Meet the Coaches Behind High Rise Academy

Grant Haugen Grant Haugen on October 31, 2025

Meet the Coaches

High Rise Academy is led by three practitioners who train students on real business projects using documented processes and live feedback.

Jack Wendt — Founder & CEO, High Rise Influence

Jack started young — at 12–13 he was buying and reselling watches, learning how to negotiate, reinvest profits, and build relationships. That early hustle turned into a passion for entrepreneurship and mentorship. He built High Rise Academy so motivated teens don’t have to guess their way forward or build businesses alone.

“When I was 13, I had to figure it out myself. Now we can give young people a system — and help real businesses along the way.” —Jack Wendt

How Jack mentors

  • Assigns live business tasks: editing vertical videos, writing platform-native captions, basic ad setups.
  • Shows students how to publish once, then distribute across channels without duplicating work, following our cross-posting guide.
  • Models client communication and simple reporting (before/after assets, notes, and next actions).
  • Helps students channel their entrepreneurial energy into real businesses — generating calls, creating content, and directly contributing to client revenue.

Dennis Yu — Former Search Engine Engineer & Co-Creator of the Content Factory

Dennis designs the systems our teams use to execute reliably at scale — checklists, SOPs, and feedback loops rooted in the Content Factory framework. Students don’t watch theory; they ship assets and get reviewed. He also emphasizes E-E-A-T — real people, real places, real work — to make content credible and reusable.

“There’s no age too early to start building a brand or learning how to learn.” —Dennis Yu

How Dennis coaches

  • Weekly reviews with concrete acceptance criteria (naming, thumbnails, captions, repost rules).
  • Layering proof — names, locations, client artifacts — to establish trust via E-E-A-T.
  • Avoiding common VA pitfalls by tying every task to a clear goal, content asset, and target.
  • Works with students from age 17 to 60, proving that the Academy’s structure supports all levels of experience — from teenagers just starting out to adults seeking to sharpen their skills.

Dylan Haugen — Professional Dunker & Creator

Dylan is a professional dunker who performs in contests and live shows while documenting his journey online. His creative background gives him a unique perspective on content and storytelling. After connecting with Dennis and Jack in late December, he discovered how to use the Academy’s structure to transform his passion into professional growth.

“After joining the program, I learned more in a few weeks than I had in years on my own.” —Dylan Haugen

How Dylan teaches

  • Short-form storytelling on real client pages (clear hook, proof, next step).
  • Batch capture and workflow hygiene (shot lists, b-roll banks, caption templates).
  • Practical feedback on pacing, framing, and retention.
  • Works with business owners — from local gyms to personal brands — showing them how consistent storytelling drives measurable results online.

What You’ll See in Practice

  • Live weekly coaching with screen-share reviews and action items.
  • Documented SOPs with examples for each step.
  • Real distribution on business accounts, followed by sensible republishing.
  • Proof built in — faces, places, and outcomes attached to the work.
  • Range of participants from teens to age 60; quality is driven by checklists, not age.
  • Students are paid as they demonstrate competency on production tasks.

Why High Rise Academy Matters

Students learn marketing by doing: edit videos, post on business accounts, and follow checklists until their work meets spec. Parents see consistent habits and professional communication develop over time. Business owners get useful assets instead of vague ideas.

For parents who want to see their teens develop real-world skills, build meaningful relationships, and gain confidence through hands-on experience, High Rise Academy provides a clear path — while also contributing real work for the businesses they support.

If you’d like to learn from mentors like Dennis, Jack, and Dylan, or know a young adult who would thrive in this environment, explore how to get involved with High Rise Academy. It’s a place where curiosity turns into capability, and learning turns into real results.

Who the High Rise Academy Is NOT For — And What It Takes to Succeed

Grant Haugen Grant Haugen on October 28, 2025

The Short Answer

High Rise Academy is designed for people who take action. Success comes from following the Metrics → Analysis → Action (MAA) process every week. Apprentices who do the work, communicate clearly, and follow through on assignments build measurable results and real skills.

Dennis Yu emphasized during the conversation that the Academy only works for those willing to “do the thing.” As he explained, people who collect metrics but never implement improvements are “getting paid to do nothing.”

The Foundation: Taking Consistent Action

Many projects fail because people spend too much time reporting and not enough time executing. Every week should include progress—new videos published, ads launched, or landing pages improved.

Our process relies on three steps:

  • Metrics: Track specific numbers tied to your work, such as video performance metrics or ad performance.
  • Analysis: Identify what changed and why.
  • Action: Implement the next improvement before the next report.

