Helping startups to scale 🦄 ✦ Driving Halo Lab 7 → 8-figures ARR & having fun ✦ Founder with Design in ❤️

I run Design & Tech Agency helping brands become TOP 1%.

✦ $530 M raised + 9-figure exits by client startups 
✦ 500+ projects delivered
✦ 99+ international awards
✦ 4.9 / 5.0 average rating on Clutch from 80+ verified reviews

This is a real impact in numbers.

—

Over the past 15 yrs I’ve been shaping digital products and brands for category‑defining companies — from NOKIA and OPERA to high‑growth SaaS and Web3 start‑ups.

My core focus is design leadership at scale: I enter as a strategic partner, craft a vision, and lead multidisciplinary teams all the way from concept to launch.

—

I specialize in:

⤷  B2B SaaS Product Design | Guiding startups and enterprise spin‑ups from 0 to 1 — turning complex tech into intuitive, emotionally resonant experiences.

⤷  High‑Performance Digital Presence | Building conversion‑focused brand websites that turn first impressions into lasting growth.

—

Have BIG idea in mind?
Contact me directly: inquiry@halo-lab.com

Artem Borysenko

But bad UX silently kills revenue, retention, user trust.

How does it look in your product:

❌ Focus on action, not on the result for the user.
❌ Complex password requirements.
❌ Two fields for the email address.
❌ Unclear question & option. 
❌ Annoying captcha.

Why does this matter for founders?
Bad UX = friction.
Friction = drop-offs.
Drop-offs = lost revenue.

Investing in clarity, consistency, and simplicity is a growth lever.

✦ Before spending more on ads, check:

→ Can users complete your core flows in seconds without thinking?
→ Are you showing users what happens next at each step?
→ Is every element earning its place, or just adding noise?

At Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner, we’ve seen micro UX cleanups increase demo bookings, reduce support tickets, and boost LTV.
Because great products don’t just work, they feel effortless.

✦

Want a quick UX audit on your product?
Drop your URL below or DM me.
We’ll send you one actionable UX fix that could move your metrics this quarter.

♻️ Share this to help others build better products.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Founder @ Halo Lab ✦ Design & Tech Agency Helping Brands Become TOP 1%

Bad UX examples

But bad UX silently kills revenue, retention, user trust.

How does it look in your product:

❌ Inconsistent UX writing.
❌Too much content, perceived as overload.
❌Linear progress bars aren’t mobile-friendly.
❌Overloaded layout that pulls attention away.
❌ Key details are hard to spot, and the offerings feel like a maze.

Why does this matter for founders?
Bad UX = friction.
Friction = drop-offs.
Drop-offs = lost revenue.

Investing in clarity, consistency, and simplicity is a growth lever.

✦ Before spending more on ads, check:

→ Can users complete your core flows in seconds without thinking?
→ Are you showing users what happens next at each step?
→ Is every element earning its place, or just adding noise?

At Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner, we’ve seen micro UX cleanups increase demo bookings, reduce support tickets, and boost LTV.
Because great products don’t just work, they feel effortless.

✦

Want a quick UX audit on your product?
Drop your URL below or DM me.
We’ll send you one actionable UX fix that could move your metrics this quarter.

♻️ Share this to help others build better products.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Most companies still treat a design system as a visual asset.

In reality, it behaves more like infrastructure.

It's a one-time capital investment that reduces operating costs across every product, every release, and every team.

Here’s where the real financial return shows up:

1. Reduction of duplicated efforts across teams.

When teams reinvent or create their own designs for elements like spacing, colors, states, or micro-interactions, they incur the following new costs: a new desig, codebase, QA.

With a standardized token system, there is no longer any need for this cycle to occur. 

2. Component scalability across product portfolios.

A system built for a suite compounds value:
Build once → reuse for every new feature → reuse for every new product.
This is how product orgs cut delivery time by 20–40% without adding headcount.

3. Patterns decrease cognitive load and time spent deciding.

Standardizing onboarding, dashboards, permissions, navigation, or error states will eliminate debate about core design principles among teams. Instead, team members will spend more time identifying the activities that will result in increased KPIs.

4. The cost of change decreases dramatically.

With no design system: A rebrand, accessibility update, or micro-interaction change triggers weeks of redesign and recoding..

With a design system: Update the source → every product updates automatically.

✦

A strong design system improves:

- Time to market.
- Cross-platform trust.
- Developer throughput.
- Conversion and activation.

✦

Build your design system for the next three products you launch. 
You will begin seeing returns on your investment in the early years.

🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Therapy of the future: how we helped ensure a better patient experience by updating the design of the myReha digital platform.

myReha, created by nyra health, is a digital neurotherapy platform that helps stroke survivors and patients with neurological conditions continue recovery.

When the nyra health team, led by Mario Zusag, reached out, they had a clear goal: make the platform more consistent, intuitive, and scalable without disrupting what patients already loved.

The challenge?
Functionality was not consistent across devices, resulting in multiple users experiencing friction accessing the platform and seeking simplicity and reassurance.

So, we focused on what truly matters in healthcare design: clarity, confidence, and care.

1. We unified card designs for consistency.
2. Clarified CTAs for premium upgrades.
3. Improved streak and progress screens.
4. Optimized dashboards and navigation for clinicians and patients alike.

The Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner team fine-tuned the system to ensure it could scale fast and support nyra health’s insurance readiness and market expansion while staying deeply patient-centered.

