Digital innovation and strategy
Make confident decisions about your digital future
Feeling behind? Unsure where to take your digital efforts next? If your digital efforts feel reactive or all over the place, we’re here to help bring clarity before you invest in design and development.
Signs you need a digital strategy
We help teams bring clarity to complex digital decisions.
Most of our clients aren’t starting from zero. They’re already in motion. They’re just stuck, stretched thin, or unsure what to tackle first.
If you relate to the following statements, it might be time to explore digital strategy.
The challenge is real:
- You're juggling disconnected tools and shifting priorities
- You feel pressure to modernize, but don’t know where to start
- Your team needs to align around a shared plan and build momentum
And the opportunity is within reach:
- You have a bold idea, but need a clear path to execute it well
- You're ready to take a big step forward and want to make sure you do it right
Our approach: Turning ideas into actionable strategy
We work alongside your team to understand your context, challenge assumptions, and shape a clear path forward.
Our process is flexible, but typically includes these components.
One of the most effective ways to get started is with our Digital Discovery Workshop. It’s a half-day session that delivers clear priorities and next steps you can act on right away.
Discovery & stakeholder alignment:
We bring key voices together to clarify goals, identify frustrations, and get everyone on the same page. These workshops create the clarity that fast-moving teams need.
Opportunity mapping:
We help you spot where digital tools can make the biggest impact, whether that’s solving bottlenecks, improving customer experience, or introducing automation or AI.
Prioritization and planning:
We deliver a clear, actionable strategy based on effort, value, and urgency. The result is a clear plan of action that fits your business, whether you'll move forward with our team or design and develop internally.
Support for what’s next:
Need to test an idea or build internal support? We can create simple prototypes, business cases, or talking points to help your team make smart, confident moves.
Meet your strategy partner
Joshua Hulst
Managing Partner and Co-Founder
Josh leads our digital strategy work. Over the past 15 years, he’s helped mid-sized organizations navigate complex digital decisions, align around what matters most, and move forward with confidence.
Since launching MichiganLabs in 2010, Josh has steered the firm’s evolution from hands‑on product development to a trusted strategy and innovation partner. He works with clients to surface opportunities and make sure every technology investment advances real business goals.
Josh pairs an MBA from the University of Michigan with an M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from Michigan State University. This blend reflects how he approaches strategy: grounded in business value and informed by technical depth.
Even when he’s not in the room, Josh plays a key role in shaping the final output—translating conversations into a clear, focused plan you can act on.
Where digital strategy makes a difference
Strategy shouldn’t live in a slide deck. It should guide how you solve business problems, serve users, and improve how your organization works.
We help teams take their best ideas and biggest pain points and turn them into actionable plans.
Our team blends product thinking, technical expertise, and business strategy. We always keep in mind what’s feasible, sustainable, and worth building.
Through digital strategy, our clients receive:
- A prioritized roadmap tied to business outcomes
- Strategic alignment that makes it easier to lead change, rally stakeholders, and take action
- Tactical next steps you can execute on, internally or with us
- Support materials (like business cases or prototypes) to help justify the investment and move forward
Why teams trust us for digital strategy
We believe strategy is only valuable if you can act on it. That’s why our approach combines clear guidance with hands-on experience to bring the digital ideas to life.
No more vague strategy documents. Our recommendations are grounded in what’s feasible to implement and what will make a meaningful difference for your business.
1
Partnership you can count on:
We’re expert engineers, designers, and product managers who listen closely, ask thoughtful questions, and work alongside you.
2
A product mindset:
We focus on what’s feasible and worth doing first, so that progress feels possible.
3
Experience in the digital space:
Our 15 years of cross-industry experience means we ramp up quickly, ask sharp questions, and help you make confident decisions.
4
Momentum beyond the workshop:
When you’re ready to act, we’re ready to help you modernize what exists or build what’s next.
Clarity starts with one good conversation
Whether you’re just starting to explore or already knee-deep in competing digital priorities, we’re here to help you move forward with clarity.
Complete our quick contact form and we’ll reach out within two business days to schedule a free, initial consultation.