https://hillierconsulting.com.au/

Hillier Consulting, 3765 W Dublin Drive, Eagle, ID (2026)

02/25/2026

The New Tech Trade Blocs Are Being Built in Real Time. Most Startups Are Not Paying Attention.

The most important signal in the State of the Union was more than just a sound bite. It was the direction of travel.

The US is pro-actively doubling down on a trusted-partner model for advanced technology and supply chains. At the same time, tariff policy is being used more openly as an economic and strategic tool.

Analysts are already flagging this as a source of market uncertainty, but for founders and investors it's something else entirely.

It changes where you can scale.

We're watching the emergence of a semiconductor and AI corridor built around politically aligned nations.

The goal is straightforward: reduce dependency on China for advanced chips, critical inputs and high-end compute while deepening integration with countries such as Japan and India.

Rather than a trade story, it's a market access story.

For startups, the implication is practical:

Your TAM is no longer defined only by demand.
It's now defined more by alignment.

A company building in AI, robotics, defence tech, climate, advanced manufacturing or sensitive data sectors will increasingly face three questions:

• Where's your tech stack sourced?
• Where does your data live and flow?
• Which geopolitical system are you native to?

Those answers will influence procurement eligibility, enterprise contracts, export controls, partnership options and ultimately valuation.

This is already visible in:

– Chip fabrication location requirements tied to public funding
– Security-driven vendor selection in cloud and AI
– “Friend-shoring” of manufacturing and critical minerals
– Investment screening on both inbound and outbound capital

In other words, PMF is now necessary but not sufficient.

You also need corridor fit.

For investors, this creates a new lens for diligence.

Two companies with identical technology and traction won't carry the same risk profile if one's structurally aligned to a trusted supply chain and the other's exposed to a contested one.

Geopolitics is becoming a balance-sheet variable.

For founders, this is now a strategy lever, not a constraint.

The companies that understand this early will:

– Design supply chains that unlock government and enterprise demand
– Structure data architecture for multi-jurisdiction scale
– Choose expansion markets based on policy tailwinds, not just customer acquisition cost
– Position themselves inside capital flows that are being redirected into aligned ecosystems

This is where the startup world and cross-border advisory work meet.

Navigating Asia is no longer just about entering high-growth markets.
It's about understanding which parts of it sit in which technology and capital networks and how that affects your ability to operate globally.

The next decade will be defined by competing systems of integration instead of globalisation or deglobalisation.

Let's chat about what you see and how this affects what you're building.

02/11/2026

Japan’s Election Outcome and TSMC’s Chip Bet Are Forcing a Rethink of Asia Tech Risk and Opportunity

Japan’s lower house election delivered a decisive result with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition securing a two-thirds supermajority, the largest for the Liberal Democratic Party in its history.

This political clarity gives Tokyo scope to pursue proactive industrial policy and fiscal support for strategic sectors.

One of the early market signals tied to this momentum is semiconductor and AI hardware investment.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to produce advanced 3-nanometer chips at its Kumamoto, Japan site — a shift from earlier plans focused on older nodes — with reported investment levels around US$17 billion.

These chips are essential in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems, and represent some of the most advanced process technology in use globally.

For investors, this combination of political mandate and capital investment points to a few clear themes:

• Policy-backed industrial change: Government support for high-end chip capacity in Japan reduces geographic concentration risk in AI infrastructure supply chains and strengthens alternatives to dominant Taiwan and U.S. hubs.

• Valuation catalysts: The semiconductor sector already sits at the heart of global AI capex growth, and visible on-the-ground upgrades signal real demand commitments rather than speculative projections.

• Risk surfaces: Geopolitical dynamics in East Asia — including trade frictions and export controls — remain a background risk that could affect tech ecosystem stability.

For founders and operators, especially in AI, hardware acceleration, analytics, or deep tech:

• Ecosystem expansion: Closer access to advanced silicon — at scale — creates potential for faster development cycles and tighter integration between compute layers and product stacks.

• Talent and partnerships: As Japan escalates its domestic capacity and R&D focus, opportunities increase for cross-border collaboration, IP development, and participation in large-scale manufacturing ecosystems.

• Strategic positioning: Understanding where hardware supply chains are shifting can inform decisions from engineering roadmaps to capital raises.

The broader implication is that political stability paired with targeted industrial investment is reshaping how and where next-generation technology infrastructure gets built.

So, for investors seeking risk-adjusted entry points, and founders seeking strategic guidance on market timing and ecosystem alignment, this is where informed positioning matters.

If you’re a founder navigating these shifts or an investor refining your risk-return thesis in tech, I’m available to help unpack what this means for your strategy or portfolio.

