Your Async Innovation Advisor
Enjoy the Flexibility of Our Async Advisory Package
We empower you in a flexible manner without live meetings, tailored to fit your busy schedule
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Async Innovation Advising: How It Works
Receive relevant and action-oriented strategic guidance based on your top priority without meetings.
(Learn more about our packages and pricing.)
The below illustrates our standard “trial period” engagement, which can be modified based on your needs.
Three key phases
• Phase 1: Problem Refinement. Clearly refine the top challenge to ensure focused solutions
• Phase 2: Solution Prototyping. Release initial implementations and/or quick wins to assess impact
• Phase 3: Solution Iteration. Improve solutions and next steps based on feedback and insights
Trial Period Engagement
Every engagement begins with a low-risk trial period, allowing us to ensure that the relationship is a mutually-beneficial fit. There is zero obligation to continue after the trial period.
Phase 1: Scope & Problem Refinement (1-2 weeks)
Clearly refine the top challenge to ensure focused solutions
Own | Own / Deliverable | Average Timing |
Client | • Align on Scope of Work • Sign Contract with Confidentiality Agreement • Pay Invoice | Must complete to start engagement |
Advisor Client | • Ask questions to refine problem and constraints async • Synthesize information to refine problem • Name start date in writing • Share relevant existing data or artifacts • Confirm primary point of contact • Answer key questions and confirm refinement | 1-2 weeks |
Phase 2: Solution Prototyping (3-6 weeks)
Release initial implementations and/or quick wins to assess impact
Own | Own / Deliverable | Average Timing |
Advisor | • Share template roadmap of key steps, based on the materials • Share reading materials and templates based on top need • Respond to client questions and make needed refinements | 1-2 weeks |
Client | • Modify roadmap of key steps based on needs and constraints • Draft materials and quick wins with target market • Provide feedback on engagement via survey | 2-4 weeks |
Phase 3: Solution Iteration (3-6 weeks)
Improve solutions and next steps based on feedback and insights
Own | Own / Deliverable | Average Timing |
Both | • Provide feedback on client's progress and implementations based • Provide feedback on a roadmap of next steps given new learnings • Respond to client questions and requests for help • Optional: Draft/publish a blog/social post | 1-2 weeks |
Client | • Refine deliverables and roadmap based on feedback • Provide feedback on engagement via survey • Discuss and share decision to continue past the “trial period” in writing | 2-4 weeks |
Innovation Advisor to Strategic Social Impact Executives
With Dan, you get great strategic thought partnership, high emotional intelligence, and excellent execution.
Dan is an excellent product leader. His work as our product lead for our major partnership with a global, public digital workflow company was outstanding. He owned this strategic project with minimal onboarding and delivered results weeks ahead of schedule. Because Dan generated the trust he could lead the project, he ultimately freed up my time to focus on broader co-founder-level priorities & advanced us in a big way towards one of our major strategic GTM goals. Dan is willing to not only roll up his sleeves to create detailed API specs but also think broadly about project risks and success. For instance, he thoughtfully helped us avoid a potentially suboptimal experience with a major lead and made progress, despite coordination challenges, by working with the devs on both teams directly. Ultimately, his focus on GTM/CS-aligned product management is a breath of fresh air. I’m excited to work with Dan on more projects as a thought partner. He made a difficult project look easy!
- Co-Founder & CEO (City Innovate-Series A) and ex-Chief Innovation Officer (City of San Francisco)
There were moments when I could not see light at the end of the tunnel. I survived because of his guidance and support.
Dan Wu has been an exceptional executive coach. In short, there were moments when I could not see light at the end of the tunnel. I survived because of his guidance and support. He has provided invaluable strategic guidance with a diverse array of problems — including target market selection, GTM opportunity prioritization, operational efficiency, grant proposals, sales, pricing, negotiation, product strategy, & board management — helped me secure new revenue and validate emerging business models. His responsiveness, project management skills, and proactive approach have also helped me enhance organization, focus, and clarity to our GTM and revenue operations. Dan's coaching has been instrumental in tackling challenges in real time, and his ability to pivot seamlessly based on new information has proven invaluable. He is also a pleasure to work with. In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend him to any organization seeking transformative growth.
- Executive Director, JustFix (funded by Robin Hood, Open Society, & Chan Zuckerberg Initiative)
It’s hard to put into words how transformative my time with Dan has been…Because of Dan’s guidance, I’m now far better equipped to lead the Working Families Party’s data and technology department, particularly in the realm of fundraising.
