Dennis Yu mentorship -

Inside High Rise Academy: What You Can See in the Students

Dylan Haugen on December 4, 2025

High Rise Academy exists because there’s a lot of noise in the AI and marketing space, and it’s hard to tell what training actually holds up in the real world. In this High Rise Influence YouTube video, Dennis Yu gave a simple filter for sorting that out. As he put it, “Don’t judge a program by the person selling it. Judge it by the students it produces.”

After Dennis lays out that idea, the video shifts to student builders and lets you hear directly from us about what we’re working on and how we’re applying the training with local service businesses.

The Principle Dennis Shared

Dennis’ point is blunt: it’s easy to make a program look good on the surface. The harder test is what students can actually produce once they’re inside it — their work, their thinking, and how that work holds up when applied to real clients.

That’s why the video centers on the people inside the program. You get to see how students talk about their work, what they’re building, and the kinds of problems they’ve learned to solve for clients.

What High Rise Academy Trains

High Rise Academy is an apprenticeship for young adults who want to build a concrete skill set in AI‑assisted marketing. The training is tied to local service businesses because the work is practical and the feedback is immediate.

Students practice:

Building and improving personal brand sites and business sites
Using AI tools to speed up research, content production, and operational tasks
Running and refining ads using proven systems like Dollar a Day, while tracking performance
Managing deliverables, communication, and client relationships

The idea is to learn repeatable systems and apply them on live accounts, so students leave with work they can stand behind.

Student Examples From the Videos

Dylan Haugen (Me)

I came into the program as a content creator and professional dunker. I knew how to grow an audience, but most of that lived on platforms I didn’t control. The shift for me was learning how to turn content skill into owned assets and clear client value.

What that looked like:

Building a personal brand website I control
Strengthening search presence, including my Knowledge Panel
Learning to package content and relationships into services for local businesses
Delivering real marketing outputs alongside the team

Jack Wendt

Jack’s story shows what happens when someone combines big‑picture vision with consistent execution. He’s been able to travel and still build because he runs work like a professional: projects stay on track, communication stays clear, and relationships keep compounding.

What stands out in his path:

He builds partnerships and opportunities through strong relationships
He keeps a steady operating rhythm even while moving across time zones
He treats marketing like a long game, not a short sprint

Luke Crowson

Luke started in fitness coaching, and Dennis noticed something that carries over into marketing: he cares about outcomes and sticks with a process. Inside the program, Luke applies that mindset to client work that’s built on steady improvement.

His focus areas include:

Campaign structure and ongoing tuning
Landing page and site improvements
Lead quality and follow‑up alignment with owners

The takeaway here is straightforward: consistent, client‑first execution plus good process is what drives dependable results.

Sam McLeod

Sam is still in school and leans heavily into engineering. His role is building tools and workflows that remove repetitive work for students and standardize delivery for clients.

Where that shows up:

Automating tedious steps so students focus on high‑value tasks
Turning proven processes into repeatable workflows
Supporting scale without lowering quality

One Shared Thread

Different backgrounds, same direction: we’re learning practical systems and applying them to real businesses. And the four of us you saw in the video are also building this alongside Dennis. We are founders of High Rise Influence and Local Service Spotlight, so we’re learning how to create an agency, start a business, and pressure‑test what we learn by using it every week.

Advice We Shared at the End

We wrapped the video with short advice for anyone considering this path:

Use AI like a teammate. It helps you draft, research, and troubleshoot faster, but you still steer the work.
Mindset drives follow‑through. Skill only compounds if you stay in the game long enough to apply it.
Aim for steady improvement. Getting a little better daily beats waiting for a perfect moment.
Learn by doing. You grow fastest when you ship work, get feedback, and refine.

Takeaway

Dennis’ filter is simple: student work tells you more than marketing ever will. The video applies that idea by showing what students are building and how they think about the work.

If you’re evaluating any program in AI or marketing, whether it be the High Rise Academy or something else, look for a trail of real output: projects you can inspect, processes students can explain, and progress that shows up across more than one person. That’s the safest way to decide what’s worth your time.

How to Turn Complex Ideas Into Something People Can See

Dylan Haugen on December 1, 2025

Most business owners don’t fail because they’re missing information.
They fail because the message they’re trying to send isn’t being seen the way they think it is.

That point hit me hard during a call with Dennis Yu and Jack Wendt. We were reviewing progress on the cover for our Google Knowledge Panel book that explains the entire process for local service businesses. I was stuck. I kept circling the same surface-level ideas, trying to make technical concepts look visually appealing.

Then Dennis reframed everything.

What he said wasn’t memorized, rehearsed, or scripted. It was him breaking down something simple in a way that cut right to the point:
If people can’t see the idea, they won’t understand it. And if they don’t understand it, they won’t value it.

That single idea changed the direction.

Why Words Weren’t Enough

We already know how to explain the Knowledge Panel system:
how it connects trust signals, organizes your digital presence, and helps Google understand who you are.

But Dennis pointed out that none of that matters unless the business owner can visualize what’s happening.

He compared it to looking at your reflection.

You might have success in the real world—happy clients, strong reviews, awards, a solid reputation—but when you search your own name, the “digital mirror” rarely reflects that truth.
You’ll find outdated information, unrelated people, inconsistent profiles, and mixed-up entities.

The message was simple:
If your reflection is distorted, people won’t see you clearly.

And that’s exactly the point of a Knowledge Panel.

