Valentine Boyev

CEO at Halo Lab ✦ Helped 500+ companies to raise 💲revenue and investments through digital design and marketing → $500M+ in client total funding

With a passion for creating unique and scalable digital products, I help brands achieve their goals and enhance their online presence.

Key Achievements:

✅ $500m+ in client total funding

✅ 500+ happy clients

✅ 99+ international awards

✅ 120+ glowing reviews


I specialize in:

⤷  Web Design Services: Creating eye-catching and user-friendly websites that grab attention and drive results.

⤷  Website Development: Building strong, reliable websites that fit your business perfectly.

⤷  User Experience Design: Making sure your users have a smooth and enjoyable experience.

⤷  Brand Design: Crafting unique brand identities that really pop.

⤷  Conversion Optimization: Helping turn your visitors into loyal customers.

⤷  Digital Web Solutions: Providing all the web solutions you need in one place.

⤷  Website Redesign for Results: Giving your old website a makeover to boost performance and engagement.

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My Journey

My career began 15 years ago as a UI/UX designer, driven by a passion for creativity and beauty. For me, design is more than a job—it’s a way of life, an ever-exciting, fantastic world.

I believe in thinking outside the box and continuously renewing my knowledge. This mindset has guided me in helping people fall in love with brands and assisting agencies in winning new business.

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Halo Lab

Another passion I discovered is mentoring young designers at Halo Lab, where I help them become true professionals. Sharing my knowledge not only helps others but also fuels my own learning journey.

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Have a BIG idea in mind?

Contact me directly: inquiry@halo-lab.com

Co-Founder & CEO

Halo Lab is a full-stack design & development team.

We created digital projects almost every day since 2013.

We work with a diverse range of innovative startups and established companies. We've launched over 350 projects, helping our clients secure a total of $370M in funding. 

Some of our standout projects include:

- Kinetik: A healthcare platform with over 3,500 integrated providers.
- Bookclub24: A German online library for book collectors.
- Raven.gg: A leading brand in custom esports clothing design.
- Mighty Buildings: Pioneers in sustainable 3D-printed houses.

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, 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.

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.

If you’re looking for a design brain that can start in weeks (not months), let’s talk👉 https://bit.ly/49wqB0p

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CEO @ Halo Lab ✦ Leading a 130+ design-driven B2B software company → 500+ products shipped & scaled

“$5K for a full app” sound too good to be true.

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 QA.
✦ No security.
✦ No IP clarity.
✦ No discovery.
✦ No maintenance plan.

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.
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“So… how much does it cost to build an MVP?”

That’s the question I get from almost every founder we talk to.

There’s no one-size-fits-all number, but there is a clear pattern in how MVP costs break down.

And understanding it early can save you from burning six figures in the wrong phase.

Typical MVP cost.

1. SaaS MVP: $30,000–$100,000 (more with complex backend or AI features).
2. Mobile App: $60,000–$150,000 (iOS + Android doubles cost unless cross-platform).
3. Marketplace: $30,000–$150,000 (multi-role logic and payments drive cost).
4. Internal Tool: $15,000–$100,000 (simpler UI but requires solid integrations).

How founders blow the budget:

1. Too many “nice-to-haves.”
You don’t need every feature. 
You need one that solves a real pain.
Amazon’s MVP sold only books, that’s it.

2. Reinventing what already exists.
Use Stripe, Auth0, Firebase, Twilio, not custom clones.
Integrating proven services can cut MVP costs by up to 60%.

3. Building all at once.
Launch the essentials (Phase 1), test, iterate, then scale.

4. Ignoring “hidden” costs.
Hosting, compliance, and early marketing add up fast.
Always keep a 20% buffer, it’ll save your runway when surprises hit.

5. Skipping validation.
A small discovery phase costs 5% of the budget but prevents 50% of rework later.

The best MVPs aren’t just cheap.
They’re intentional, focused, and fast to learn from.

P.S. Smart Calculator to estimate your project cost 👉https://bit.ly/469trIn

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7 UI rules I wish I knew earlier.

(to make the UI work for the product growth).

1. Focus on fixing real user problems, not curious design. Function over form.

2. Stop guessing what works. Test all UI elements - buttons, CTAs, days of the week, color schemes - before you make a decision. Let the data choose.

3. Waiting for the perfect design means you're going to miss the needs of your users. Get feedback early and iterate fast.

4. Do not make the user think. Use simple, clear language that anyone can understand. The simpler the better.

5. The best way to reduce friction is to eliminate a choice.
 Focus on what matters.

6. Your UI is never "finished." It will evolve with user feedback and as your product changes.

7. If your product isn't optimized for mobile, you're losing users (we saw 40% drop-off on mobile checkout before the redesign).

Ultimately, outstanding UI is about making your product simple, clear, and effective for the people using it.
Design for your users, not for your ego.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in designing for usability?

♻️ Share this to help others avoid mistakes.
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If 40% of users would be “very disappointed” without your product, you’re close to PMF.