It’s hard to put into words how transformative my time with Dan has been. He was the catalyst for a real turning point in my career, helping me see myself as a strong manager and leader before I even believed it myself. Dan has an uncanny ability to match my direct, to-the-point communication style, which created a deep level of trust right from the start. I always felt I could be completely honest with him—and his thoughtful, in-kind responses never failed to steer me in the right direction.
Because of Dan’s guidance, I’m now far better equipped to lead the Working Families Party’s data and technology department, particularly in the realm of fundraising—a space that was uncharted territory for us. With his help, we’re opening up new revenue streams to support our data and tech ambitions, which is something that simply wouldn’t have happened without his strategic insights. Gosh, I think I've only just scratched the surface of what Dan knows; we could have another year-long engagement to go deeper.
There were times I walked into our sessions feeling like I’d hit a wall—that I couldn’t possibly keep going. Dan was always ready with tangible, practical advice that helped me push through an incredibly tough year. His knack for translating complex ideas into direct, actionable steps gave me the momentum I needed in everything from leadership challenges to startup-style fundraising efforts.
If Dan and I hadn’t worked together, I wouldn’t have gained the perspective, clarity, and level-headedness needed to navigate critical conversations both internally and externally. I can say with total confidence that our organization, WFP, is in a much better spot because of Dan.
I wholeheartedly recommend Dan to anyone seeking an advisor with deep business expertise and an empathetic yet rigorous, action-oriented approach.
- Chief Technology Officer, Working Families Party (funded by Tides, Rockefeller Family Fund, and Democracy Alliance)
Dan helped me tremendously improve my strategic positioning and website; my network has already complimented me on how much clearer and more compelling my offer is.
He helped me navigate through the complexities of the larger ecosystem in which my work is embedded to simplify what matters most for my local market, authentically reflecting my approach. Dan’s workshops helped me understand what I needed or didn’t need and speak to a broader audience, outside of a very slim academic one. The clarity and cohesiveness he brought to my messaging, especially around the 'Co-Cities' framework, have been invaluable. In addition to his live workshop sessions, he shared very useful guides and templates in advance that I could easily understand and apply, helping me sharpen core concepts like what success means for my website, the differentiated value proposition, and the call to action. Dan truly cares and I’m grateful for this opportunity to work with him and I’m dedicated to finding more ways to work with him on more projects. If you're looking for someone who can help you cut through the noise and truly amplify your message, Dan Wu is the strategic expert you need. Highly recommended.
- Executive Director of LabGov-US; Law & Public Policy Professor at Columbia and Georgetown
Strategic Vision: Innovation Advisor Field Notes
How to create a high-impact strategic vision so you can drive community impact
Gallery view
When to Quit Your Job: Questions to Ask Yourself First
Messaging and Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections Pt2 (Offers)
Messaging and Positioning Template: Learning From Data
Messaging and Positioning Template: Testing
Messaging and Positioning Template: Ideal Client Profile
Messaging and Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections Pt1
Messaging and Positioning Template: Marketplace Category
Messaging and Positioning Template: Differentiator
Messaging and Positioning Template: Core Unmet Needs
Messaging and Positioning Template for Social Impact Leaders
Quick Micro Feedback with a Well-Crafted Voice of Customer Survey
Tech-Enabled Services Versus SaaS Business Model: Key Metrics
Founder-Market Fit: Essential CEO Skills
Founder Market Fit: Intellectual Curiosity and Unmet Customer Needs
Founder Market Fit: The Overlooked Path to Your Ideal Client Profile
Donor Retention: Impact Stories for Nonprofit Effectiveness
Build Storytelling Skills for Emotional Impact and Donor Retention
Effective Donor Retention: Impact Stories in the Donor Journey
Successful Donor Retention with Compelling Impact Stories
Ideal Client Profile: Why You Need Strategic Learning
Three Prompts to Uncover Your Founder-Market Fit in Your Innovation Strategy
5 Great Questions for Nonprofit Storytelling and Donor Retention
City of the Future: Co-cities to Empower Communities (Fordham)
City of the Future: Empower Communities (Fast Company)
Responsible Tech: Empowering Communities Through Data Trust (Bloomberg)
The Future of Technology is in Highly Regulated Industries (Techcrunch)
Housing Innovation: Ideas to Empower Communities (Techcrunch)