Huge thanks to the nyra health team for trusting us with such meaningful work.

✦

If you’re building a product that redefines how patients heal, we’d love to help bring your vision to life.

🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Case Study

That’s the moment most brands lose people.

In that split second when something just feels off.

You’ve felt it too.
Website that looks polished but somehow doesn’t feel real.
The words are there.
The design is fine.
But it doesn’t connect.

That’s a trust gap.
In those first few seconds, visitors are quietly asking:
→ “Is this for people like me?”
→ “Do they actually understand my problem?”
→ “Can I explore without being sold to?”

If your homepage doesn’t answer those fast, even a great product starts to feel risky.

The fix isn’t louder headlines or flashier visuals.

It’s smaller, more human details:
1. Clear language that sounds like something you’d actually say.
2. Honest proof that real people built this, not a faceless company.
3. Calm, confident design that gives users room to breathe.

Trust doesn’t start with “we’re the best.”
It starts with “we get you.”

♻️ Share this to help others build trust with customers.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Homepage Psychology

You can hire a designer.

Or you can hire a design brain.

One gives you beautiful screens.
The other gives you a product that thinks.

When you hire a single designer, you get skills.
When you hire a team that works as one brain, you get experience that compounds.

At Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner, our teams don’t work in silos.
The UX researcher sees what frustrates users.
The product designer connects it to business goals.
The UI designer turns it into clarity and trust.
The developer translates it into something fast and functional.

Each person covers a blind spot the others can’t.
And together, they don’t just design, they solve.

That’s the difference between design as a task and design as a system.
Between a pretty interface and a product that scales, converts, and feels effortless to use.

When founders realize this, everything changes:

1. They stop hiring portfolios.
2. They start hiring thinking systems - teams that anticipate problems before they appear, align design with ROI, and build products that last.

If you’re scaling your product, don’t just hire a designer.
Hire a brain that’s trained to think like your users and build like your business depends on it.

🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

I audit real websites. I show what’s broken.

I explain why it doesn’t work.
And I give fixes you can apply today.

These are to help YOU avoid the same mistakes.
Every carousel = free consulting.
If you take the time to apply the lessons, your site will convert better.
Guaranteed.

In each post, you'll find:
✅ Conversion blockers you might not see.
✅ Layout tweaks that improve clarity.
✅ Real examples of what not to do.
✅ UX advice backed by data and practice.

✦

New audit just dropped.
Go through the carousel.
Steal what works.
Fix what doesn’t.

And if you want your site reviewed next:
Comment “ROAST ME” below.

Let’s build stuff that sells. Not just looks good.

♻️ Share this to help others design better webpages.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Website roasting

Helping people move better shouldn’t feel complicated. 

That’s what makes Rytmo such a powerful idea.

When the Rytmo team first shared their vision, it was inspiring.

They were building 

- A way for people recovering from injury or training with a specialist to feel guided, not overwhelmed.

- A way for coaches and physiotherapists to finally track movement in a way that feels intuitive.

- A way for patients to feel progress, not pressure.

Our role at Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner was simple in intention but meaningful in impact:

1. Turn complex motion-tracking technology into a visual language anyone can understand.

2. Design an interface that supports both ends (the patient and the specialist ) without friction.

3. Create a unified UX that reinforces trust, motivation, and confidence with every action.

We redesigned flows so users never feel lost.
We shaped progress screens that celebrate even small wins.
We built a design system flexible enough to scale as Rytmo grows without ever losing its gentle, supportive core.

Huge thanks to the entire Rytmo team for trusting us with something this important.

Your commitment to building a better experience for patients and specialists is real, rare, and deeply needed in the industry.

✦

If you're building something meaningful in healthtech - a product that helps people feel safer, stronger, healthier - we’d love to collaborate.
Let’s create the next story together.

♻️ Share this to inspire others.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Most founders think onboarding is just a checklist.

A few tooltips, a welcome email, maybe a product tour.

Big mistake.

First 7 days don't only determine retention, they forecast lifetime value.

The best products don't "teach" features. They create habits.

Here is what distinguishes your high-LTV onboarding from the rest.

1. Show value quickly.
Don't explain — show. 
Get your users to the "aha" moment in minutes, not days. 

2. Guide behavior, not swipes. 
Organize onboarding around your user's journey, not your feature tree. 
Day 1: Solve a problem. 
Day 2: Build context. 
Day 3+: Reinforce success and add proof.

3. Make it personal. 
A marketer ≠ an engineer ≠ a founder. 
Ask one smart question, customize the flow, and you can expect 25-50% higher activation.

4. Build habit loops. 
Cue → Simple action → Instant reward. 
“Don’t lose your progress” is always better than “Complete your profile.”

4. Measure what matters. 
Forget “onboarding completed.” 
Measure: 
• Time to first value.
• % of users hitting core action Day 1.
• Retention at Day 3 and 7.

Onboarding is not your tutorial. 
It’s behavioral design. 
And as soon as you start to treat it that way, your retention will improve, as will your revenue.

♻️ Share this if it resonates.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Good interfaces are built for humans with roles, moods, habits.

And most “design rules” don’t cover that part.

Here are the non-obvious principles we now swear by:

1. Design for roles.

An operator, manager, and analyst can see “the same tool” but they are living three different narratives.

2. Tell a story.

Good UI behaves like a scene in a movie: each frame indicates, “Here’s what happens next.”

