 5 asked what I wanted, 3 said the first message sounded automated, 3 declined politely, 1 asked not to be contacted, 0 were rude. What to say when they reply, and how many follow-ups before it is spam. - [Can you get customers on LinkedIn without an audience? One in five strangers I messaged wanted to talk](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/customers-on-linkedin-without-an-audience.md): 133 connection requests to strangers from a LinkedIn account with no audience: 72 accepted, 45 replied, 26 wanted to talk. What it takes, how long it takes, how much of your time, and when to blame the product. - [How long does a LinkedIn connection request take to be accepted? Half within a day, almost all within a week](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/how-long-linkedin-connection-requests-take-to-be-accepted.md): 51 of 102 cold connection requests were accepted. The median acceptance took 15 hours; 34 came within a day, 50 within a week, one later. When to stop waiting. - [Does posting on LinkedIn predict who replies? Recent posters accepted and replied two to three times more often](https://www.scoutwith.me/en/blog/does-posting-on-linkedin-predict-who-replies.md): One week, 102 connection requests from my own account: 44 accepted, 26 replied, 17 interested. Split by one signal, recent posting, the rates double and triple. --- Canonical: https://www.scoutwith.me/en/thiago-valentim Published: 2026-10-23