Jack Wendt mentioned how some participants kept producing the same weekly reports without changing a thing. He shared that those projects “looked busy on paper but delivered no new client results.” This reinforced the Academy’s focus on action, not appearance.

Dylan Haugen added that every weekly status report feeds the coaching process. “The more action they take,” he said, “the more feedback we can provide.” When students actually produce videos, launch ads, or adjust campaigns, coaches have data to work with and can give sharper guidance.

Communicating Effectively

Remote work depends on timely, organized communication. Team members are encouraged to apply the Do / Delegate / Delete framework:

  • Do the next task from your checklist.
  • Delegate when you hit a roadblock and need support.
  • Delete low-value items that don’t advance the goal.

Jack recalled several examples where simple communication lapses caused unnecessary delays—someone waited days to ask a question instead of flagging it early. “If they’d just said something, we could’ve solved it in five minutes,” he said. Clear updates keep everyone aligned and prevent small issues from slowing progress.

Skills that Support Success

Participants who think clearly, express ideas in writing, and approach problems logically tend to perform well. The program rewards those who take ownership of their work, stay organized, and use available tools to keep improving.

Dennis highlighted that being able to reason through tasks with AI tools or team members is key to growth. “Young adults who can talk through a problem and provide context always do well,” he said. This ability to explain intent and process mirrors how top performers handle real client projects.

Follow-Through Makes the Difference

Age and credentials matter less than reliability. Students as young as fourteen have produced outstanding results through consistent follow-through.

Dennis shared one story about a 14-year-old student who completed every assignment on time, produced content weekly, and analyzed results without prompting. That consistency led to measurable growth and personal confidence. In contrast, he mentioned older participants who “have to ask a question every single time” or constantly make excuses—and they rarely advance.

To stay on track:

  • Dedicate at least one hour per day to assignments.
  • Complete and submit a weekly status report summarizing what you shipped, what you learned, and what comes next.
  • Plan around vacations or other priorities so deadlines are met.

The goal is steady progress, not perfection.

What Success Looks Like Week to Week

Each week, successful participants:

  • Publish new work such as a video, ad, or content update.
  • Record clear performance metrics and note what improved.
  • Decide on the next concrete action to take.
  • Review targeted feedback from mentors and apply it immediately.

Dylan described one student who launched a short-form video campaign and then tracked its performance in the weekly report. “They took the feedback, adjusted the titles and tags, and doubled their watch time in a week,” he said. That’s the type of learning loop the program aims to build.

This cycle—action, reflection, improvement—builds measurable skill and momentum.

How to Prepare and Self-Assess

  1. Identify specific actions you can take this week.
  2. Choose one checklist and complete the first task today.
  3. Start your weekly status report document now and update it as you complete work.
  4. Set up a simple metric tracking sheet for your projects.
  5. Reserve your hour-a-day block on your calendar for the next two weeks.

These steps help you form the habits that lead to success inside the program.

Final thoughts

High Rise Academy rewards people who act consistently, communicate clearly, and keep improving. Those habits matter more than background or prior experience. The more you build, measure, and refine, the more meaningful results you’ll achieve.

Dennis concluded the discussion by reminding parents and students that this program requires genuine interest. “We’re not here to babysit,” he said. “If they have that drive—whether it’s basketball, content creation, or entrepreneurship—they’ll thrive. If they don’t, they’ll struggle.”

How Young Adults Help Parents’ Businesses – High Rise Academy

Grant Haugen Grant Haugen on October 9, 2025

From Student to Teacher at High Rise Academy

Jack Wendt is the founder of High Rise Academy, an AI Apprenticeship Program that teaches young adults how to market for their parents’ businesses or sponsor businesses. In less than two years, Jack went from having no marketing experience to teaching applied digital marketing at Johns Hopkins University and managing national franchise accounts. His journey shows how young adults can become marketing heroes for their parents’ businesses by applying a clear process.

Why Young Adults Are Positioned to Help

Parents know their trade — whether it’s running a medical practice, repairing appliances, or remodeling homes — but most don’t know how to manage Google rankings, reviews, or social media. Young adults already understand smartphones, apps, and how people search for services. With training from High Rise Academy, they can convert that intuition into measurable ROI.

“Your parent is already doing great things. You don’t have to create anything new. Just amplify what they’re already doing.” — Jack Wendt

Getting Onboarded Into High Rise Academy

When a young adult joins High Rise Academy, they begin by learning the core systems and AI-powered tools that make digital marketing manageable. They don’t go through this process alone. Each new member collaborates with other students working on real businesses, gaining hands-on experience from day one. They also gain access to a library of resources, templates, and step-by-step checklists.