3. Simplicity isn’t minimalism.

It’s knowing what to conceal. A complex system should feel simple, even if it is not.

4. One action per screen.

Every screen should answer one question. The moment users have to pause, you’ve lost the moment.

5. Adapt, don’t copy.

There is no “best practice” for everybody.
A healthtech dashboard and a crypto wallet shouldn’t look/feel the same, and that’s a feature not a flaw.

6. Accessibility is a growth strategy.

It’s how you earn trust and give access to the people your competitors are forgetting.

The best interfaces don’t impress. They disappear.
You’re not noticing them because they are busy making you feel capable.

What was the last interface you loved using is, and why?

♻️ Share if you agree.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

I have looked through hundreds of product interfaces.

And most trust issues come from invisible details that are saying, "We did not care enough."

1. Text locked in images.
It seems nice... until you realize:
Google can't read it.
Screen readers aren't being able to get through it.
It is going to break on mobile.

✅ Fix: Always use proper, responsive HTML text overlaid on visuals. That communicates quality and care.

2. Stock photos with zero context.
If your visuals could go on any website, they shouldn't be on yours. 
People simply don't connect with "perfect smiles" and "handshakes in glass offices."
User's even notice when an image doesn't match what they are viewing.

✅ Fix: Use visuals with your product, actual people or even simple, authentic brand illustrations. Authenticity scales better than aesthetics.

3. Inconsistent spacing.
Uneven padding. A headline that is floating. Tight corners next to wide gaps. Users may never name the issue, but they feel it.
That feeling? Uncertainty. And uncertainty is lethal when it comes to conversion.

✅ Fix: Use a modular grid and consistent spacing system. Regular rhythm = subconscious trust.

What’s the smallest design detail that instantly makes you lose trust in a product?

🔔 Follow Artem Borysenkofor more updates!

Guess which of our projects gained more views?

Drop A, B, C, or D in the comments.

But don’t just guess. Consider:

🔹 What details stand out? 
🔹 Which design feels more refined? 
🔹 What makes one stronger than the other?

This isn’t just a fun test.
It’s how you train your creative judgment.
The more you analyze, the faster you recognize what works.

A, B, С, or D? Drop your guess below! Let’s level up together.

The best design

Most founders struggle to explain their product in 10 sec.

And that’s usually why people forget it.

Founders jump into features, tech, or long backstories.
But the products that stick are the ones described with immediate clarity.

After helping dozens of teams simplify their pitch and homepage messaging, here are 3 frameworks that consistently work:

1️⃣ The “Movie Trailer” Line.
Hit emotion + problem + solution in one shot.

Structure:
“We help [audience] solve [problem] through [unique solution].”

Example:
 “We help remote teams brainstorm faster with an AI whiteboard that auto-organizes ideas.”

This gives people the whole story instantly.

2️⃣ The “Six-Second Test”. If you can answer these in one tight sentence, you’re done:
• Who it’s for.
• What it does.
• Why it’s different.
• What problem it solves.
• What outcome it creates.

Example:
 “For busy parents, our app plans healthy meals automatically — saving hours and reducing food waste.”

3️⃣ The “Anchor to the Familiar.”
When something is new, you need a shortcut.

Structure:
 “It’s like [familiar thing], but for [your context].”

Example:
 “It’s like Airbnb, but for campers.”
It reduces cognitive load and accelerates understanding.

If someone can’t repeat your product back to you after 10 seconds, you don’t have a messaging problem, you have a clarity problem.

What’s your 10-second product explanation?

♻️ Share if this helped.
 🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more insights.

What founders actually need from a design partner.

Across many startup projects, one pattern is clear:

Founders don’t need resources.
They need a partner with a product mindset.
That team will give you clarity, speed, and traction.
Let’s look at the difference.

1. Designers make wireframes.
Product thinkers define outcomes.

2. Designers ship features.
Product thinkers shape systems.

3. Designers follow tasks.
Product thinkers challenge assumptions.

4. Designers deliver visuals.
Product thinkers deliver clarity.

5. Designers optimize screens.
Product thinkers optimize revenue.

A design partner shouldn’t just make your product look good.
They should make your business stronger.
Because the right partner doesn’t just design interfaces,
they help you think, operate, and grow like a product company.

✦

If you’re scaling and you need a dedicated team that thinks like your co-founder, not your vendor, let’s talk.

♻️ Share if it resonates.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Last week, I tried to book a demo of a new tool.

Those 20 seconds told me everything.

Product UX failed here.
I scrolled twice. 
Clicked the wrong button. 
Didn’t find clues.
And gave up.

Review your product like a first-time user.

And try to fix UX issues.

1. Watch the heatmaps.
When a user pauses, backtracks, or clicks twice, that’s a red flag.
Confusion shows up in body language before it shows in analytics.

2. Check forms first.
Long fields. Missing confirmations. Mobile layouts that break.
Forms kill more conversions than bad marketing ever will.

3. Scan for “dead weight.”
Buttons nobody clicks. Copy nobody reads. Features nobody touches.
If it doesn’t guide the user forward, it’s friction.

4. Run 10-minute heuristic checks.
Navigation, readability, error states, consistency.

These basics sound boring, but they fix 80% of user frustration.
You don’t need a 3-month research sprint to uncover UX flaws.
You need sharp eyes, real users in mind, and the discipline to ask:
“Where does this experience break trust?”

