Startup Insights
Startup Insights is a podcast for entrepreneurs interested in building businesses that solve real problems. We tell stories about early stage startups and how they’ve used user research to shape their product and strategy. We interview entrepreneurs and researchers who have come to understand their customers through interviews, surveys, and other techniques. Our guests highlight specific examples of how their businesses conduct research - and what they’ve learned along the way.
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Uncovering & Identifying User Needs to Improve Retention Featuring Megan Kierstead
04/08/2022
Uncovering & Identifying User Needs to Improve Retention Featuring Megan Kierstead
Megan Kierstead is a certified coach for forward-thinking leaders with ADHD brains. Her coaching incorporates over a decade of experience of advising tech executives in strategy and human behavior, as well as deep expertise in user experience and market research. She long struggled with feeling like a fraud, even with over a decade of experience, prestigious degrees, and brand-name recognition. Once she started working with a coach EVERYTHING changed. Not only did she start showing up as a confident leader, she also built the most amazing, happy, fulfilling life for herself (bunnies! cooking! friends! glitter!). Megan realized that she wanted to help other people find freedom like she was able to, through coaching. CONNECT WITH MEGAN: LinkedIn: Instagram: Facebook: Website: ABOUT THE HOST: AJ Davis is currently the Founder and CEO of https://experimentzone.com, which provides strategic conversion rate optimization services for online businesses. She also serves as a startup advisor to several companies and focuses on user experience research, data, and fostering growth. AJ regularly appears on podcasts to discuss user experience, entrepreneurship, remote work, and conversion rate optimization. CONNECT WITH AJ: LinkedIn: ABOUT THE SHOW: Startup Insights is a podcast for entrepreneurs interested in building businesses that solve real problems. We tell stories about early stage startups and how they’ve used user research to shape their product and strategy. We interview entrepreneurs and researchers who have come to understand their customers through interviews, surveys, and other techniques. Our guests highlight specific examples of how their businesses conduct research - and what they’ve learned along the way. WHO IS THE SHOW FOR? -Early stage startups wanting to build impactful businesses -Funded startups managing their customer research strategy -VCs wanting to invest in data-based businesses -You can also find us on Apple, Spotify and your favorite podcast platforms!
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How User Research Is Helping a Food Startup Thrive Featuring Claire Schlemme
11/26/2021
How User Research Is Helping a Food Startup Thrive Featuring Claire Schlemme
Claire Schlemme is an ardent environmentalist who saw a need to fix a broken food system in order to protect the planet. Her lifelong interest in food and nature began to intertwine when she was diagnosed with cancer in her early 20s. This experience made her passionate about understanding the links between food and health, both of our environment and our own bodies. She co-founded Boston’s first organic juice company with the aim to connect local farmers and city-dwellers through nutritious and delicious foods. This experience exposed her to two primary challenges: food waste and the lack of affordable nutrition. Committed to finding solutions at the intersection of food, sustainability, and accessible nutrition, Claire launched Renewal Mill. Claire also co-founded The Outrage, an online and pop-up feminist marketplace that blended design and activism. Prior to diving into entrepreneurship, Claire was an environmental consultant at Industrial Economics, Inc. in Cambridge, MA. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University. CONNECT WITH CLAIRE + RENEWAL MILL: LinkedIn: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: Pinterest: Website: ABOUT THE HOST: AJ Davis is currently the Founder and CEO of https://experimentzone.com, which provides strategic conversion rate optimization services for online businesses. She also serves as a startup advisor to several companies and focuses on user experience research, data, and fostering growth. AJ regularly appears on podcasts to discuss user experience, entrepreneurship, remote work, and conversion rate optimization. CONNECT WITH AJ: LinkedIn: ABOUT THE SHOW: Startup Insights is a podcast for entrepreneurs interested in building businesses that solve real problems. We tell stories about early stage startups and how they’ve used user research to shape their product and strategy. We interview entrepreneurs and researchers who have come to understand their customers through interviews, surveys, and other techniques. Our guests highlight specific examples of how their businesses conduct research - and what they’ve learned along the way. WHO SHOULD LISTEN: Early stage startups wanting to build impactful businesses Funded startups managing their customer research strategy VCs wanting to invest in data-based businesses You can also find us on Apple, Spotify and your favorite podcast platforms!