01/08/2026

Why Q1 Is the Best Time to Raise Capital (and How to Be Ready)

If you’re thinking about raising capital this year, Q1 consistently outperforms every other quarter. Here’s why:

Top 5 reasons Q1 is the best time to raise

Fresh capital allocations
- Most funds deploy new budgets in Q1. Capital is available and mandates are clear.

Higher investor focus
- Fewer vacations, fewer distractions. Decision-makers are back at their desks and actively booking meetings.

Cleaner narratives
- You’re pitching off full-year results with a forward-looking plan, not half-finished quarters.

Strategic urgency
- Investors want to place smart bets early in the year so they can support ex*****on over the next 12–18 months.

Faster momentum
- A strong Q1 raise gives you runway to hire, build, and hit milestones before competitors even start fundraising.

As Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, famously put it:
“The best solution is to not need money. The less you need investor money, the more investors like you.”

But that is usually not realistic.

So, Q1 is often the closest founders get to that moment.

Top 5 things to do now to be investor-ready

- Lock your story – clear problem, clear solution, clear why-now

- Show traction that matters – revenue, pilots, adoption, or proof of demand

- Know your numbers cold – runway, unit economics, and use of funds

- De-risk the team narrative – why this team can execute

- Be explicit about milestones – what this round unlocks and what comes next

Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures) summed it up well:
“Execution is everything.”

Investors don’t fund ideas. They fund teams that can deliver.

If you’re planning a raise and want help getting truly investor-ready - from positioning and narrative through to GTM and milestone strategy, reach out.

Happy to help founders do this properly.

12/08/2025

If you run a business, stop scrolling and save this.

Most founders struggle not because they lack ideas, but because they lack structure for turning ideas into revenue.

This tipsheet from Justin Mecham nails something I see every day with clients:

You do not need more tools.
You need better prompts.
Better systems.
Better repeatable processes that remove decision fatigue.

These eleven AI prompts cover the fundamentals every founder wrestles with:

Understanding your buyer

Crafting offers that convert

Naming things people actually remember

Writing sales pages and email sequences faster

Pricing in a way that removes friction

Tracking the right data

Systemising the work so you can scale

This is the real leverage AI gives you when you stop using it as a toy and start using it as a strategic engine.

If you want to grow, these prompts are not “nice to have.”
They are the backbone of predictable online revenue.

Screenshot or save this for later.
Then test one prompt each day for the next week.

Your clarity will compound.

If you want help turning prompts into systems, offers, and a full strategy that scales — reach out.

This is the work Hillier Consulting specialises in.

12/04/2025

If building your company feels impossible, remember… so does an octopus playing piano.

I watched a video today where someone tries to teach an octopus to play the piano.

Absurd. Impossible. Pure chaos.

Which is exactly why it is the perfect metaphor for being a founder.

Because let’s be honest:

Most people think what you are building is too hard or should not work.

Too many moving parts.
Too many unknowns.
Too many decisions happening at once.
It looks unmanageable from the outside.

Just like teaching an octopus something it was never designed to do.

Yet founders do the impossible every day.

You learn skills nobody warned you about.
You juggle responsibilities that defy logic.
You build structure out of mess.
You create progress where there was none.

You are making music with complexity that never sits still.

The real advantage founders have is not talent. It is staying with the difficult long enough for it to start making sense.

Every breakthrough looks absurd before it works.

Every great company begins with someone pushing forward despite how overwhelming or ridiculous the early stages feel.

So if your journey is messy right now, good.

You are probably closer to clarity than you think.

Keep going.
Keep shaping the chaos.
Keep turning tentacles into rhythm.

If you are building something ambitious and want a strategist who helps your 'octopus' to play the piano, reach out.

Full video is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWnQ7fYzwI&list=PPSV

12/02/2025

AI is already doing the work of 12 percent of U.S. jobs — and that can be the opportunity of your lifetime.

A new 2025 MIT study using the “Iceberg Index” finds that AI today is capable of replacing the kind of work performed by roughly 11.7 percent of the U.S. workforce.

That represents nearly $1.2 trillion in wages across sectors such as finance, healthcare and professional services.

Here are the three things every founder, advisor or operator needs to understand right now:

🔎 1. The disruption is real — but it is uneven.

This is not just about “tech jobs.”

The replacement potential is broad, including routine cognitive tasks, administrative work, document processing — roles that touch almost every industry.

That means companies across domains, not just software start-ups, must reconsider how they build teams, manage workflows and deliver value.

⚙️ 2. AI adoption still fails for most companies.

According to related 2025 research from the MIT Sloan School of Management, AI is more likely to complement human workers than instantly replace them.

The key differentiator isn’t the AI itself, but how companies reorganize around it — their workflows, talent, decision-making frameworks.

In many cases, firms that rush to adopt AI without rethinking structure end up with failed pilots or no measurable impact.