♻️ Share this to help others avoid UX issues.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

 How to find UX problems

“$5K for a full app” should set off alarm bells.

I’ve seen founders get burned by quotes that sound too good to be true.

And here’s the reality: they usually are.

A credible app budget runs anywhere from $50K–$250K+, depending on scope and complexity. 

At $5K, what you’re really buying is a prototype, a landing MVP, or a template, not a production-grade product.

The hidden costs show up later:

✦ No discovery → scope creep and endless change requests.
✦ No QA → your users become the testers.
✦ No maintenance plan → apps break as OS versions and APIs update.
✦ No IP clarity → some “cheap shops” keep the repo keys, locking you in.
✦ No security → exposing you to compliance fines or breaches (the average costs $4.9M globally).

So what does a serious proposal include?

1. Discovery: user flows, integrations, edge cases.
2. Delivery plan: milestones, QA, release strategy.
3. Security & compliance baked in.
4. Ongoing ops & maintenance plan.

🚩 If a vendor quotes $5K for the whole thing, don’t think “deal.” 
Think “demo.”
The real bill will come later, in rewrites, downtime, or lost trust.

The smarter play: if budget is tight, scope a small, clear MVP with defined limits and a real path to production. 

That way, your “cheap” start doesn’t become an expensive rewrite.

♻️ Share it resonates
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

The plan is clear, the prototype is exciting.

But there’s a quiet signal that something is wrong.

Because the MVP shape is wrong.
Too frequently, MVPs wind up created as demos.
They’re polished enough to show, broad enough to dazzle users, and thin enough that they can’t generate persistent, repeatable value.

Here’s the shift that will actually move the meter: An MVP is not the smallest version of your product. It is the smallest engine of recurring value.

That distinction forces you to ask:

1. What is the one capability users must succeed at?
2. What must be there so the system works without us holding it together manually?
3. What closes the feedback loop, not just opens it?

When you design an MVP from that perspective, you start developing outcomes:

✔ Clarity on measurable value.
✔ One solution for users with or without you.
✔ One core workflow that gains repetitive usage.
✔ Just enough automation to avoid operational drag.
✔ One feedback loop where you learn every time - how to scale.

This is how products gain traction early.
Build the smallest version of your value engine.
That’s the MVP you actually need.

♻️ Share this to help others create MVPs.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

The MVP You Actually Need

“How much does a website cost?”

Everyone loves the safe answer: “It depends.”

But that doesn’t help when you’re budgeting, forecasting, or explaining ROI to your board.

So here’s a straightforward breakdown.

1️⃣ Landing Page.
$1,000–$5,000
A single, conversion-driven page. Perfect for launches or campaigns.
Simple structure but every word, interaction, and visual must earn its place.

2️⃣ Small Business Website.
$5,000–$15,000
Usually 4–6 pages: Home, Services, About, Contact, and maybe a Blog.
You get custom branding, clean UI, and a structure that builds trust fast.

3️⃣ eCommerce Website.
$25,000–$100,000
Product listings, filters, navigation logic, checkout systems, mobile optimization.
At this tier, UX becomes critical because every friction point = abandoned carts.

4️⃣ SaaS Marketing Website.
$75,000–$300,000
Your website becomes part of the product experience.
It must tell your story, guide users to demos, handle content, and match your product’s design language.

5️⃣ Enterprise Website.
$20,000–$100,000+
Think of it as a digital ecosystem:
Dozens of templates, multilingual support, role-based navigation, integrations, governance rules.

The real question isn’t the price.
A website is your 24/7 sales team.
If it doesn’t convert, educate, or build trust, the real cost is the revenue you’re not capturing.

So instead of asking: “How much does a website cost?”
Ask: “How much is a weak website costing me every month?”

♻️ Share if this helps someone price smarter.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more insights.

The hardest thing about building an AI product is getting people to trust what it does.

You can create a great model all you want, but as soon as users feel the slightest bit of uncertainty, they are going to ponder, hesitate, and leave.

When founders build trust into the product experience, three things happen fast.

1. Users stop second-guessing and start exploring. First session activation goes up because they understand the what and whys.

2. Every click of trust compounds itself into usage, retention, and upsell. Without trust, the best AI feature will remain unused.

3. You do not have to wait for product market fit to learn how users actually feel. Trust patterns can save you weeks of guessing, and reduce the launch chaos.

4. Transparent UX with design-based trust cuts confusion before it even reaches support. No more "I am left wondering why it said that?" tickets or bad reviews for hallucinations.

Most AI products are built for power. 
The real winners are built for confidence.

✦

At Halo Lab — Your Digital Partner, we help founders design AI products users trust enough to actually use and pay for.
If that’s the stage you’re at, let’s chat.

♻️ Share this to help others build AI products.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

Design Patterns For AI Interfaces

Every product fosters feelings.

Slack develops curiosity (you check threads). 
LinkedIn develops affirmation (you observe reactions). 
Airbnb develops trust (you reside within somebody else's space). 
Uber develops control (you follow the car, the route, the pricing).

The emotional loop your product supports, becomes the habit that makes users return - or leave.

And here is where many teams miss.
Your design doesn't just support feelings. It influences them.

✦

For every engagement, a micro-feeling is triggered - frustration, relief, pride, fear. 
These micro-feelings accumulate into a memory. 
Then memory drives retention.

Behavioral design studies confirmed that:

✦ Positive feelings (clarity, control, competence) are proven to increase engagement by 30-40%.