Dennis’s Visual Examples That Changed Everything

Dennis went deeper with a set of visualization examples that helped me finally “see” what he meant:

1. The Reflective Lake

A successful business owner stands at the edge of a lake.
He’s surrounded by gold, 5-star reviews, customer praise—everything that represents real trust.

But when he looks in the water?
He doesn’t see that.

The reflection is blurry, faded, confused.
Waves distort his face.
The image doesn’t match reality.

That’s what Google does when your digital presence isn’t clear.

2. The Foggy Mirror

Imagine a pristine, expensive bathroom inside a beautiful home.
The business owner looks confident—until he looks in the mirror labeled “Google.”

The mirror is fogged over.
You can only see a faint version of his face.
He’s there, but not recognizable.
A faint question mark floats in the condensation.

The outside world sees the room clearly.
The mirror—the digital reflection—is the only thing that’s unclear.

3. The Young Adult “Superman” Transformation

This one also stuck with me.

A quiet, unsure teen walks into a phone booth.
He steps out equipped with the skills, clarity, and confidence needed to help a business owner fix their online presence—almost like a transformation scene.

That’s what High Rise Academy does for young adults, and why our work ties directly into the Knowledge Panel system.

These examples helped me understand what the book and the project need to communicate visually:
Not the mechanics—but the clarity and transformation that business owners actually experience.

The Real Lesson: Clarity Isn’t a Feature. It’s the Foundation.

Dennis explained something I had never fully understood until this call:
people buy clarity, not instructions.

If the idea is presented in a way they can instantly see, everything else clicks into place.

That applies to:

The book
High Rise Academy
How we train young adults
How we communicate with business owners
Every Knowledge Panel or personal brand project we build

It even applies to how we design covers, thumbnails, and frameworks.
The image has to tell the story before the words ever begin.

Why This Matters for High Rise Influence

High Rise Influence isn’t about showing people a set of tactics.
It’s about helping them understand why their digital identity is unclear—and giving them the tools and people who can fix it.

This moment on the call reminded me why building visuals that communicate the true value matters so much.

The business owner needs to see the gap.
The young adult needs to see the path.
And the brand needs to show both instantly.

That level of clarity changes everything.

Not Sure About College Yet? Start Building Skills That Give You Options

Dylan Haugen on November 28, 2025

This video was filmed in Las Vegas during a conference weekend. Four of us sat down—young adults who are actually doing the work every day—to talk through a question we hear constantly: “Should I go to college, or should I do something else first?”

Our answers aren’t identical because our paths haven’t been identical. That’s the point. There isn’t one correct route. There is a smart first move, though: build skills that travel with you.

We All Took Different Paths—and We’re Still Moving Forward

Here’s what that looks like in real life for the four of us in this video:

Jack Wendt didn’t go to college.
Sam is in college right now.
I plan to go to college.
Luke went to college but didn’t finish.

Same table, same conversation, different decisions. Nobody is “behind.” Nobody is locked out of a good career. What separates people early isn’t the label of student or non‑student. It’s whether they’re gaining real ability to create value.

What We Teach Is Practical and Transferable

At High Rise Academy, we work directly with local service businesses, so the training stays grounded in what actually drives growth. The goal isn’t to memorize concepts. It’s to learn how to produce outcomes.

Here’s what apprentices practice in the program:

Using modern tools to speed up research, writing, and creative production.
Turning customer reviews and job photos into content people respond to.
Improving websites so visitors turn into calls and booked jobs.
Running simple ad campaigns and tracking what’s working.
Communicating with business owners and following through on deadlines.
Building repeatable workflows such as the content factory so that results aren’t random.

These skills transfer into almost any lane—whether you end up in business, tech, sales, operations, or entrepreneurship.

Real Ways People Use the Program

People come into High Rise Academy with different starting points, and the same skills end up helping them in different ways. That’s because the Academy sits in the middle of a two-sided market: on one side are local service businesses that need real marketing help, and on the other side are young adults who need real experience. When both sides show up, everybody wins—businesses get growth work done, and apprentices get reps that actually matter.

Some apprentices work directly with local service businesses through the Academy. They learn our systems, build campaigns, and get daily reps on real client work.

Others start close to home by running marketing for their parents’ local service businesses. They’ll fix a website, post content, set up ads, and organize reviews—then see what happens when consistent marketing meets real operations.

Some take that family-business experience and turn it into outside work. That step—from “helping at home” to “helping clients”—is a common bridge.

A good example we talked about is Ethan Murphy. He began by doing marketing for his parents, then applied the same playbook to the fencing niche. Within a few months he had picked up five or six fencing clients and was delivering results fast. He’s basically building a niche agency around that skill set.

Those are four distinct, real outcomes from the same skill set. Same training, different applications—because the two sides of the market keep feeding each other: businesses create the problems worth solving, and apprentices build the skills by solving them.

Why Skills First Makes the College Decision Easier

College can be a good move for some people. It can also be the wrong move for others at a given time.

The problem is that most people are asked to choose before they’ve done enough real work to know what they want.

Skills fix that.

When you can produce useful work:

You have proof of what you’re good at.
You can earn while you learn.
You can switch directions without starting from zero.
You walk into college (if you go) with context instead of guessing.

That’s why we keep saying this program can be an internship, a first job, a career start, or a way to level up a family business. It’s not a narrow track. It’s a skill-builder.

What To Do Next If You’re Still Unsure

If you’re undecided about college, that’s normal. Most people are being asked to choose before they’ve done enough real work to know what fits. Getting real reps first makes the decision a lot clearer.