But users don’t feel “very disappointed” because of features.
They feel it because:
The product solves a real pain
The value is obvious
The experience feels effortless
That’s UX.

Data shows:
88% won’t return after one bad experience.
69% of enterprise software fails to deliver value.
60% of users abandon purchases due to poor UX.
42% of startups fail because there’s no real market need.

Most of those failures are about building the wrong solution, making value hard to access, creating friction before the “aha” moment.

Great UX design does three critical things:

1. Identifies the real problem before you build.
2. Clarifies the value proposition instantly.
3. Removes friction between intent and outcome.

Without that foundation, development becomes expensive experimentation.
With it, you build toward validated demand.

What about the ROI? Forrester reports:
415% ROI from UX investment.
Payback in under 6 months.
Massive reduction in rework costs.

PMF isn’t when users say, “Nice product.”
It’s when they say, “I can’t work without this.”

That’s a UX outcome.

We help product teams turn friction into traction through strategic UX design. Explore our UX design services → https://lnkd.in/dm3U-5yX

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How UX drives product-market fit

Stop increasing your expenses by 200% to 300%.

Start choosing the right build path.

Here is a rough estimate of costs associated with the two approaches based upon typical U.S. agency pricing and costs for the first year.

If your product is a marketing site, landing page, content hub, or simple store
→ Choose Webflow - аaster launch, lower cost, no dev retainer, easy updates.

Year-one cost:
🔹 $3.5K–$25K build.
🔹 $200–$900/year hosting.
🔹 $0 maintenance (no updates, no security patches, no plugins to babysit)

Explore our Webflow services 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHvy96bR

If your product needs real logic.
→ Choose custom code - because Webflow can’t handle user auth, multi-role logic, complex data structures, or real product architecture.

Year-one cost:
🔹 $25K–$150K+ build.
🔹 Hosting: $50–$200/mo
🔹 Ongoing engineering maintenance required.

Explore our Web development services 👉 https://lnkd.in/dKwsDnTh

The simple rule:
If the website’s job is to communicate → Webflow.
If the product’s job is to compute or interact → Code.
That’s it.

And the fastest way to save time + money is knowing the difference early.

♻️ Share this to help others make a choice.
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Freelancers execute tasks.

Dedicated teams build products.

That’s the real difference.

And it’s why enterprise companies increasingly choose dedicated product design teams over solo contractors.

1. No “Vacation Pause”.
2. You’re getting product intelligence.
3. Real consistency.
4. Strategic partnership.

Last quarter, we analyzed costs for 23 SaaS products: freelancer projects averaged 40% more in rework costs despite lower rates.

The freelancer model often means:
- Coordination overhead
- Inconsistent quality
- Rework
- Delays

Dedicated teams deliver faster, more predictably, and with built-in quality control.

If you’re building a serious product in SaaS, fintech, healthtech, you need a systemized, cross-functional product design engine.

👉 Partner with Halo Lab’s dedicated product design team and build with consistency, speed, and strategic clarity 👉 https://bit.ly/49wqB0p

Let’s talk about your next release.

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What a dedicated product design team does

I watched a founder burn $180K on hiring before shipping a single feature.

Here's the math they missed:

🔹 In-house.
High salaries + benefits.
Recruitment delays + costs.
Equipment + admin overhead.

🔹 Dedicated team.
No hiring delays.
Immediate start with senior talent.
Clear monthly cost, no hidden overhead.

One client switched after 4 months of failed interviews — saved $60K and launched 6 weeks later.

Dedicated teams aren’t just cheaper. They’re faster.
You skip 3-6 months of recruitment delays.
You get structured delivery and clear accountability.
While others are still hiring, you’re already shipping.

Want to know your project cost?
We built a Smart Calculator to help founders like you get a realistic cost estimate. 

Try it here 👉 https://bit.ly/469trIn

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Dedicated vs in-house

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.

✦

Every product trains some solution.
Banking apps establish trust through clarity, confirmation, and feedback.
Healthtech products establish calm through predictability, empathy, and clarity in high-stress situations.
Productivity tools establish competence through progress visibility and responsive approaches.
E-commerce establishes confidence through speed, reassurance, and visual clarity.

If your UI, motion, and feedback loops do not align with the emotion you want to establish, they will establish the opposite.

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 enrich positive emotions in the experience.

Any emotional association your product will have already taught emotion - even if you weren't designing for it. Are you sure it was the right one?

♻️ Share this to help others audit their products.
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Ghostright

Here's how this works ⬇️

⇨ Get scheduled on niche-specific podcasts every month.
⇨ Transform those conversations into targeted video content.
⇨ And attract new buyers on: LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

✋🏻✋🏻✋🏻

Not just buyers either…
You’ll also attract:

🔸Fans
🔸Referrals
🔸Partnerships
🔸Recruits + Top Talent
🔸Public Speaking Gigs

(I’ll explain everything in our first meeting)

Second... why should you work with me?

I'm a content partner in your pocket. 