✦ Unresolved frustration (human error, waiting, loss of context) is the leading cause of churn within SaaS and consumer apps.

So when your UX creates anxiety (loading uncertainty, unclear steps, overwhelming dashboards) - the user has accomplished their task, but subconsciously will avoid returning.

Ways to audit emotional design in your product.

1. Avatar: the emotion you want your users to feel. (Do you want them caring, empowered, energized, etc.?) 

2. Map the emotion to each interaction. For every step: "What is this moment teaching?" 

3. Test the users' reactions, not just the usability. Record facial expressions or tone, or even keywords in a survey, after each interaction. 

4. Design feedback loop(s)- use motion, microcopy, timing, etc. to bake in positive emotions in the experience.

♻️ Share this if it resonates.
🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

👇 Get 1M+ Views Guaranteed | CXO @ Viral Coach

Hey there, I’m Nico. TLDR: I’ve done everything from found and co-found marketing and consulting start ups, to work in Fortune 100 companies. I have a few degrees and certs, and always willing to learn &amp; work hard. Heart &amp; work ethic of an entrepreneur and builder with the track record of someone you’d want to hire. —-10+ years of experience across Customer Success, Operations, Program Management, Product Marketing, and Growth. My background spans enterprise insurance (USAA), software engineering, content-led growth, customer experience, and cross-functional leadership.I’ve led teams, managed portfolios of 375 active clients, supported delivery systems, and built workflows that improved retention, onboarding, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.My experience includes:• Customer Success Leadership• Program Management &amp; Operations• Process Improvement &amp; Workflow Design• Retention Strategy• Product Marketing &amp; Content Strategy• Technical Collaboration (APIs, SQL, back-end exposure)• Cross-Functional Team Leadership• Data-Driven Decision Making• AI Workflow AutomationI blend creativity, technical fluency, and operational rigor to solve complex problems, manage customer life cycles, and support scalable growth. I thrive in fast-paced environments where customer outcomes, process improvement, and cross-functional collaboration drive results.I am currently seeking Director-level opportunities in Customer Success, Operations, Program Management, Product Marketing, or Product Operations.

Nico Torres, MBA

People don’t give their best when they’re watched.
They give their best when they’re trusted.

Control creates compliance.
Trust creates ownership.

And every team sits between those two choices,
one fuels fear, the other fuels performance.

Here’s how trust-driven leadership shows up 

1. Micromanaging squeezes. Empowerment expands.
→ Give people room to think, decide, and lead their own work.

2. Surveillance pressures. Autonomy motivates.
→ Replace constant checking with clear expectations and freedom.

3. Fear silences. Safety unlocks.
→ Build spaces where people speak up without worrying about judgment.

4. Task monitoring limits. Outcome alignment elevates.
→ Focus on results, not how every minute is spent.

5. Doubting slows. Believing accelerates.
→ Let your confidence in people become the standard they rise to.

6. Control fatigues. Trust energizes.
→ When people feel seen and supported, their effort multiplies.

7. Rules manage. Relationships inspire.
→ Strong trust makes teams go further than any policy ever will.

Lead like this, and your team won’t just work harder,
they’ll care deeper, think smarter, and grow faster.

Great performance doesn’t come from supervision.
It comes from belief.

Trust isn’t a leadership tactic.
It’s a culture multiplier.

How are you showing trust to your team today?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Head of Client Success @ Viral Coach | Content & Growth Advisor to the C-Suite | Start-up Leadership

People Don’t Leave Great Jobs
They Leave Bad Conditions

Nobody leaves a job where they are respected, well-paid, and growing.
It’s rarely about the title.
It’s rarely about the company.
It’s almost always about how they’re treated.

The truth?
People stay where they feel valued.
They stay where their work matters.
They stay where growth is part of the culture, not just the slogan.

A great workplace looks like this:
→ Respect is shown, not just spoken
→ Pay reflects contribution, not negotiation skills
→ Growth is a clear path, not a vague promise
→ Leaders listen more than they command

Practical ways to build this environment:
✔ Give feedback that empowers, not diminishes
✔ Recognize effort consistently and publicly
✔ Create real development opportunities, not busywork
✔ Pay fairly and transparently
✔ Treat people like partners, not resources

The challenge isn’t retaining talent.
The challenge is creating a place worth staying for.

People don’t leave companies,
they leave conditions.

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Image credit: Oliver Ramirez G

It won’t happen overnight.
But if you quit, it won’t happen at all.

Progress rarely feels fast.
Most days, it feels slow… invisible… even pointless.

It starts with familiar thoughts:

“This is taking too long.”
“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“Why isn’t it working yet?”
“Others are moving faster than me.”

But the truth:

→ Growth compounds quietly before it shows up loudly
→ Consistency beats intensity every single time
→ Momentum is built in the days no one sees
→ Winners keep going long after motivation disappears
→ The breakthrough always looks late, until it arrives

Quitting stops the story.
Continuing rewrites it.

What real progress actually looks like:

✓ Showing up when it’s not exciting
✓ Doing the small things that don’t get applause
✓ Fixing instead of abandoning
✓ Learning instead of labeling things “failure”
✓ Trusting the process long enough to see the result

Nothing meaningful happens instantly.
But everything meaningful happens eventually, if you stay in the game.

Start asking:
Am I quitting too early, or continuing long enough to win?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Bad leadership feels invisible.
Until you add up the bill.