If you want to learn these skills in a hands-on way, then the High Rise Academy might be right for you. You’ll work on real local service business campaigns, learn modern marketing systems, and build a portfolio that makes your next decision easier.

Behind the Scenes at Local Service Spotlight and High Rise Influence: What We Do and Why It Works

Grant Haugen on November 22, 2025

“What do we actually do here?” is a fair question—especially when you hear us talk about helping local service businesses build their brands. This video was a quick, honest rundown from the Local Service Spotlight (LSS) and High Rise Influence (HRI) team about what that help looks like in real life and who is doing what.

LSS and HRI work together as partners. Our job is to take the everyday work local pros are already doing—jobs completed, customer stories, before‑and‑after wins, and five‑star reviews—and turn that into consistent online visibility and campaigns that bring in more calls.

The Problem We’re Solving for Local Service Businesses

Plumbers, HVAC techs, roofers, and other local service owners don’t usually have time to be full‑time marketers. They’re running routes, answering phones, managing crews, and taking care of customers. That means their online presence often lags behind the quality of their work.

Our teams step in so the business owner doesn’t have to learn five tools, edit videos at midnight, or guess at ads. We build the systems, the content, and the campaigns around their real‑world service so they show up where customers are searching and scrolling.

What Each Role Contributes:

Sam: Engineering, AI Tools, and Automation

Sam McLeod’s focus is speed and leverage. He builds websites and automations, using AI tools and code so repetitive tasks take less time. When content can be repurposed quickly and websites update smoothly, clients get faster turnaround and faster results.

This fits the Content Factory approach BlitzMetrics teaches: create once and repurpose into multiple assets without adding extra workload.

Luke: Facebook Ads, Creative, and Client Care

Luke Crowson handles the marketing side that clients actually see. He creates the ad creatives that go into Facebook campaigns, helps manage spend, and keeps improving the client’s website and online presence.

He also emphasized something most agencies ignore: client care. Meeting with clients, making them feel heard, and staying close to their goals is part of performance. The ads and the website are supposed to make a homeowner feel, “Okay, these people will take care of me.”

When we do this right, we’re applying the same Goals‑Content‑Targeting (GCT) foundation BlitzMetrics lays out—get clear on the goal, build the right content, and aim it at the right audience.

Jack: High Rise Academy Training and the LSS–HRI Bridge

Jack Wendt’s explains how HRI connects directly into the work LSS does through High Rise Academy. HRI runs training while partnering with LSS on tools and processes. Sam helps build the tools students use, and Jack makes sure students know how to apply them.

The students learn to make a local business owner more visible, build better ad campaigns, and drive more calls and revenue for whoever they’re representing. It’s practical training with real businesses, not theory.

Dylan: Content Repurposing, Websites, Ads Support, and Training

Dylan Haugen’s role has been wide by necessity. Over the last six to seven months he’s done content repurposing with AI tools like Descript, worked on client websites, helped create content for local businesses, supported Facebook ads with Luke, and trained Academy students weekly.

He also made a helpful point for anyone watching: the tools we use are intentionally simple. If you’ve ever edited a video before, tools like Descript make repurposing fast once you know the system.

Jack’s Close: Credibility and Invitation

Jack ends by giving real context on the team’s experience: Dylan has generated over 100 million views across his social channels, Luke is known for delivering results with ad spend (including work with Ad Astra), and Sam is the engineer making the backend run smoothly. The invitation was simple—if this kind of work sounds interesting, check out LSS, HRI, and the Academy.

Why LSS and HRI Are Stronger Together

Watching the roles side‑by‑side makes the partnership obvious.

LSS builds and refines the operational system: AI tools, websites, ad creative, and client delivery. HRI multiplies that system by teaching it through High Rise Academy, so more trained people can support more local businesses.

It’s one pipeline from real service work to real marketing output—supported by engineering, creative, and training all moving in sync.

The Big Takeaway

Local service businesses don’t need to reinvent a brand from scratch. They already create proof every day in their jobs and customer outcomes. Our job at LSS and HRI is to capture that proof, repurpose it into content people actually watch, and put it behind campaigns that convert into calls.

If you’re looking for a clear path, real skills, and a way to put them to work on projects that matter, High Rise Academy could be a great fit.

Is This Too Good To Be True? The High Rise Influence Program Explained by Its Founders

Dylan Haugen on November 22, 2025

When people first hear about High Rise Influence, the reaction is almost always the same: “There’s no way this is real.” Free access to training, mentorship from leaders like Dennis Yu, and hands-on experience helping real local service businesses sounds impossible—especially for young adults still figuring out their path.

But the video we filmed together tells a different story. Four of us sat down for a real, honest conversation about where we’re at in life, what this program has done for us, and why we believe it’s worth sharing.

This article breaks down what we shared in that conversation and why the High Rise Influence model works so well for young adults.

Why Young Adults Are Uniquely Positioned to Succeed

In the video, we talked about how each of us founders lives a completely different life. One of us is married and in school. One is 27 and trying to find clear direction. One is 20 and already confident in his path. And then there’s me—I’m still in high school, and I’m a professional dunker.

Even with those differences, we share something important: we grew up surrounded by technology.

A lot of local service business owners haven’t had to live inside social media and modern tools the way we have. It’s not that they’re incapable—it’s just not their world. For young adults, using Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and now AI tools feels natural. We recognize patterns in interfaces and content without thinking about it.

That’s a massive advantage.

