Changing Things Up!

“Clarity is command. Execution is art. Simplicity is power.”

Coach Will here……

After years of building global businesses—navigating the good, the bad, and the ugly—I've learned one fundamental truth: the quality of your decisions determines the trajectory of your business.

Not your execution. Not your hustle. Not your tools.

Your decisions.

And right now, we're at an inflection point.

AI is fundamentally changing how strategic decisions get made.

However, most approach it backwards—chasing tools instead of improving decisions, and building "AI strategies" instead of strategic advantages.

That's why I'm excited to announce the next evolution of this newsletter today.

StartSmart Insider is becoming the AltLevel™ Strategist.

This isn't just a rebrand.

It's a strategic pivot that will accelerate our growth while helping you expand your knowledge, skills, and business.

Let me explain why this matters to you.

🎯 Why We're Pivoting

Over the past months, I've sent you insights on startups, entrepreneurship, and business building.

You've been generous with your feedback, your questions, and your engagement.

Thank you!

But I've noticed something in your responses: You don't need more information.

You need better frameworks for making strategic decisions.

You're drowning in AI news, startup tips, and tactical advice.

What you're missing are the strategic frameworks that help you cut through the noise and make decisions that compound over time.

You don't need another article about "10 AI tools for productivity."

You need to know which strategic decision, if improved by AI, would 10x your business in the next 12 months.

You don't need more content.

You need alternative intelligence—contrarian perspectives backed by decades of global business experience that challenge conventional wisdom and help you think strategically.

That's what AltLevel™ Strategist delivers.

🔄 What's Changing (And What's Not)

✨ What's NEW:

Sharper Focus on Strategic Decision-Making. Every newsletter will center on one strategic framework you can implement immediately.

Not theory. Not fluff. Actionable frameworks that improve your decision quality.

Alternative Intelligence for Business Builders. We're challenging the conventional narrative of AI.

While everyone else tells you to "implement AI," we'll show you how to use AI to make better strategic decisions. Operator thinking vs. strategist thinking.

Real Experience, Real Frameworks. I'm bringing decades of building global businesses—the wins, the failures, the expensive lessons—into every framework.

You'll get battle-tested strategies, not academic theories.

Copy/Paste AI Power Prompts. Every newsletter includes production-ready AI prompts you can use immediately.

No more "here's a concept"—you'll get "here's the exact prompt that generated results"

Case Studies with Real Numbers. No more vague success stories.

You'll see the exact revenue impact, ROI calculations, and implementation timelines. If I can't show you the numbers, I won't share the case study.

Weekly Delivery. Every Tuesday at 8:00 AM MST.

Consistency builds trust, and I'm committed to showing up every week.

✅ What's STAYING:

No Fluff, All Value. I respect your time.

Every newsletter is designed to deliver immediate, actionable value. If it doesn't help you make better decisions, it doesn't get published.

Community of Strategic Thinkers. You're not a "subscriber." You're a Strategist.

This community is for founders, executives, professionals, and decision makers who think differently about business and AI.

Your Questions Shape the Content. I read every reply. Your biggest challenges become future deep dives.

This newsletter evolves based on what you need, not what I want to write about.

🎨 Our New Brand Identity

AltLevel™ AI represents our commitment to alternative intelligence—thinking that challenges conventional wisdom and helps you reach new levels of strategic performance.

AltLevel™ Strategist is the newsletter that brings this philosophy to life every week.

It's for business builders who understand that operators optimize execution, but strategists optimize decisions.

Our new visual identity reflects this evolution:

• Layered diamond icon - Representing ascending levels of strategic thinking

• Purple to turquoise gradient - Innovation meeting strategic clarity

• Clean, professional design - Premium positioning for premium insights

But the brand is more than visuals. It's a commitment.

🤝 Our Commitment to You

As we evolve into AltLevel™ Strategist, here's what you can count on:

💎 Quality Over Quantity

I could send you daily emails filled with AI news aggregation. I won't.

You'll get one deeply researched, strategically valuable newsletter per week.

Every edition is designed to improve your decision-making, not fill your inbox.

⚡️ Timeliness Without Hype

We'll cover emerging trends (AI agents, machine learning operations, strategic AI implementation), but only when there's a strategic framework to share.

No hype. No FOMO.

Just timely insights that help you position your business for what's next.

⚒️ Actionable Frameworks, Not Abstract Theory

Every framework comes with implementation steps.

Every concept includes a copy/paste AI prompt.

Every case study shows you the exact approach that generated results.

