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Product Strategy & Development
Our product strategy consulting is shaped by having founded and scaled software products ourselves. We help teams decide what to build by studying the behavior they need to change, then prototyping and testing before committing engineering time.
The problem behind the problem.
Product roadmaps fill up quickly. Sales relays customer requests, executives bring ideas from board meetings, engineers propose technical improvements and competitors ship features that feel urgent to match. Without a clear model of what users are trying to accomplish and which behaviors drive adoption and retention, prioritization becomes a negotiation. Teams ship steadily, yet the product grows more complex without becoming more valuable, and usage data shows features that few people touch.
We have lived this problem from the inside. We founded and scaled a research-dissemination platform built on social technology, and a website compliance archiving product for banks and dealerships, and learned that the hardest product questions are behavioral. Will people change an established habit to use this? What prompt will bring them back? What makes a compliance officer trust an automated record? We have also taught behavioral design, user testing and human-computer interaction, and we bring that discipline to the product strategy work we do for clients.
How we deliver product strategy & development.
- 01Observe
Study jobs and workarounds
We interview and observe current users, lapsed users and non-users to understand the jobs they are trying to get done, the workarounds they rely on today and the moments of frustration that create demand. Contextual inquiry often reveals that the most valuable opportunity is different from the most requested feature.
- 02Signal
Find the adoption behaviors
We analyze product usage data to identify the activation moments and usage patterns that predict retention, and the behavioral types that use the product differently. This shows which capabilities create lasting value and which add complexity without changing behavior, giving the roadmap an evidence base rather than a list of requests.
- 03Design
Prototype the critical moments
We translate findings into product principles, prioritized opportunities and low-fidelity prototypes of the moments that matter most. Using behavioral design, we consider motivation, ability and prompts at each step, so that the product makes the desired behavior easier rather than relying on users to work harder.
- 04Test
Test before building
We run usability tests, concept tests and, where practical, painted-door or limited-release experiments to validate demand and usability before full engineering investment. Each test is tied to a specific hypothesis on the roadmap, and results determine whether an idea moves forward, changes shape or is set aside.
- 05Scale
Build a product discovery rhythm
We help product teams adopt a lasting discovery practice: regular user conversations, a hypothesis backlog, adoption and retention metrics tied to behavior, and lightweight testing routines. We coach product leaders to make evidence visible in roadmap decisions, which also makes trade-offs easier to explain to executives and investors.
Deliverables.
What changes.
Who engages us.
We work with founders, chief product officers, product managers and innovation leaders in software companies, digital health ventures, financial services firms and organizations building their first digital products. Common triggers include an early product searching for fit, a mature product with stalled adoption, a roadmap overloaded with competing requests, a pivot under consideration, or a new venture inside an established company that needs startup discipline.
Industries
Beyond the balance sheet.
Products designed around real human needs waste less of people's time and attention. Users benefit from tools that are easier to learn and that respect their goals instead of maximizing engagement for its own sake. Product teams benefit from clearer priorities and less wasted work. We are attentive to products that serve sensitive needs, such as health, money and learning, where good design can meaningfully improve people's lives.
Frequently asked questions.
What does product strategy consulting include?
It typically includes user research to understand jobs and behaviors, analysis of usage data to find what drives adoption and retention, prioritization of opportunities, prototyping and testing before development, and help establishing an ongoing discovery practice. The aim is a roadmap grounded in evidence and a team that can keep generating that evidence on its own.
How does behavioral science change product strategy?
It shifts the central question from what features to build to what behavior the product needs to enable. Models of motivation, ability and prompts help explain why users do or do not adopt a feature. Concepts like habit formation, defaults and friction guide design choices that make valuable behavior easier and more likely to repeat.
Do you build software?
We do not provide engineering teams. We work alongside your product and engineering staff, contributing research, strategy, behavioral design, prototypes and testing. Our founding experience means we understand engineering trade-offs and write recommendations that development teams can act on, but delivery stays with your team or chosen partners. We also review designs during development to keep critical behavioral moments intact.
Can you help an early-stage startup?
Yes. Early-stage companies often benefit most, because untested assumptions are cheapest to correct before they are built into the product and the sales story. We tailor the scope to the stage, focusing on the few questions that most affect product-market fit and the evidence investors will want to see. We have been in that position ourselves, which shapes how practical our advice is.
Often paired with.
Behavioral Go-to-Market Strategy
Build a go-to-market strategy around how your buyers actually decide, with behavioral segments, tested offers and leading indicators of traction.
ExploreUser Research & Usability Testing
Find where products, apps and forms confuse users before launch, using think-aloud testing, heuristic review and task-based measurement with real people.
ExploreOnboarding & Activation Design
Find the early activation moments that predict long-term retention, then redesign the first experience so new customers, members and users reach value quickly.
ExploreRelated insights.
The Psychology of Technology Adoption
The psychological forces that determine whether people adopt or resist new technology, and how leaders can design rollouts that turn installation into lasting, meaningful use.
Read
Habit Formation for Products and Organizations
How habits form, why they matter for products and organizations, and how to design cues, routines and contexts that help valuable behaviors persist over time.
ReadReady to talk about product strategy & development?
Every engagement begins with a conversation. Tell us what you are facing and we will tell you, candidly, how we would approach it.
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