Inside High Rise Influence, we lean into that advantage instead of ignoring it. We plug those natural instincts into structured systems like the Content Factory, which breaks down how to market to actually drive results. When you combine what you already know with a clear framework, your skills become valuable very quickly.

Real Experiences We Shared

In the video, each of us shared where we were in life and what led us into this program.

I’m still in high school, and I’m a professional dunker. I travel across the country competing in dunk contests and creating content around that journey. On paper, it looks like I shouldn’t have much time for anything else.

But that’s exactly why my story matters here.

For most of my life, I made social media content just for myself—filming dunks, editing clips, posting on Instagram, and learning what caught people’s attention. I never thought of that as a “professional skill.” It was just something I did because I loved it.

When I got involved with High Rise Influence, I realized those same skills were incredibly valuable to local service business owners. The same instincts I use to pick the best angle on a dunk or to edit a hype clip help me decide what makes a strong testimonial, a compelling ad, or a short that stops people from scrolling.

That’s when it clicked: what feels normal to me can be life-changing for someone’s business.

How High Rise Influence Helps Young Adults Find Purpose

In our conversation, one of the guys talked about hitting 24 or 25 and suddenly asking himself, “What am I actually doing with my life?” That moment hits harder than most people admit.

I’ve seen versions of that same feeling in a lot of young adults—drifting through school, changing majors, trying random jobs, or scrolling all day because nothing feels meaningful.

Purpose didn’t show up for me in some huge, dramatic way. It came from being put in a position where my skills were useful to someone else.

Inside High Rise Influence, purpose looks like:

Helping a local business owner who genuinely needs support
Seeing your work turn into leads, reviews, and real results
Being trusted with responsibility and held accountable
Working alongside other young adults who are aiming higher than “just get by”

Real progress comes from doing real work, learning from your mistakes, and slowly realizing, “I’m actually good at this—and it matters.”

Direction isn’t something you wait around for. You build it through deliberate practice and real work.

Digital Skills Young Adults Already Have

If you’re a young adult reading this, there’s a good chance you already have your own version of the skills needed in this space. You grew up in a digital world—using social media, creating and consuming videos, learning new tools quickly, and navigating technology as second nature.

Most of us don’t even realize how much we’ve picked up just by living online: understanding what makes content engaging, recognizing patterns in how platforms work, and adapting to new features and trends without thinking too hard about it.

Young adults are also surprisingly good at reasoning with AI tools. Because we’re used to technology evolving fast, things like prompting, experimenting, and iterating feel natural. Those instincts translate directly into this work—helping local businesses tell their stories, produce content, and run campaigns that actually perform.

All of these everyday digital habits become valuable when they’re applied inside a clear process with real clients.

A Community Built on Real Work, Not Hype

We’re very clear inside the program: this is not a “get rich quick” scheme.

We’re not promising overnight success or crazy income screenshots. What we’re offering is:

Real work with real local businesses
Systems and frameworks that have been tested
Mentorship from people like Dennis and the rest of the BlitzMetrics and High Rise teams
A community of young adults who are serious about building something

In the video, you can see how much we genuinely enjoy working together. That’s not acting. We joke around, challenge each other, and push each other to do better—not because we’re trying to impress anyone, but because we actually care about the work and the people we’re serving.

How to Get Involved

If you’re a young adult and any of this resonates with you—feeling directionless, wanting to use your existing skills for something that matters, or just wanting a path that isn’t “go to school and hope it works out”—then this is worth exploring.

High Rise Academy is the training path where young adults like me get real-world experience, build portfolios, and learn how to run campaigns the right way.

If you’re looking for direction, purpose, and a place to put your skills to work in a meaningful way, High Rise Academy might be the right next step for you.

How Jack Wendt & Dylan Haugen Coach Young Adults to Build Authority Through AI and Google’s Knowledge Graph

Dylan Haugen on November 16, 2025

When Jack Wendt and I spoke at DigiMarCon Las Vegas 2025, our goal wasn’t just to teach marketing systems — it was to show how young adults can learn to build digital authority using AI, Google’s Knowledge Graph, and structured personal branding systems.

Through High Rise Influence and our coaching package, High Rise Academy, we’ve been training students to take these same tools and frameworks and apply them to real-world clients — often their parents’ or sponsors’ local service businesses. The results have been powerful: students gain tangible experience, and business owners get measurable growth in visibility, reputation, and authority.

The Topic Wheel: Coaching People to See Their Story

We opened our session with the Topic Wheel, a framework originally developed by Dennis Yu to help individuals map their expertise and professional network.

In the middle sits your name. Around it are your six core topics — the key areas you want to be recognized for. What makes this framework so valuable is the connections it reveals. Each topic branches to people you’ve collaborated with — mentors, clients, and peers.

For example, Jack shared how his first mentor, Caleb Williams, founder of BetterWealth, helped him discover his purpose and eventually introduced him to Dennis Yu. That one connection led to a chain of opportunities that shaped both of our paths — and that’s what we coach our students to recognize: authority grows through relationships built on shared content and collaboration.

When our students map their own Topic Wheels, they begin to understand how their interests, work, and connections form a digital fingerprint that Google can see — one that can be built into lasting authority.

The Content Factory: Turning Coaching Into Action

Once you’ve mapped your expertise, the next step is turning your real-world experience into structured, shareable content. That’s where the Content Factory comes in — the four-stage system we teach inside High Rise Academy:

Produce — Capture what’s already happening: interviews, team meetings, client calls, or training sessions.
Process — Use AI tools like Descript to clean up audio, remove filler words, and transcribe content automatically.
Post — Repurpose that material into videos, blogs, or short-form posts for multiple platforms.
Promote — Test which content performs best with strategies like the Dollar-a-Day ad method and scale from there.

