Highland

What Highland does

Highland, operating as Highland Solutions, is a privately held digital product and innovation consultancy founded in 1999 and headquartered at 125 S. Clark St., Suite 670, Chicago, Illinois. The firm helps ambitious organizations launch digital products, reimagine customer experiences, and identify new market opportunities, with a stated track record of 300+ digital products launched across 26 years of operation. Services are delivered through small, integrated multi-disciplinary teams combining behavioral research, business strategy, human-centered design, and software development, organized around a five-stage Digital Product Innovation Program (Explore, Co-Create, Design & Test, Pilot, Build) and supported by adjacent offerings in opportunity exploration, concept creation, and custom software development.

The technology stack is conventional modern web and mobile development, including Laravel (PHP), Vue.js, React, and mobile app development, with explicit Gen AI development and SaaS development capabilities. Proprietary assets include the AI Horizons strategic framework and the AI Career Partner platform, an AI-driven module tailored to membership associations that delivers personalized career guidance, salary benchmarks, and member matching. The firm is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and has received multiple Clutch awards in 2025 across Laravel development, Chicago-based development, and financial services custom software categories.

Highland generates revenue through professional services engagements, billed as project-based or time-and-materials consulting work, acquired via direct sales and inbound inquiries. The go-to-market is consultative and sales-led, targeting executive-level buyers at mid-to-large organizations across verticals including membership associations, healthcare, financial services, education, and nonprofits. Named clients span AAOS, AGU, College of American Pathologists, Cigna, Thrivent, Blue Cross Kansas City, Make-A-Wish, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and a Fortune 200 life sciences company. The firm has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no public revenue figures, with growth in its ~20-person team attributed to a President (Jon Berbaum) and Managing Partner (Devin Parsons).

Name

Highland

Legal name

Highland

Website

https://highlandsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Highland is a Chicago-based digital product and innovation consultancy founded in 1999 that designs, builds, and launches digital products for membership associations, healthcare, financial services, education, and nonprofit clients through integrated multi-disciplinary teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Product and Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data, Analytics & AI Training (BI, Data Engineering, ML/GenAI) (BPAEANAH), Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms (EDAFAMAN)

Keywords

• Digital product consulting
• Innovation consulting
• Custom software development
• UX design services
• Digital transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services / Consulting: Highland operates as a digital product and innovation consultancy providing professional services. Revenue is generated through client engagements that combine research, strategy, design, and software development. As a consultancy, billing is likely project-based or time-and-materials, with multi-disciplinary teams working hand-in-hand with clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Highland is a digital product and innovation consultancy that helps ambitious organizations launch digital products through an integrated four-phase service approach: Opportunity Exploration (behavioral research and market sizing), the Digital Product Innovation Program (a five-stage Explore/Co-Create/Design & Test/Pilot/Build methodology), Concept Creation (human-centered design, UI/UX, service design, and rapid prototyping), and Digital Product Development (custom software, mobile applications, Gen AI, web applications, and SaaS platform engineering). Services are delivered by small, embedded multi-disciplinary teams combining researchers, strategists, designers, and engineers. The firm also offers an AI Career Partner module tailored to professional associations for delivering hyper-personalized member career experiences.

Product overview

Highland is a Digital Product & Innovation Consultancy that offers an integrated suite of four core service phases for helping ambitious organizations launch digital products. The portfolio consists of Opportunity Exploration (research and market sizing for growth opportunities), the Digital Product Innovation Program (a five-stage methodology covering Explore, Co-create, Design & Test, Pilot, and Build phases), Concept Creation (human-centered design, UI/UX, service design, and rapid prototyping), and Digital Product Development (custom software, mobile apps, Gen AI, web applications, and SaaS platforms). These services are delivered through small, integrated multi-disciplinary teams combining behavioral research, business strategy, design, and software development. The consultancy also offers an AI Career Partner module for professional associations seeking to deliver scalable career partnership experiences to members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Opportunity Exploration (Spark New Growth) Growth opportunity research and strategy service using behavioral research to uncover customer needs, perform competitive analysis, define and size markets, develop innovation strategy, and design business models for organizations seeking to expand offerings and compete in new ways.
• Digital Product Innovation Program Five-stage integrated methodology (Explore, Co-Create, Design and Test, Pilot, Build) that combines research, business strategy, design, and software development to launch digital products with validated customer value, including research and market sizing, value proposition development, lean prototyping, real-world piloting, and MVP development with go-to-market strategy.
• Concept Creation (Design Products and Experiences) Human-centered design service using qualitative and quantitative research, lean startup methods, UI/UX design, service design, rapid prototyping, and design sprints to create, test, and refine compelling digital products and customer experiences.
• Digital Product Development (Build Custom Software) Custom software development service combining continuous customer feedback, human-centered design, and quality software engineering practices to build SaaS platforms, mobile applications, web products, and Gen AI applications tailored to client customers and business strategy.
• AI Career Partner AI-driven career partnership platform offering hyper-personalized experiences to professional association members including salary benchmarks, career path exploration, job connections, member matching, contract feedback, and precise recommendations for association offerings and programs timed to the individual member's needs.
• Digital Product Accelerator Three-week engagement combining customer research and rapid prototyping to deliver customer insights, value propositions, market sizing, and an initial interactive prototype for organizations pursuing digital products.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ digital products launched
• +13 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Blue Cross Blue ShieldminorOthersHighland provides health insurance plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield for employees, with Highland paying 66% of health insurance premiums.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Pioneering design and innovation consultancy offering human-centered design, research, and digital product strategy. Direct peer to Highland on methodology (Explore/Co-Create/Build) and target buyers (enterprise and mission-driven organizations).
• frog (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation consultancy now part of Capgemini Invent, delivering digital product strategy, design, and engineering. Closely overlaps Highland on integrated research-design-build delivery and enterprise client base.
• Fjord (Accenture Song): Design and innovation consultancy within Accenture Song, focused on human-centered design, service design, and digital product strategy. Comparable to Highland on multi-disciplinary teams and digital product innovation outcomes.
• Slalom: Mid-to-large digital transformation and strategy consultancy delivering custom software, data, and design services to enterprise and mid-market clients. Comparable to Highland on project-based digital product engagements and values-driven brand.
• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy combining custom software engineering, design, and strategy for digital product modernization. Comparable to Highland on integrated design-engineering teams and custom digital product delivery.
• West Monroe: U.S.-based management and technology consultancy delivering digital product builds, data, and operations work to mid-market and enterprise clients. Comparable to Highland on size, U.S. footprint, and digital product innovation focus.
• Forum One: Digital agency specialized in associations, nonprofits, and membership organizations — delivering strategy, design, and digital product builds. Closest peer to Highland on the membership-association vertical focus and AI/membership thought leadership.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Digital: Global digital consultancy within Deloitte offering strategy, design, custom software, and GenAI at enterprise scale. Competes with Highland on enterprise digital product innovation but with substantially larger bench and brand.
• BCG X: BCG's tech-build and design division delivering digital products, AI, and venture incubation for enterprise clients. Competes with Highland on the strategy-to-build innovation continuum, particularly for healthcare and life sciences.

Emerging players

• Root: Boutique digital product and platform consultancy specialized in associations and member-based organizations. Direct competitor to Highland on the membership-association vertical with overlapping digital product and platform capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInhighlandsolutions.com/insights/design-the-conversation-not-just-the-deliverable
• Xx.com/HighlandChicago

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highland