Most leaders focus on effort and output.
But the real cost shows up in people, delays, and fear.

Because leadership isn’t what you intend,
it’s what your team experiences.

Here’s what bad leadership really costs

1. Your best employee quits.
→ Micromanagement drains trust, and talent walks out the door.

2. Projects run late.
→ Teams hide problems when they’re afraid to speak up.

3. Opportunities slip away.
→ Everything waits because you need to approve everything.

4. The wrong hire stays too long.
→ Avoiding tough conversations gets expensive fast.

5. Problems repeat themselves.
→ Missing expectations today becomes wasted time tomorrow.

6. And the hidden tax? Your ego.
→ The bigger it gets, the more your growth stalls.

Add it all up,
and the cost isn’t just financial.
It’s momentum lost, trust broken, and progress delayed.

Great leadership pays for itself.
Bad leadership quietly empties the account.

What is your leadership style costing you?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Head of Client Success @ Viral Coach, LLC | Content & Growth Advisor to the C-Suite | Start-up Leadership

NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE,
IN THE WRONG PLACE, YOU WON’T BE VALUED.

Because:

→ Talent can’t shine where it’s suppressed
→ Excellence is wasted where growth isn’t supported
→ The wrong environment turns strengths into stress
→ Culture can lift you, or limit you

The truth is:

You can be exceptional…
but if the place you’re in doesn’t recognize it,
you’ll start doubting what’s actually extraordinary about you.

What being in the right place looks like:

✓ Your strengths are noticed, not questioned
✓ Your ideas are welcomed, not dismissed
✓ Your growth is encouraged, not blocked
✓ Your value is recognized, not debated

Sometimes the problem isn’t your ability,
it’s the room you’re trying to fit into.

And the moment you change the environment,
your confidence, performance, and impact transform.

Start asking:
Am I the problem, or is the place limiting my potential?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Head of Content | Client Success Advocate | Content & Growth Advisor to CEOs, Execs, Founders & Leaders | MBA in Marketing | Ex-CXO

Keep doing your best every single day.
If no one is proud of you, be proud of yourself.

Because:

→ Progress isn’t always loud or celebrated
→ Most growth happens when no one is watching
→ Self-respect matters more than outside validation
→ Consistency builds confidence one small win at a time

The truth is:

Not everyone will notice your efforts.
Not everyone will applaud your journey.
But you know the work you're putting in.
And that’s enough.

What real self-pride looks like:

✓ Showing up even when motivation is low
✓ Choosing discipline over excuses
✓ Celebrating small wins others overlook
✓ Becoming the person your future self will thank

You don’t need permission to be proud.
You don’t need applause to keep going.
Your effort already proves your worth.

Am I chasing approval, or building pride from within?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Life becomes more meaningful
when you realize you’ll never get the same moment twice.

It sounds obvious, but it changes everything.

Because:

→ Rushing steals the joy from what’s right in front of you
→ Distraction makes you miss the moments that matter most
→ Waiting for “the right time” delays the life you want
→ Presence turns ordinary moments into lasting memories

The truth is:

Most people don’t realize a moment was special
until it becomes a memory.
But meaning is created in real time, not in hindsight.

What living with awareness really looks like:

✓ Slowing down long enough to notice the small things
✓ Giving people your full attention, not your leftover energy
✓ Choosing presence over perfection
✓ Letting today matter as much as your goals for tomorrow

Life isn’t measured in years.
It’s measured in moments, moments you’ll never get again.

Start asking:
Am I living this moment fully, or letting it slip away?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Comfort is the enemy of growth.
It starts quietly:

“I’ll stay in my safe zone.”
“Change is too risky right now.”
“I’m fine where I am.”
“Better the devil I know than the unknown.”

But the truth:

→ Growth lives outside your comfort zone
→ Risk sparks learning and new skills
→ Challenges expand your limits faster than ease
→ Stagnation comes from avoiding discomfort
→ Real progress requires stretching, not settling

The ease you cling to today,
becomes the limits you accept tomorrow.

What real growth demands:

✓ Step into situations that scare you
✓ Try new approaches before they feel safe
✓ Embrace failure as a teacher, not a threat
✓ Seek challenges that stretch your skills
✓ Make discomfort your signal, not your fear

Comfort feels good now.
Uncomfortable feels worth it later.

Where will I get uncomfortable today to grow tomorrow?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

THE PAST IS A PLACE TO LEARN FROM,
NOT TO LIVE IN.

Because:

→ Memories are teachers, not destinations
→ Growth happens in the now, not in what already happened
→ Reflection is useful, rumination is not
→ Progress dies when you keep replaying old chapters

The truth is:

You can’t rewrite yesterday.
You can only reinterpret it, learn from it, and move forward with more wisdom than before.

What moving forward really looks like:

✓ Letting go of moments that no longer serve you
✓ Taking the lesson without carrying the weight
✓ Choosing presence over nostalgia
✓ Creating new experiences instead of clinging to old ones

Your past shaped you,
but it doesn’t define you.

Start asking:
Am I living today, or still visiting yesterday?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Be Obsessed With Becoming Better
That’s How You Beat Yesterday

Growth isn’t an accident.
It’s a choice, repeated daily, quietly, and relentlessly.

The truth?
You don’t outperform others by luck.
You outperform your past self by staying committed to improvement.

Progress compounds when you show up with intention.