We tell every student: the hardest step is just pressing record. Once content exists, the rest can be automated with the right tools and structure.

For example, we had students film five-minute clips interviewing a family business owner. They used Descript to edit the footage, exported it for YouTube and Facebook, and then generated blog posts using a custom GPT trained on our writing standards. Within a week, those small businesses had content outperforming their competitors — all while our students learned real skills that transfer to any career in marketing or media.

The Google Knowledge Graph: Understanding Digital Trust

We then demonstrated how Google’s Knowledge Graph is the backbone of modern authority. Every recognized person, business, or brand is assigned a Knowledge Graph MID — a digital ID number used by Google to verify who you are and what you’re known for.

We pulled mine up live — Dylan Haugen, trust score 259 — and explained what it means: Google has enough consistent data from multiple verified sources to confidently associate me with my work, media mentions, and social content.

We use this same concept in coaching. For our students, the Knowledge Graph becomes a tangible way to measure progress. As they help real clients organize websites, link social accounts, and publish consistent content, they see those clients’ digital trust scores grow — and sometimes even reach the point where Google generates a Knowledge Panel (the “blue checkmark” of search).

This transforms abstract lessons about SEO and branding into real, measurable outcomes — and it gives young professionals a way to prove they can deliver results.

AI Tools in Coaching: From Learning to Application

During our talk, Jack showed the audience how we use Descript and Custom GPTs in our workflow. Using just a YouTube link, Descript imported the video, transcribed it automatically, and with a few clicks, removed filler words, shortened pauses, and improved audio quality.

From there, we took that transcript into our in-house writing assistant, Jennifer, a custom GPT designed for the High Rise content process. We demonstrated how to refine AI output — removing emojis, bullet lists, and generic phrasing to create content that sounds professional, human, and true to the speaker’s voice.

This hands-on process is exactly what we coach. AI should not replace creativity — it should amplify it. Our students learn to collaborate with AI, giving clear direction and improving the work it produces. That’s what separates automation from craftsmanship.

Mentorship in Action: Learning by Doing

A major part of our mission at HiRISE Influence is mentorship through real work. Inside High Rise Academy, students don’t just learn from lessons — they gain experience by implementing these systems for actual businesses.

Students get matched with real clients — local service businesses that need help building their personal brands. The students create and manage content using AI systems, measure Google authority scores, and apply everything we teach in a live environment.

This structure bridges generations: business owners share experience and trust; students bring digital fluency and energy. Together, they produce meaningful work that benefits both sides — and both learn in the process.

The Future of Coaching: From Training to Implementation

At High Rise Influence, everything we do is built around the Learn–Do–Teach model. We don’t just teach theory — we coach young adults to implement what they learn through hands-on mentorship.

That’s why our collaboration with Local Service Spotlight and their Spotlight Core program is so powerful. While Spotlight Core provides affordable personal brand websites and authority-building systems for business owners, it also gives our students a live environment to apply their training.

Inside High Rise Academy, our students use these same frameworks — the Content Factory, the Topic Wheel, and Knowledge Graph optimization — to help real businesses grow. They gain skills, build portfolios, and see the real-world impact of what they’ve learned.

That’s what makes our coaching unique: it’s not about memorizing concepts, but mastering them through execution and mentorship.

Final Thoughts

Speaking alongside Jack at DigiMarCon Las Vegas 2025 was an incredible opportunity to share what we’ve been building through HiRISE Influence and High Rise Academy. It proved that with the right structure, coaching, and mindset, anyone — whether a business owner or a student — can become a trusted authority online.

Authority isn’t claimed. It’s built, demonstrated, and reinforced through content, collaboration, and consistency. And our mission at HiRISE Influence is to help the next generation learn how to build it for themselves — and teach others to do the same.

The 6 Phases of the Social Amplification Engine

Dennis Yu on November 14, 2025

Most people treat digital marketing like a slot machine, pull a lever, and pray for leads. The Social Amplification Engine (SAE) fixes that. Instead of chasing hacks, trends, or whatever a YouTube guru is yelling about this week, SAE gives you a predictable, repeatable system for visibility, engagement, and conversions across every channel.

If your business already converts and you have at least a little bit of content and reputation, you’re sitting on a gold mine. SAE simply turns up the volume.

Let’s walk through the six phases.

1. Plumbing

Before you touch ads, boosting, or “going viral,” your plumbing must be airtight. This is the tracking, tagging, and audience-building infrastructure that makes everything else work.

Without plumbing, you’re basically flying blind while paying Facebook to keep the lights on.

Plumbing includes:

Google Tag Manager (your command center).
Google Analytics.
Google Ads + MCC.
Facebook Business Manager.
Remarketing tags across all channels.
Custom audiences, URL parameters, triggers, pixels.
AMP + Instant Articles if needed.

This isn’t glamorous; nobody posts screenshots bragging about their event tags. But proper plumbing is what lets you see where each dollar is actually working. It’s the reason seasoned marketers crush amateurs running “gut-feel ads.”

If you want to go deep, the Digital Plumbing Course is the playbook.

2. Goals

Most businesses skip straight to ads and then wonder why nothing works. SAE forces you to get clear first.

You need two things:

A mission: your WHY, rooted in who you serve.
Numbers that define success: your cost per lead, your ROAS, your 90-day outcome, your #ACC (Awareness, Consideration, Conversion) metrics.

