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By Alan W One thing I keep noticing, in my own work and in the businesses I spend time with: the moment you try to communicate everything, you communicate nothing. It happens easily. You start solving one problem. Then you notice three more problems next door. You can genuinely help with those too. So you expand — the offer, the message, the positioning. And before long, nobody quite knows what you do, including, sometimes, you. This is not a strategy failure. It's a clarity

By Alan W You don’t always need a new strategy. Sometimes you just need a small course correction. Although I’m using a platform business model in this example, the principle applies to almost any business. Things change while you’re building. Customer behaviour changes. Demand changes. Supply changes. Priorities change. If you don’t notice it early enough, you can end up solving the wrong problem. I think of it like a pilot flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town. If the wind

By Alan W AI is changing how we build, code, and design. But here’s the catch: it’s not just about speed or automation. From my own...

By Alan W One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a platform founder and advisor is this: Your sellers will quietly reveal the...

By Alan W Emerging Innovations in Marketplaces: AI as Foundational Infrastructure. AI isn’t just an add-on anymore. It’s becoming...

By Alan W Most people think network effects are only for giant platforms like Uber, Airbnb, or LinkedIn. But the truth is: network...

By Alan W When founders think about AI, the focus is usually on the product side — recommendation engines, smarter search, dynamic...

By Alan W One of the most frustrating challenges in platform/marketplace building? Users who sign up but then go silent. They browse once...

By Alan W Not every platform or marketplace should look like Airbnb.Yet too many founders default to a model they think works — without...

By Alan W At DNA-Business, we work with founders across all kinds of industries — platforms, marketplaces, creatives, service businesses...