I'm Dru Riley, founder and CEO of HeadsUp. I'm also the founder of Trends.vc, a media company and community I've been building over several years. After taking a mini retirement in 2017, I returned to build Trends.vc and now I'm applying my software development background to build HeadsUp.

My inspiration for creating HeadsUp comes from watching too many founders get blindsided by competitors. They either think they're immune to market changes or ignore competitors entirely until it's too late. I've seen companies lose market share and sometimes their entire business because they didn't see threats coming in time to respond. That's why I'm focused on turning competitive intelligence into early warnings and clear actions you can take.

I've been working on HeadsUp since May 2025, building it as a platform that doesn't just monitor competitor changes but turns them into specific actions you can take.

When I'm not building HeadsUp or running Trends.vc, I practice Jiu Jitsu, run, play chess and travel slowly as a digital nomad. I believe the best software comes from understanding problems that users face, which is why I'm building HeadsUp to solve the competitive intelligence problem I've experienced myself.

My goal is simple: help founders spot competitive threats early and turn them into opportunities by giving them the intelligence and time they need to win.