⇨ I leverage AI to help me with clerical work, ideation, note-taking, image generation, video editing, research, copywriting... and so on. Because of that, I don't need a bloated team, I am the team. That means fewer headaches for you nursing a bunch of freelancers and a consistent/fair price.
⇨ I'm not an order taker. I'm a partner in your pocket. I have a plan for everything. That not only saves you time by avoiding other people's sales funnels but additionally, gives you the answers faster so you can stay in front of your competition consistently for longer.
⇨ I'm incredibly organized, detail-oriented, and creative. I'm also a lot of fun to work with. 

More specifically... I'll help you build a content ecosystem, one that's systems-based, that's built around your busy schedule, and can be leveraged to grow your brand and your business for years to come.

Ready to discuss this?

Direct message me.👆🏻

Content Partner (click see more) 👇🏻

Coastal Ridge Real Estate

Leasing Consultant

Daniel Kading Ghostwriting & Social Media Management

Freelance Ghostwriter/SM Manager

Eventi Media Inc.

I was the Head of Strategy for Eventi Media. 

This start-up out of Canada with a team from all over the world mostly focused on short-form video content for entrepreneurs, professionals, and experts in their field. 

We took 4 hours of your time and turned it into a full month of content each month on TikTok, Instagram, and, YouTube Shorts. 

I was brought onto the team to not only take over creative but also help implement LinkedIn/X (Twitter) at the time... into the company's product offering. 

In this role, I mostly focused on: 

- Scriptwriting
- Copywriting
- Ghostwriting
- Client Success
- Creative
- Analysis

And overall helping each client create the best message possible

On as many platforms as possible.

Head of Strategy

Deep Social Brands Inc.

I worked as the lead of client success. 

More specifically here's what I did for the team at DSB: 

- Worked with clients on strategy
- Strategized/created the copy for the client's content
- Worked with the editing team to ensure that vision came to life
- Assisted the production team with scheduling, filming coordination, and client deliverables
- Additionally, worked as the intermediary between clients, founders, and outside vendors 
- Additionally I helped out with management of day-to-day operations for a book of 25 + clients

Client Success Manager

I worked as the Junior Content Strategist for Deep Social Brands.

Here’s what I did in this role:

- I helped write weekly TikTok content for a book of 15-20 clients
- I also assisted with creative and copywriting
- Strategy
- Client coaching
- Personal branding
- Content creation 

I transitioned out of this role and into the Client Success Manager role after only 3 months with the company.

Content Strategist 

Bird

Fleet Manager

Grubhub

Driver

Lyft

Uber

Hooked, Inc.

I utilized my interpersonal skills, sales know-how, and best marketing practices to help businesses find new customers, through in-app geo-targeted advertising.

I accomplished this by bringing together a community of food-related businesses to help people save money on everyday purchases and created organic engagement/acquisition of new customers for clients that encouraged new/repeat traffic consistently.

More specifically I oversaw:

- Outreach (growing in-app food/drink offerings)
- Growth (bringing on new users to engage w/ restaurants) 
- Guerrilla Marketing
- Field Marketing
- Content Creation/Management 
- Copywriting 
- Acted as intermediary between clients and Customer Success Manager

I grew the app by downloads from 10.5k to 19k in a year and launched the subscription model growing it to roughly 3k in size in only a few months through events and word-of-mouth.

Additionally, I grew the content offering on the platform from 56 restaurants/bars to 78, this required some serious self-starter chops because I had no one else helping me along the way. 

I did all of the prospecting on my own, built their content after the sale, and did events with them later on. 

I grew so much through this role, not only as a salesperson but as a content creator and marketer.

Sales/Marketing Manager

High-caliber social media manager for serious brands 📡 I write like Deadpool kills... I may be super but I'm no hero ⚔️

Here's my backstory...

My name's Dan. 

I go over and above for my community and I'm very driven to help others see success on this platform. 

That's why if you DM me with a random question… I'll more than likely help you. 

Send me a cringe sales DM and I’ll delete it.
Drop too many AI-generated comments on my content…

I’ll block you... ✋🏻

I grew up at the skatepark and helping others is how you learn, especially when doing something difficult like skateboarding. 🛹

Creating content is incredibly similar and that's why I operate like this. It just feels right. 

On top of that I come from a performance poetry (slamming)🎙️background so being vulnerable in the public square is quite literally a walk in the park for me. 

I'm also a public speaker. 

I've done talks at prestigious events like the Social Media Marketing World in San Diego in '23 where I spoke in front of a 2000 + person audience.

And the Linked Innovators Summit with household names like Richard Van Der Blom that same year.

I've also been on nearly 30 podcasts.

If you need a good guest for your next episode...

Or a speaker for your next event please feel free to DM me, I'm always down. 

Come for the insights… stay for the vibes.✌️

Want to work with me? 

Read the ‘Experience’ section below. ⬇️

taplio

The Battle

Valentine Boyev

Daniel Kading ⚡️

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The Battle

Valentine Boyev

Daniel Kading ⚡️

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);}Valentine Boyev's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreValentine Boyev's LinkedIn Performance