You should be able to implement something from every newsletter within 24 hours.

💡 Contrarian Perspectives Backed by Experience

I've built businesses across continents.

I've made million-dollar mistakes and multi-million-dollar wins. I've seen what works and what fails.

You'll get contrarian insights backed by real experience, not hot takes designed to go viral.

📈 Transparency in Results

When I share a case study, you'll see the real numbers: revenue impact, ROI calculations, implementation costs, and timelines.

When I share a framework, you'll know where it came from and how it's been tested.

No smoke and mirrors.

🚀 What This Means for Your Business

This change isn't just good for us—it's designed to accelerate your growth.

📚 Expand Your Knowledge

You'll learn strategic frameworks that most founders never discover.

The Decision-First Framework. The Agent Coordination Cost Matrix. The Machine-Readable Marketing Stack.

These aren't generic business concepts—they're specific, actionable frameworks that improve decision quality.

🎯 Sharpen Your Skills

Strategic thinking is a skill that compounds over time.

Every newsletter is designed to make you a better strategic thinker.

Better at identifying high-leverage decisions.

Better at mapping information gaps. Better at evaluating AI solutions. Better at implementing minimum viable approaches.

📊 Grow Your Business

Better decisions lead to better business outcomes.

It's that simple.

When you improve the quality of your market selection, customer acquisition, product development, pricing, and resource allocation decisions, revenue follows.

The frameworks you'll learn are designed to create measurable business impact.

⏱️ Save Time and Money

Every framework helps you avoid expensive mistakes.

Every AI prompt saves you hours of work. Every case study shows you what works (and what doesn't) so you don't have to learn the hard way.

The ROI of strategic thinking is massive—one avoided $50K mistake pays for years of learning.

📊 How This Accelerates Our Growth

I want to be transparent about why this evolution benefits both of us.

For you: You get higher-quality, more focused, more actionable strategic insights.

Less noise, more signal. Less theory, more implementation. Less hype, more results.

For us: A sharper focus allows us to build deeper expertise, create more valuable frameworks, and serve a more engaged community of strategic thinkers.

This positions us to grow sustainably while maintaining quality.

The alignment: When you make better strategic decisions and grow your business, you value this newsletter more.

When you value it more, you engage more, share more, and help us grow.

Your success drives our success. That's the right alignment.

In the coming weeks, we'll be introducing a Premium tier for strategists who want deeper implementations, more prompts, and advanced frameworks.

But the core newsletter will consistently deliver exceptional value.

Whether you're a Free or Premium user, you'll always receive actionable, strategic insights.

📆 What to Expect Next Week

Next Tuesday, you'll receive the first official AltLevel™ Strategist newsletter: "The AI Strategy Paradox: Why Your 'AI Strategy' Is Killing Your Business (And What to Do Instead)"

You'll learn:

• Why 73% of founders approach AI backwards (and how the 27% who succeed think differently)

• The Decision-First Framework (Strategy → Decision → AI, never reverse)

• A copy/paste AI prompt that identifies your highest-leverage strategic decision

• A real case study: How an $8M ARR SaaS company increased expansion revenue 340% with one strategic decision

• Your 5-step action plan to implement this week

It's everything this rebrand represents: a contrarian perspective, an actionable framework, real results, and immediate implementation.

⭐️ A Personal Note

Building businesses is hard.

Making strategic decisions with incomplete information is harder.

Navigating the AI revolution while everyone's shouting conflicting advice is hardest.

That's why I'm making this commitment: Every newsletter will help you think more strategically, decide more confidently, and build more successfully.

I've spent decades learning these lessons—often at a high cost.

My goal is to compress that learning into frameworks you can implement immediately, so you can avoid the mistakes I made and accelerate past the competition.

This evolution from StartSmart Insider to AltLevel™ Strategist represents a deepening of that commitment.

Sharper focus. Higher quality. More actionable. More valuable.

It will take us a few weeks to get into a groove, and I appreciate your support and patience.

Thank you for being part of this community.

Thank you for your engagement, your questions, and your trust.

See you next Tuesday with the first AltLevel™ Strategist newsletter.

—Coach Will, Your Chief Strategist

P.S. Reply to this email with one strategic decision you're struggling with right now. I'll use the most common challenges to shape upcoming newsletters. Your questions drive our content.

You're receiving this because you subscribed to StartSmart Insider, now the AltLevel™ Strategist. Same commitment to value, sharper strategic focus.

Subscribe here for your free dose of the AltLevel Strategist!