🚀 3. The winners will be those who use AI to unlock human leverage, not just automation.

For founders and operators willing to embed AI thoughtfully — to rewire their operations, amplify insights, and build around human judgment — this is a moment of outsized opportunity.

Businesses that invest in AI-savvy workflows now can capture massive value, while the rest find themselves commoditized, lagging or obsolete.

I believe this changes the way we should think about scaling companies and building value.

If you run a startup, consult for companies, or advise founders — AI is no longer optional.

It’s a force multiplier for operational leverage, strategic clarity, and rapid ex*****on.

I’ve spent years advising across industries and building strategic narratives that connect technology, capital, and business fundamentals.

If you’re evaluating AI adoption, restructuring teams, or imagining your 2026 growth playbook — I can help you turn this disruption into a competitive advantage.

Comment what kind of business you run — I am curious to explore how this wave of AI change might reshape your market.

11/26/2025

The next wave of global disruption will not come from where everyone is looking.

It will come from the parts of the economy we have ignored for too long.

At the Web Summit in Lisbon I met Per Magne Helseth, the founder of Surfact. Within minutes it was obvious that he is solving a problem that has been hiding in plain sight for decades.

Cold-chain logistics routinely loses close to thirty percent of perishable goods.

Food spoils.

Medicine fails.

Vaccines become unusable.

Costs rise.

Trust erodes.

Yet the industry still tries to operate with outdated tracking and almost no reliable real-time data.

Surfact is changing that through a simple idea delivered with precision.

Their hardware puck named Emma attaches to a shipment and immediately sends detailed environmental and location data.

Temperature.

Light.

Humidity.

Shock.

GPS.

It creates visibility in a part of the supply chain where blind spots are the norm.

The device is built from recycled ocean plastics which supports a circular model and contributes to a sustainability story that actually means something.

What impressed me most was not the device itself. It was the pattern behind it.

Many of the strongest founders I met in Lisbon were building solutions that combine three elements.

AI capability.
Real-time data.
A precise understanding of the human problem behind the technical problem.

Surfact has all three. They are not adding AI for decoration. They are using it to reduce spoilage, protect value, and give operators the information they need to intervene before a shipment becomes unsalvageable.

This is a powerful reminder for every founder.

We often chase the glamorous spaces. The viral spaces. The highly visible categories.

Yet the most valuable opportunities are often the ones that sit inside industries that have been operating on habit not intelligence.

Cold-chain.
Construction.
Agriculture.
Regulatory compliance.
Insurance.
Energy distribution.

Places where waste is high and visibility is low.

Founders who win in the next decade will be those who can see patterns across domains.

They will spot where data is missing. They will design around the real human workflow.

They will use AI to improve outcomes rather than add noise. They will create value where value has always existed but has never been unlocked.

Talking with Per reminded me that innovation is rarely about novelty. It is about clarity.

The problems are already there.
The costs are already enormous.
The customers are already waiting.

What they need is a founder with the courage to look at a neglected part of the economy and say this must be better.

That is the kind of thinking I saw in Lisbon.

If you're building in any domain where the stakes are high and the information gaps are wide, I'd be interested to hear what you are seeing. The patterns that drive one industry often apply to many others.

Let me know what you are working on.

11/19/2025

Founders are not being replaced by AI.
They're being replaced by founders who know how to build with it.

At Web Summit in Lisbon, I met dozens of founders.

Different countries, industries, and stages. But one pattern stood out:

The ones who'll win are building products that are AI enhanced, not just AI decorated.

And when you look at this chart, it's obvious why.

The fastest rising core skills for 2030 aren't the classic “hard skills” we were all told to chase. They're founder skills that directly determine whether your startup survives:

• AI literacy
• Creative problem solving
• Systems thinking
• Leadership that creates real momentum
• Curiosity that fuels rapid learning
• Talent development
• Resilience, flexibility, and calm ex*****on under pressure

These are exactly the traits I saw in the strongest founders in Lisbon.

They weren't bragging about models or prompts.

They were talking about customer problems, distribution, data strategy, and how to combine AI with human insight to create something that actually moves a market.

Here's the uncomfortable truth most people do not want to hear:

Your biggest competitive advantage isn't knowledge.

It's how quickly you can learn, pivot, and execute in an AI powered world.

Founders don't fail because someone else builds a better product.

They fail because other founders learn faster, experiment faster, and deliver value faster.

The next decade belongs to those who adapt.

What will you do?

Share you next level up.

11/18/2025

Most people underestimate what 14 years of obsession looks like.

I just spoke with Eric Lin, the founder and CEO of BloodScan — a company that can detect cancer cells from one drop of blood… even before Stage 0.

When I asked him how long he’s been working on the problem, he didn’t flinch:

“I started this research in 2011.
Fourteen consecutive years on the same project.”