Goals tell your content team what to create. They tell your ads team what to amplify. And they prevent you from chasing “vanity metrics” like reach and likes that look great but don’t move revenue.

Set the goals now, then hit them repeatedly.

3. Content

Great content isn’t about fancy cameras or being “viral.” It’s about authenticity and distribution.

Content inside SAE falls into three buckets:

Authority (third-party proof)

Reviews, PR mentions, podcasts, articles, stories.
This converts better than anything because it’s not you bragging; it’s others validating.

WHY content

Your 3-minute WHY video. Your story. What you stand for.

The 6 Phases of the Social Amplification Engine

This builds trust and turns cold audiences warm.

One-minute videos + micro content

Answers to objections. How-tos. Behind-the-scenes moments.
These feed your remarketing engine forever.

Your Content Library is where everything lives: positive mentions, topic wheels, greatest hits, raw footage, snippets, and repurposed posts.

The Content Factory process turns all this into a nonstop pipeline of assets: long-form → short-form → snippets → articles → emails → ads.

If you don’t have content, good news: your camera roll is full of it.

4. Targeting

This is where most businesses accidentally burn money, by showing the wrong content to the wrong audience at the wrong time.

Targeting in SAE fixes that through people-based marketing:

Owned audiences

Email lists.
Website visitors (1/30/180-day buckets).
App users.
Video viewers.
CRM segments.
Existing customers.

Lookalikes

Based on:

Purchasers.
Leads.
High-value page visitors.
Viewers of key videos.

Core interests

Competitors.
Industry influencers.
Media outlets.
Shared customer interests.

Targeting is how we build funnels like:
Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Loyalty → Advocacy

This is where chains, sequences, and remarketing come alive.
This is where those one-minute videos start printing money.

You’re now running true cross-channel marketing (email, Google, Facebook, YouTube, website, podcast, events) all synced and sequenced.

5. Amplification

Once the first four phases are in place, it’s time to amplify, not before.

Amplification ≠ advertising.
Amplification = paid word-of-mouth.

We don’t guess. We don’t “spray and pray.”
We take the top-performing organic content and boost it to the right audiences.

This includes:

Boosting 3–5 “greatest hits” posts.
Dollar-a-Day ads.
Video view campaigns.
Remarketing ads for abandoners.
Unpublished (dark) posts.
Media inception ads.
Thank You Machine posts.
Roundups, listicles, social commenting.

Amplification is how you:

Reach more people who look like your best customers.
Stay in front of warm audiences.
Drive conversions without being pushy.
Seed press, influencers, and partners.

This is the stage where most businesses finally say, “Wow, Facebook actually works now.”

Because you’re a system, not a random post-and-pray operator.

6. Optimization

Optimization is where the pros separate from the amateurs.

You monitor your metrics decomposition.
You compare this period vs. last period.
You update lookalikes.
You adjust budgets.
You refine your audiences.
You find the next three things to execute this week.

You don’t chase hacks.
You don’t rebuild the funnel every month.
You optimize what’s already working.

Optimization never ends, and that’s a good thing.
Because once a system works, scaling it is just math.

Why the Social Amplification Engine Works

Because it’s built on 3 principles that never change:

1. Word-of-mouth beats advertising. Social ads don’t create desire; they amplify what’s already working.

2. Cross-channel > single channel. Your audience lives everywhere. Your marketing should too.

3. Data + content + sequencing = unfair advantage.

Custom audiences let you follow people across:

Social.
Search.
Email.
Website.
Apps.
Events.
Offline touchpoints.

That’s digital word-of-mouth at scale.

This is the same engine used by major sports teams, franchises, professional services, and thousands of local businesses. It works for plumbers, chiropractors, roofers, attorneys, and anyone who already has customers and content.

When the 6 phases work together, you get:

Higher conversion rates.
Lower ad costs.
Stronger authority.
More warm leads.
Better SEO.
A system your team can follow.
Predictable results.

SAE isn’t magic.
It’s not “growth hacking.”
It’s a checklist-driven machine that turns brand, content, and targeting into revenue.

If you have something that already works (even a little), this engine makes it work a whole lot better.

Client Meeting Checklist: Before, During, and After the Call

Dennis Yu on November 13, 2025

Most people treat client meetings like a chore. They show up unprepared, ramble for an hour, and wonder why the client doesn’t respect them.

That’s not how we operate.

A client meeting is a performance. It’s where you prove you’ve done the work, you understand their business better than the last dozen “experts” they hired, and you can move the project forward without wasting anybody’s time.

Here’s the real system: what to do before, during, and after the meeting so you look like a pro instead of a flailing rookie.

Before the meeting: This is where you win or lose

If you’re prepping during the meeting, you’ve already lost. The client can smell it. So let’s avoid that embarrassment.

Know the client like you actually care

Don’t go into a meeting blind. Do your homework.

What are their goals?
What content do they have?
What audiences matter?
What’s their personal stake?
Who is actually showing up to the call, and what do they care about?

Look them up on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, wherever.
This isn’t stalking. It’s called being a professional.

Executives notice when you know the details. They also notice when you don’t.

Lock down the logistics

If it’s virtual:

Use the correct Zoom account.
Test your mic and camera like a grown-up.
Put your camera on top of your monitor.
Put the Zoom window right under the camera so it looks like you’re actually looking at them instead of staring at your own face in the corner.

If it’s in person:

Show up early. Not “on time.” Early.
Bring printed materials.
Leave your phone and laptop shut. Your attention is the flex.