Support is built into the program through weekly office hours held every Thursday at 2 PM Pacific. During these sessions, Jack Wendt, Dylan Haugen, and Dennis Yu answer questions, review progress, and help students troubleshoot issues with their Metrics Analysis Action (MAA) or client work. This combination of structured training, real-world projects, and live mentorship prepares young adults to confidently start improving the businesses they work with.

Step 1: Run a Quick Audit

At High Rise Academy, the starting point is an quick audit — a way to quickly see what’s missing in a business’s digital presence.

Jack’s first project was helping his best friend’s parents, an orthopedic surgeon and an ophthalmologist in Minnesota. Their websites lacked detailed bios and clear service pages. By fixing those gaps and creating simple blog posts about knee, hip, and cataract surgeries, they began ranking higher on Google and booking more patients.

During a training session at Johns Hopkins, Jack and Dennis Yu ran live audits for businesses owned by students and faculty. One landscaping business had no reviews and an incomplete Google Business Profile. Within days of updating these, they began receiving new calls.

Step 2: Build a Content Factory

Once gaps are identified, the next step is content production. The Content Factory framework breaks this into four steps: produce, process, post, promote.

Jack used this framework to help a client with 190 franchise locations. By recording short Q&A videos with the founder and rolling them out across all locations, the business gained consistent visibility on Google and Facebook.

Dennis and Jack also worked with a roofing company in Texas. They filmed short walkthroughs of completed roof repairs and turned them into posts, blogs, and ads. Calls to the business increased as customers could now see real projects in their own community.

Step 3: Strengthen Reputation

Strong bios, customer testimonials, and online reviews drive trust — and trust drives rankings.

A husband-and-wife team running a $10M appliance repair company in Maryland attended a High Rise Academy session. Their website lacked case studies and their Google reviews were sparse. After adding detailed stories from happy customers and cleaning up their online presence, they called the training “the best ROI we’ve ever gotten in business.”

Another High Rise Academy student helped his father, a dentist in Sacramento, gather video testimonials from patients. Publishing those clips across YouTube and embedding them on the practice’s site quickly boosted local rankings and drove more inquiries.

Personal branding is essential for local leaders, as it shapes how they’re perceived in the community. Building a strong personal brand not only highlights expertise and values but also fosters trust, credibility, and long-term influence.

Step 4: Amplify With Dollar a Day

Once content and reviews are in place, the Dollar a Day method is used to scale.

In Salt Lake City, Chris Miles, a 22-year-old student of High Rise Academy, used Dollar a Day ads to promote his father’s remodeling company. Within the first week, they booked two kitchen remodel projects worth more than $40,000.

In Tampa, another student promoted educational videos for his mother’s chiropractic practice. Local visibility improved immediately, and new patients began booking directly through their site.

Proof From the Classroom

Teaching at Johns Hopkins gave Jack and Dennis a chance to prove the system in front of academics and administrators. Senior staff admitted that the live audits provided more actionable takeaways than many courses offered through their own departments. Students left with real improvements made to their businesses in real time.

A High Rise Academy participant in Denver put the same system into practice for his uncle’s contracting business. By building a proper bio page and publishing project content, the business began ranking for “kitchen remodeling Denver” within weeks.

Building Jobs Through Micro-Agencies

High Rise Academy’s goal goes beyond helping one family business. The program is designed to create a million jobs through micro-agencies. Young adults learn to run audits, build content factories, and manage reputation, then hire virtual assistants to execute the system.

Jack himself now manages a team of overseas VAs who edit videos and distribute content. These jobs, often paying $500–$1,000 per month, are significant sources of income in places like Pakistan and the Philippines.

Why High Rise Academy Matters

Joining High Rise Academy gives young adults the training and mentorship needed to put these systems into practice. Running a quick audit, building a content factory, collecting reviews, and amplifying content with Dollar a Day are all outcomes of the program. By becoming part of High Rise Academy, you gain the structure, community, and live support to apply these methods to your parents’ business or a sponsor business.

Jack used these systems to help surgeons in Minnesota, a $10M appliance company in Maryland, a roofing company in Texas, and a multi-location franchise. Other students have repeated the process for dentists, chiropractors, contractors, and remodelers. The results come as a byproduct of following the program and working alongside peers and mentors.

High Rise Academy is a pathway for young adults who want to build marketable skills, help their families, and create opportunities for themselves. You can learn more and apply by visiting High Rise Academy website. “In just a year and a half, I went from knowing nothing about digital marketing to teaching it at Johns Hopkins. Anyone can do this if they follow the steps.” — Jack Wendt