Highline Beta’s Post

It’s easy to think that what worked last year will still work today. But the reality is, the world is constantly changing. New startups emerge, competitors improve, and consumer preferences shift. Strategies and messages that once resonated can quickly become outdated. Yet, many companies still use the same strategies, value propositions, and messaging from years ago. Just like people need an annual physical to catch any issues early, businesses need a regular checkup for their messaging. What once captured attention may now go unnoticed, or worse, blend in with the crowd because everyone else has copied it. Regularly revisiting and refining your messaging ensures it matches current customer priorities and challenges. It helps you stay relevant and engaging. Don’t leave it to guesswork. Find out and stay ahead.

Timing is everything, right? During my time at USC, I was part of the USC Incubator with the startup I was working on (filtr). Paul Orlando - who leads the incubator - just wrote a book called "Why Now: How Good Timing Makes Great Products" - addressing the critical role timing plays in business. If you're a founder or working in innovation in any capacity & are interested in learning more about practical frameworks and real-world examples on how timing impacts market dynamics and business outcomes - from the gold rush to more current events - you should check out his book. 👇

Whether you're pitching a new idea or showcasing a product, defining clear objectives and focusing on core features are crucial. Keep it simple yet impactful with realistic data and a compelling value proposition. My colleague, Jiani Zhang, shares the three keys to POC success with Forbes. Read to learn more. #TechInnovation #BusinessStrategy #StartupLife

Whether you're pitching a new idea or showcasing a product, defining clear objectives and focusing on core features are crucial. Keep it simple yet impactful with realistic data and a compelling value proposition. My colleague, Jiani Zhang, shares the three keys to POC success with Forbes. Read to learn more. #TechInnovation #BusinessStrategy #StartupLife

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 $𝟱𝗠 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, we're excited to share more of what's going on for us and how we're bringing our vision to life! Our founder and CEO, Jeffrey Szczepanski took the stage at the Business of Software Conference last week and introduced a 𝟱-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 that redefines how we approach productivity. It's not about managing distractions - it's about fundamentally transforming 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 🧠 💡 Jeff's framework helps us distinguish between different levels of thinking (hint: there's more than two!), from the instinctive tasks that require little mental effort to the 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. And it doesn't stop there - Jeff expands on strategic thinking with powerful tools to help us tackle bigger challenges, think more clearly, and achieve our goals. The aim is to free us from the clutter of busy work AND unlock our capacity for deep, meaningful accomplishments. This is about 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 in a world where technology should be enabling, not overwhelming us. Stay tuned for more insights from Jeff's talk and how we're working hard to bring these principles to life in the 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗢𝗪𝗘) we're building.

There’s a ton of players in the community that do what we do at DMZ - so what’s our competitive advantage? Prioritizing service excellence. We're founder-obsessed, considering every detail of the founder experience. From the coffee we serve to the tailored mentorship we provide, and our international expansion plans to help founders break into new markets. Here’s a page from our playbook on how startups can become customer obsessed: ➡ Embrace a customer-first mindset. Infuse this philosophy into your startup's core, articulate it in your vision and prioritize customers in daily decisions. ➡ Operate with a sense of urgency. Balancing automation with personal attention is crucial to ensure a professional experience with genuine human interaction. ➡ Create joyful moments. Build lasting customer loyalty by going above and beyond. Foster a personal connection and encourage honest feedback. These personal touches create trust and loyalty. ➡ Implement a customer feedback loop. Knowing what your customers want is key for any startup. Use customer feedback to grow. To achieve excellence, you must be ruthless on quality across the board—that’s the bottom line.

🚀 To the founders and business owners out there: let’s connect! I know what it feels like to be at the helm of something you’re deeply passionate about. Whether you’re launching a startup, scaling your business, or refining your vision, every day brings new challenges and opportunities. It’s a thrilling ride, but also a tough one. Here’s the thing: We all have unique experiences, lessons, and insights. But too often, we don’t share them enough. Let’s change that. I know how every day, you're managing growth, building scalable solutions, and leading a team that looks to you for technical and strategic guidance. It's exhilarating, but also challenging. Azlan Tariq and I’ve recently built something that I believe can help founders like us: Venture Plus—an AI-powered business planning and idea validation tool. Whether you’re in tech, retail, services, or any industry, VenturePlus can: Validate Ideas Quickly: Before committing valuable resources, get an AI-backed assessment of your idea’s potential. Build Actionable Plans: Automatically generate business plans based on real-world data, designed specifically for your market. Fine-Tune Your Strategy: Make informed decisions that align with your goals, minimizing risk and maximizing impact. With Venture Plus, the focus shifts from worrying about whether your idea will succeed to actually making it happen. And don't worry: it's LAUNCHING SOON! Join our mailing list at: ventureplusai.com If you’re ready to take your next step confidently, let’s connect. I’d love to show you how it works and hear about the journey you’re on!

LAST CALL TO REGISTER: 📣 Benchmarking involves comparing your startup's performance metrics to those of industry standards or successful competitors. It's an incredibly valuable tool when forecasting, and best used when focused on metrics that actually matter. Join us Tuesday July 23rd from 2-3pm AST for a FREE webinar: Six metrics every startup should track (but aren't) 🤔 Register here: https://shorturl.at/fzB6O 📈

I see first-time founders making this mistake every day: They forget to ask their customers. I wish they wouldn’t because it kills their businesses. Look, I get it - your idea is GREAT. It’s technically impeccable. It’s groundbreaking. You don’t want some non-technical person telling you how to improve it.   So… “Have you done any market research?” I ask “Oh yes, we crunched the numbers” The size of our market is £2B in the UK alone Our SOM, £350M in Y1 And competitors aren’t meeting people’s needs. “That must get you some customer traction already!” “We’ll figure that out once we have a product ready to go”   𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜: You’re gambling on your ability to find a market for your product later, when pivoting is more expensive than now. True, some brands (with millions to invest) manage to create new needs to sell their offering. But most of us mortals market offerings by solving problems for customers. No pain, no sales. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝: Involve customers early on in your product development phase. (This doesn’t mean spending tens of thousands to survey half the country) Identify your target audience, talk to them daily, test your product prototype, and treat their feedback like gold.   They have the answer to 80% of your burning questions.   Listen to them. So instead of building 𝘢 product. You can build 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 product.

VenturePlus makes business planning easier than ever! Quickly turn your ideas into a solid plan and take the next step toward success. #VenturePlusAI #BusinessPlanning #Entrepreneurship