Prepare the actual materials (not a data dump)

A report isn’t enough. Anyone can dump numbers into a Google Doc.

Your job is to analyze, not regurgitate.

You need:

A clean Success Tracker.
The GCT evaluation.
A Quick Audit.
Results with interpretation.
A real agenda (not a random list of thoughts).

Then run it through someone senior for a sanity check.
One typo and the client starts wondering what else you missed.

Send the agenda + “looking forward” note

The day before the meeting:

Send the agenda.
Send any pre-reading.
Post a “Looking forward to our meeting tomorrow” message in Basecamp.
Make sure the Zoom link is correct (stop making clients chase you for it).

It takes 30 seconds and instantly makes you look organized.

Set expectations like a leader

You’re not a vendor taking orders. You’re the one driving the process.

So you set expectations:

“This should take no more than 30 minutes. Here’s what we’ll cover. Here’s what we need decisions on.”

Clients love clarity.
They hate surprises.

During the meeting: Run the room

This is your stage. Don’t wander onto it looking lost.

Start with structure

Kick off the meeting with confidence:

Agenda.
Introductions.
What decisions need to be made?
Quick tie-back to the previous meeting so it’s clear you actually remember things.

No rambling. No awkward small talk unless it serves a purpose.

Don’t look like you’re half-listening

Some ground rules:

No multitasking.
No typing during in-person meetings.
No phone on the table.
Eyes on the camera.
Sit up straight, you don’t need to hunch like you’re defusing a bomb.

People pick up on micro-signals. Your posture tells them whether you’re confident or guessing.

Notes = action items

Notes should be:

What needs to be done.
Who owns it.
When it’s due.
What depends on what.

That’s it. Nobody needs a transcript.

Call out at the beginning who is taking notes so the client knows the trains are running on time.

Keep the meeting tight

Most client calls default to “one hour” because nobody has the spine to challenge it.

You do.

If you prepare properly, a great meeting rarely needs more than 30 minutes.

Stay on the agenda.
Don’t go down rabbit holes.
Focus on decisions, not storytelling.

Executives want the executive summary.
Give it to them early and often.

End like a professional

Never end a meeting with “Alright… I think that’s everything?”

Here’s your script:

“Okay, Tom, here are the items we agreed on. Let me know if I missed anything.”

Then ask:

“Anything we can do to make you look good?”
“Any feedback for me?”
“Anything you’re worried about that we haven’t addressed?”

Then, and this is key, schedule the next meeting before anyone hangs up.
The calendar is where momentum lives.

After the meeting: Close the loop

This is where average account managers drop the ball. Not you.

Clean up your notes (same day)

If your notes read like a toddler typed them, fix them before posting.

Then drop them in the Basecamp Client Meetings thread the same day.

Same. Day.

Upload the recording

Put the Zoom recording next to the notes.
This saves your team from asking you the same questions five times.

Convert notes into actual tasks

Put every action item into:

Basecamp To-Dos.
With owners.
With deadlines.
With dependencies.

Don’t trust your memory. Memory lies.

Reply like a pro, not a panicked intern

If the client:

Emails you + CCs leadership:

Reply in that thread. Everyone stays in the loop.

Messages you privately:

Reply in Basecamp or with a quick call depending on urgency.

The executive summary: Your superpower

This is the only section executives reliably read.
So make it count.

It should include:

Their goals.
What we’ve done.
What we’re doing next.
Results, conversions, ROI.
Budget changes.
Dependencies.
Time remaining in the project.
What to expect next.

Make it:

Clear.
Bold.
No passive voice.
No “legal document” tone.
No saying “their”, talk directly to them.

Executives want clarity, confidence, and direction.

The mindset: every minute should feel worth $50

When a client meets with you, they should feel like:

“This was worth my time. These guys are sharp.”

We’re here to run multi-million-dollar campaigns, improve people’s businesses, and give clients the confidence that they’re in good hands.

You do that by owning the meeting, start to finish.

Leadership Lessons Behind David Carroll’s $100M Company

Dennis Yu on November 10, 2025

I met David Carroll over ten years ago when he was running a local home-service business. He didn’t come from a marketing background. He came from long days in the field, late nights trying to figure out how to get more customers, and an endless curiosity about why things worked the way they did.

That curiosity made him stand out. He wasn’t looking for shortcuts or “secrets.” He wanted to understand. That’s the first thing I teach every entrepreneur inside High Rise Academy—if you stay curious and keep testing, you can build systems that outlast luck.

Today, David runs Dope Marketing, a print automation company approaching a $100M valuation. He’s proof that the right combination of curiosity, consistency, and humility can turn local hustle into scalable infrastructure.

The student mindset

When I first met him, David was experimenting with Facebook ads, CRMs, and every kind of list imaginable. He’d show me screenshots of tests he ran overnight—different targeting rules, landing pages, and lookalikes. He wasn’t trying to look smart. He was trying to learn.

“If someone else has figured it out, I know I can learn it too,” he said. “I’ll just work harder until I understand it.”

That mindset hasn’t changed. Even now, when he’s leading a fast-growing team, he’s still a student first. Every conversation we’ve had over the years—about automation, delegation, or leadership—comes back to the same principle: you can’t teach what you haven’t done.

That’s the heart of High Rise Academy—learn deeply, execute honestly, then teach from proof.

Turning experience into systems

Dope Marketing came from David noticing something most people ignored: print was slow, manual, and stuck in the past. “I realized it wasn’t about ink or machines,” he told me. “It was about timing. If you can tie mail to real events, it becomes modern again.”