Most founders would’ve quit 20 times.

He didn’t.

Why? Because he saw something most people never see:

✔️ patients being helped in real time
✔️ 10+ clinical trials proving real-world impact
✔️ a technology too important to leave inside a lab

In his words:
“We realized it was time to make it available to more people.”

So they pushed through the hardest industry in the world:
regulatory walls, medical politics, closed networks, gatekeepers.

Today?

15 clinical studies completed

First FDA registration secured this year

Many more clinical trials planned

Aiming to shift NCCN guidelines

Pre-Stage-0 cancer detection from a finger-prick

When I asked him what founders need to know, he didn’t give a fancy answer:

“Never doubt yourself. Believe in what you’re doing.”

Simple. True. Earned.

Eric is proof of this:

Consistency beats talent.
Conviction beats resistance.
And 14 years of focus beats everyone.

Founders — if you’re wavering, re-read that last sentence.

11/05/2025

AI isn’t impressive because it can talk.

It’s impressive because it can work.

There’s a quiet shift happening in U.S. businesses right now:

Teams aren’t just using AI — they’re deploying agents that plan, decide, and execute.

Not “write me a paragraph.”

More like:

Build the quote

Send it to the customer

Create the invoice when they say yes

Follow up if they don’t

Push to accounting

Update CRM

Tag the pipeline report

That’s not hype. It’s happening in SMBs across the U.S. — construction, healthcare, consulting, logistics, manufacturing, professional services.

The winners aren’t those with the most AI.

They’re the ones who pick one workflow tied to dollars and automate it end-to-end.

Start here:

✅ Choose one workflow that repeats daily
✅ It must touch revenue or cash
✅ Define the inputs, output, and timing
✅ Pilot the agent for 30 days with human oversight
✅ Measure time saved + cycle time + accuracy + cash impact

🏁 Scale only when it beats your baseline

Where U.S. businesses are getting lift first:

Collections follow-ups

Quote-to-invoice pipeline

SDR qualification & booking

Customer onboarding + support queue triage

Job costing & field service scheduling

Renewals & subscription retention

Not theory — real operators are already doing this.

If the AI you’re playing with isn’t tied to money, it’s not strategy… it’s entertainment.

Want help choosing your workflow that'll grow profit?

Book a strategic conversation — link in bio.

11/03/2025

Your ‘digital transformation’ isn’t failing because of tech. It’s failing because of culture.

We keep buying tools… and then wonder why value stalls.

Only 48% of digital initiatives hit their business targets (Gartner)

Just 5% of companies are getting measurable AI value at scale (BCG)

And “transformation fatigue” is burning people out—fast.

The pattern I see at Hillier Consulting:

Decision rights are fuzzy. People don’t know who decides what when the workflow changes.

Data has no owner. Dashboards exist, but no one is accountable for definitions, quality, and actions.

Adoption is an afterthought. We train features, not roles—and incentives still reward the old way of working.

What works:

Culture-first ex*****on that links every tool to a profit lever.

In my sprints we hard-wire:

Clear decision charters (who decides, by when, with which inputs).

Data product ownership (one accountable owner per KPI).

Adoption mechanics (role playbooks, 30-day scorecards, incentives that reward the new behaviors).

Don’t launch another platform.

Launch a working agreement.

Give the team a one-page “how we decide, what we measure, how we change” and watch the tools finally pay off.

If you want the one-pager template I use (and a 20-minute walkthrough), DM me with “culture > tools.”

10/31/2025

Good news: Money's still flowing... but make sure your business is ready for it.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, says U.S. assets remain the best place for investment over the next 18 months.

That’s a big signal for SMBs and startups.

Here’s what it means — and how you can act on it:

✅ Opportunity

More capital is looking for good homes.

Fink points out that huge amounts of money are parked idle in U.S. banks and money-market funds.

HNW individuals, family offices, institutional investors (and increasingly private credit funds) are shifting into growth-oriented, less-traditional opportunities.

That creates a moment where your venture, if aligned, stands out.

🛠 What you need to check if you want to capitalize

Are you telling a growth story?
Investors don’t just fund “steady future” — they fund “growth that can scale.”

Be clear about how you multiply impact, not just maintain.

Can you absorb the capital now?
If a check is written, will you have the people, systems and process to make it productive?

If not, you’ll under-deliver.

Do you understand the capital source?
It’s not only VCs. Family offices and private-credit funds are looking at non-traditional plays (growth + infrastructure + software).

Position your business accordingly.

Is your business ex*****on ready?
Growth doesn’t come from intent alone.

It comes from alignment: pricing, product/market fit, sales machine, operations. Without those, funding becomes pressure.

The market is leaning in.

Hillier Consulting

02/25/2026

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