Beating yesterday looks like this:
→ Learning one new thing every day
→ Strengthening habits instead of chasing shortcuts
→ Improving skills instead of seeking perfection
→ Staying focused on long-term growth, not instant wins

Practical ways to start today:
✔ Set one small goal for personal growth
✔ Track your progress, not your perfection
✔ Replace one bad habit with a productive one
✔ Review your day and note what you improved

The challenge isn’t becoming the best.
The challenge is becoming better than you were.

Stay obsessed with growth,
and yesterday will never catch up.

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Toxic leadership isn’t always loud.
It doesn’t always yell, micromanage, or steal credit.

Sometimes it’s quiet.
Subtle.
But just as destructive.

One day, you realize:
You feel drained.
Undervalued.
Second-guessing yourself.

That’s when you know, you might be dealing with a toxic leader.

7 signs that reveal leadership that breaks instead of builds 

1. Leading with fear over trust
 ↳ People stay silent. Mistakes punish instead of teach.

2. Taking credit, shifting blame
 ↳ Success is theirs. Failure is yours.

3. Micromanaging everything
 ↳ No autonomy, no ownership, no trust.

4. Creating confusion instead of clarity
 ↳ Vague expectations make you always feel “behind.”

5. Draining energy instead of fueling it
 ↳ Every interaction leaves you exhausted.

6. Playing favorites
 ↳ Politics matter more than performance.

7. Blocking growth
 ↳ No mentorship, no development, no path forward.

Because in the end, leadership isn’t about titles or control.
It’s about:
↳ lifting people up,
↳ giving them space to grow,
↳ fueling their energy and potential.

Great leaders build people. Toxic ones break them.

Which of these 7 signs do you think is the hardest to address in a workplace?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

7 signs that reveal leadership

Rushing to the finish makes you anxious.
Embracing the journey makes you wise.

One day, your goals will change.
Your plans will evolve.
Your path will look different.

But the lessons you learned.
The patience you built.
The growth you earned.

That’s the progress no one can take.

5 shifts that make the “in-between” powerful 

1. Presence over pressure
 ↳ You don’t have to rush what’s still unfolding.

2. Learning over arriving
 ↳ The middle is where real growth happens.

3. Progress over perfection
 ↳ Small steps today create big leaps tomorrow.

4. Clarity over comparison
 ↳ Your timing is yours. Don’t measure with someone else’s clock.

5. Gratitude over grind
 ↳ Enjoy how far you’ve come, even if you’re not “there” yet.

Because in the end, no one remembers how fast you got there.
They remember:
↳ how you stayed grounded.
↳ how you grew through uncertainty.
↳ how you enjoyed becoming.

That’s the kind of journey that shapes you.
The only kind worth taking.

Which of these 5 shifts are you leaning into right now?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

IT'S A FULL-TIME JOB BELIEVING IN YOURSELF.
NO DAYS OFF.

Because:

→ Self-belief isn’t a switch, it’s a daily discipline
→ Doubt shows up every morning, uninvited
→ Confidence grows only when you feed it
→ Your mindset is the real engine behind every result

The truth is:

You can have the skills.
You can have the vision.
You can have the plan.

But without belief?
You’ll hesitate… and hesitation is the most expensive decision of all.

What real self-belief requires:

✓ Talking to yourself kinder than the world does
✓ Backing your ideas even when others don’t understand
✓ Taking the step before you feel fully ready
✓ Choosing courage on the days fear feels louder
✓ Showing up again, especially after a setback

Belief isn’t something you earn.
It’s something you practice.
Every. Single. Day.

Start asking:
Am I feeding my self-belief, or letting doubt run the show?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Opportunities Are Made, Not Given
Success rarely arrives by accident.

It shows up for the people who build it, chase it, and create it when nothing is handed to them.

The truth?
Waiting keeps you stuck.
Taking action moves you forward.

Creating opportunity looks like this:
→ Asking for what you want instead of hoping for it
→ Building skills that open new doors
→ Showing up consistently even when results are slow
→ Turning setbacks into directions, not dead ends

Practical ways to start today:
✔ Reach out to someone who can accelerate your growth
✔ Start the project you’ve been delaying
✔ Learn one skill that increases your value
✔ Say yes to challenges that stretch you

The challenge is not finding opportunities.
The challenge is creating them with intention.

Success goes to the ones who make it happen.

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Old habits whisper comfort.
New standards demand growth.

Familiarity feels safe.
Discipline feels uncomfortable.
But the gap between who you were
and who you’re becoming
is bridged by daily choices.

Here’s how transformation shows up 

1. Comfort calls. Standards rise.
→ Choose the path that stretches you, not the one that soothes you.

2. Fear protects. Courage expands.
→ Step toward discomfort to create the future you want.

3. Delay tempts. Action rewrites.
→ One disciplined move beats a week of intentions.

4. Routine settles. Growth disrupts.
→ Break the patterns that keep you small.

5. Old identity clings. New identity challenges.
→ Act like the person you’re becoming, not the one you’re escaping.

6. Doubt speaks. Consistency transforms.
→ Small repeated decisions shape the bigger future.

7. Quiet battles. Loud outcomes.
→ Transformation happens internally long before it becomes visible.

Choose like this, and your future won’t stay the same,
it will rise to match your standards.

Growth doesn’t arrive suddenly.
It’s built through quiet, firm, repeated choices.

Transformation is a daily decision, not a dramatic moment.