So he built software to automate the timing—sending direct mail when jobs close, when reviews post, or when customers go inactive. It’s one of the cleanest examples I’ve seen of someone building systems around real-world signals.

Most people chase novelty. David modernized something old—and that’s often where the biggest opportunity hides.

Building around your weaknesses

David used to often talk about how hard it was to manage people. He’s a visionary—full of energy and ideas—but not a natural manager.

“I finally realized I can’t lead by chaos,” he said. “I need structure.”

He built around that truth instead of pretending it didn’t exist. He brought in an integrator to handle day-to-day operations, limited his direct reports, and started running meetings with written expectations.

That shift—from improvising everything to documenting everything—is one of the hardest lessons for entrepreneurs to learn. It’s also the line between being a founder and becoming a real CEO.

Inside High Rise Academy, we call that scaling yourself out of the bottleneck.

The discipline of transparency

David talks openly about his past, including mistakes that most people would hide. That authenticity is part of why people trust him now. “I’ve been through the worst of it,” he said. “Once you tell the truth, there’s nothing left to be scared of.”

That kind of transparency is a competitive advantage. It builds trust faster than marketing ever could. And it’s what I’ve always respected about him—he owns his story completely.

That’s what I try to teach our students: your real story is your strongest asset. Don’t bury it under branding. Shape it into something that helps others.

From chaos to calm

In the early years, David would text me about how overwhelming it was—dozens of clients, long nights, constant changes. Now, he talks about calm. He prepares when things are good, not when they’re falling apart. “If everything’s smooth,” he says, “that’s when I start asking what could break next.”

That’s the mark of maturity in business. Anyone can react when it’s on fire. The real pros build resilience while things are quiet.

Growth that matters

What I admire most about David isn’t the valuation. It’s the balance. He got sober with his wife. He’s deliberate about his schedule. He still works hard, but he’s not trying to be everywhere or prove everything.

“I’ve been around billionaires,” he told me. “I don’t want that life. I just want to build something real, take care of my people, and be home for dinner.”

That’s what success looks like when you finally define “enough.”

The takeaway for founders

David’s evolution—from running a power washing truck to leading a national software-powered print company—isn’t about luck. It’s about mastering a few timeless habits:

Learn it before you lead it.
Build systems that work without you.
Hire for curiosity, not credentials.
Be honest about your weaknesses.
Stay calm when things are going well—and prepare for what’s next.

These are the same principles we teach inside High Rise Academy. The goal isn’t to make you busier—it’s to help you think and operate like a real owner.

If you’ve built something good but know it can run smoother, that’s where the next level starts.

Join High Rise Academy — Learn the systems, leadership frameworks, and operating habits that have guided entrepreneurs like David Carroll to build companies that grow without burning out their founders.

What Makes Young Professionals Like Dylan Haugen Succeed — And Why Most Don’t

Dennis Yu on November 10, 2025

When I first met Dylan Haugen, he was a 17-year-old student who somehow managed to balance school, dunk training, client work, and real business responsibilities — all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Most people at that age are still figuring out how to manage their homework, but Dylan was already managing clients, editing podcasts, creating content, and mentoring others in the High Rise Academy.

Over time, I’ve seen hundreds of young adults try to build digital marketing careers. Some thrive, others fade. The difference isn’t raw intelligence or talent — it’s execution and communication. Dylan proves that success comes down to a few fundamental habits.

1. Action Beats Overwhelm

When people join the High Rise Academy, they’re faced with dozens of tools, emails, and systems. Some freeze under the pressure; others dive in. Dylan’s first lesson was to take action — even if it’s messy. He doesn’t let a full inbox sit for weeks or overthink small details. He moves, adapts, and communicates.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about not letting small tasks pile up until they become impossible. That simple discipline is what separates the professionals from the dreamers.

2. Time Management Is Everything

Dylan’s schedule isn’t forgiving — he’s in school from 8 to 3:30, trains daily for dunk contests, and still finds hours each day to deliver for clients. When I asked him how he does it, he said something simple: “There’s downtime everywhere. You just have to stop wasting it.”

Whether it’s 15 minutes between classes or an hour after dinner, Dylan uses those windows to move projects forward. That’s what real remote work looks like — not clocking in for a shift, but owning outcomes and using your time wisely.

3. Communication Creates Freedom

Remote work only works when people communicate. If Dylan’s traveling for a dunk contest or on a family trip, he doesn’t disappear — he lets his team know in advance, asks someone to cover tasks, and ensures the project stays on track.

That’s a skill most adults struggle with. But it’s the foundation of leadership: taking ownership and respecting others’ time.

4. From Hourly Work to Ownership

Dylan’s path in the High Rise Academy followed a clear progression. He started with hourly work, proved he could deliver consistently, then began managing others, leading projects, and now co-founding Local Service Spotlight with other graduates.

This is how real entrepreneurs are built — not through a single “big break,” but through structured progression: learning the basics, proving reliability, and earning ownership.

Why This Matters

There’s no shortage of young people who say they want to start a business. But very few understand what it actually takes: organization, communication, consistency, and initiative. Dylan embodies that.

If you’re a student or young professional who wants to build real skills — not just consume motivational content — the High Rise Academy is where you start. You’ll learn to manage projects, communicate with clients, and use AI tools that real businesses depend on.

Ready to build a career that actually matters?
Join the next cohort of High Rise Academy and start learning the skills that helped Dylan turn his education into real-world impact.