Who are you choosing to become today?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

The Group You Choose Shapes Your Future
How people move through life, three clear patterns

Many people fall into three groups:
↳ Some sit on the sidelines
↳ Some talk more than they act
↳ Some build momentum through action

Here is the truth:
𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀.

Here are the 3 groups,
and the path that actually creates progress:

Critics
→ They stay on the sidelines
→ They judge efforts they never attempt
→ They highlight problems without lifting solutions

Talkers
→ Their plans sound big but stay unused
→ They live in “almost ready” mode
→ Their dreams speak louder than their actions

Doers
→ They take the first imperfect step
→ They learn faster because they move faster
→ They build wins through steady momentum

The real shift happens when you choose action over commentary.

Which group are you choosing today, Critic, Talker, or Doer?

♻ Repost to remind someone progress starts with one step.
➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

We underestimate the power of stepping away.

It starts with the moment you feel drained:

“I should defend myself.”
“I need to prove my point.”
“I can’t let this go.”
“I have to stay and fight.”

But the truth:

→ Not every battle deserves your energy
→ Silence is a strategy, not surrender
→ Distance protects more than it hurts
→ Boundaries prevent you from burning with the crowd
→ Walking away is sometimes the strongest move you can make

The match that steps back
stops the entire chain from burning.

Life works the same way.

What stepping away really gives you:

✓ Emotional clarity
✓ Space to respond instead of react
✓ Protection of your peace
✓ Strength to choose what matters
✓ The power to break unhealthy cycles

Not every situation deserves a reaction.
Not every person deserves access to your energy.

Start asking:
Is this worth my fire, or is it time to step back?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Stress doesn’t show up overnight.
It builds quietly.

In rushed deadlines.
In skipped lunches.
In meetings that never end.
In smiles that hide exhaustion.

One day, people stop thriving.
Then they stop caring.
Then they leave.

But the cultures that notice early,
The leaders who listen,
The teams that reset,
The workplaces that prioritize humans,
They protect their people and their performance.

8 signs your workplace is sliding into high stress 

1. Urgency over clarity
→ When everything is “ASAP,” focus dies and survival mode takes over.
→ Reset with real deadlines and impact-based priorities.

2. Grind over rest
→ Breaks disappear, guilt rises, stress compounds.
→ Normalize unplugged downtime without apology.

3. Meetings over progress
→ Constant interruptions replace real work.
→ Cut the noise. Block deep-work hours for everyone.

4. Overwork over outcomes
→ Long hours become a badge of honor.
→ Celebrate results, not burnout. Model balance from the top.

5. Fear over feedback
→ People stay quiet until it’s too late.
→ Build safe channels and train leaders to respond well.

6. Turnover over truth
→ Resignations rise before anyone admits the problem.
→ Track patterns honestly and listen to real exit feedback.

7. Load over capacity
→ Work keeps growing but teams don’t.
→ Rebalance roles. Hire or automate before chaos spreads.

8. Smiles over honesty
→ People look “fine” but aren’t.
→ Encourage real check-ins and teach leaders to spot silent burnout.

Because in the end, no one remembers the projects you rushed.
They remember:
→ Whether they felt safe,
→ Whether they felt heard,
→ Whether the culture protected their well-being.

Healthy teams don’t happen by accident.
They’re built with intention, every day.

Which of these 8 red flags do you think appears first in most workplaces?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

8 signs your workplace is sliding into high stress 

No matter how good you are,
if you’re in the wrong place, your value won’t be seen.

It starts with tough truths:

“I just need to work harder.”
“Maybe they’ll eventually notice.”
“Staying loyal will pay off.”
“I can adapt to any environment.”

But the truth:

→ The wrong environment shrinks even the strongest talent
→ Misaligned culture kills confidence and creativity
→ Being unrecognized isn’t a reflection of your worth
→ Growth requires the right soil, not just effort
→ Your potential thrives where your strengths are valued

Staying in the wrong place doesn’t make you loyal,
it keeps you stuck.

What being in the right place actually creates:

✓ Your skills get noticed, not ignored
✓ Your ideas turn into impact
✓ Your growth accelerates instead of stalls
✓ Your confidence returns
✓ Your value multiplies because it’s finally recognized

Sometimes your problem isn’t capability.
It’s location.

Start asking:
Am I undervalued, or simply in the wrong room?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

Easy paths feel comfortable.
Difficult roads change you.

One day, the struggle will fade.
The long nights will pass.
The uncertainty will settle.

But the strength you built.
The resilience you earned.
The confidence you gained.

That stays with you.

5 truths about difficult roads 👇

1. Resistance builds capacity
→ Hard seasons stretch you before they reward you.

2. Delay sharpens clarity
→ What takes longer often teaches deeper lessons.

3. Discomfort creates direction
→ Pain has a way of showing what truly matters.

4. Persistence beats intensity
→ Consistency outlasts bursts of motivation.

5. Growth requires friction
→ Smooth journeys rarely create strong people.

Because in the end, no one remembers the easy days.
They remember:
→ How you showed up anyway.
→ What you overcame quietly.
→ Who you became along the way.

Difficult roads don’t block the destination.
They prepare you for it.

What has a hard season taught you recently?

➕ Follow Nico Torres, for more on the future of work.

taplio

The Battle

Artem Borysenko

Nico Torres, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreArtem Borysenko's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNico Torres, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Artem Borysenko

Nico Torres, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Artem Borysenko's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNico Torres, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreArtem Borysenko's LinkedIn Performance