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How Customer Research Fosters Sustainable Startups Featuring Steve Sanderson
11/12/2021
How Customer Research Fosters Sustainable Startups Featuring Steve Sanderson
Steve is a hands-on product development executive, with a passionate focus on startups and creating products that make a measurable difference. For most of his career, he has worked in early stage startups, with a strong emphasis on Lean Startup and Customer Development for the last six years. Currently he is the Resident Lean Startup Expert at Rackspace, where he is focused on applying Lean Startup and Customer Development into larger environments with high degrees of uncertainty. Prior to Rackspace, he was the VP of Product Development for Food on the Table, an early-stage venture funded consumer internet startup (acquired by Scripps Networks Interactive / The Food Network). Prior to Food on the Table, he was the Acting CEO & VP of Development and Technology for FiveRuns, an early-stage venture funded business-to-business startup targeting the software development markets (acquired by Workstreamer). Prior experience includes CTO of an early-stage eLearning startup targeting publishers (acquired by Macmillan Publishers, Ltd.), and leading the technology efforts for community at His background spans web and mobile application development, large enterprise systems, user interface development, distributed / fault tolerant computing (with three patents) and technology development in early versions of the UNIX kernel. More recently, he has been pushing the limits of applicability for Lean Startup and Customer Development and mentoring on those results. Steve resides in Austin with his wife and two sons. CONNECT WITH STEVE: LinkedIn: Twitter: Website: ABOUT THE HOST: AJ Davis is currently the Founder and CEO of https://experimentzone.com, which provides strategic conversion rate optimization services for online businesses. She also serves as a startup advisor to several companies and focuses on user experience research, data, and fostering growth. AJ regularly appears on podcasts to discuss user experience, entrepreneurship, remote work, and conversion rate optimization. CONNECT WITH AJ: LinkedIn: ABOUT THE SHOW: Startup Insights is a podcast for entrepreneurs interested in building businesses that solve real problems. We tell stories about early stage startups and how they’ve used user research to shape their product and strategy. We interview entrepreneurs and researchers who have come to understand their customers through interviews, surveys, and other techniques. Our guests highlight specific examples of how their businesses conduct research - and what they’ve learned along the way. WHO SHOULD LISTEN: -Early stage startups wanting to build impactful businesses -Funded startups managing their customer research strategy -VCs wanting to invest in data-based businesses -You can also find us on Apple, Spotify and your favorite podcast platforms!
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Qualitative Research for Startup Insights and Strategy Featuring Miriam Alexander
10/29/2021
Qualitative Research for Startup Insights and Strategy Featuring Miriam Alexander
Miriam Alexander founded and runs Go Deep Strategy, a qualitative boutique specializing in hard questions. Her 20+ year career spans work for both client and research agencies and for startups as well as Fortune100 corporations. Trained as a robust researcher — she’s done her share of segmentations — she loves the human connection found in qualitative work and works in both B2B and B2C. In the past she built and ran insights for the Yahoo Media Group, built and ran Insights and Analytics for a women’s Lifestage media company and doubled revenues while leading Qualitative for a major research agency. Miriam thrives on complicated challenges, combining innate curiosity, ability to connect and lateral analytic abilities to move her client’s initiatives forward. A Wellesley grad, Miriam is living proof that you can build an impactful career as a Philosophy major. A Southern California resident, she’s discovered a strange love for Scandinavia in December, and until she can travel again, wishes that someone would give her triple miles for the trip from her upstairs office to the one downstairs. HOW TO GET A COMPLIMENTARY INSIGHTS AUDIT (5-10K Value) from Miriam: Go Deep Strategy will review your current state — what you know and what you think you need to know — as well as your roadmap and goals. Based on those inputs they'll make recommendations for the areas that will most benefit from Insights work as well as how best to structure it (quant, qual, etc.). They'll give you the pros and cons of DIY vs. outsourced and make some agency recommendations if desired. Contact Miriam at and reference this Podcast Offer. Connect with Miriam on LinkedIn: ... ABOUT THE HOST AJ Davis is currently the Founder and CEO of , which provides strategic conversion rate optimization services for online businesses. She also serves as a startup advisor to several companies and focuses on user experience research, data, and fostering growth. AJ regularly appears on podcasts to discuss user experience, entrepreneurship, remote work, and conversion rate optimization. Connect with AJ on LinkedIn: ABOUT THE SHOW Startup Insights is a podcast for entrepreneurs interested in building businesses that solve real problems. We tell stories about early stage startups and how they’ve used user research to shape their product and strategy. We interview entrepreneurs and researchers who have come to understand their customers through interviews, surveys, and other techniques. Our guests highlight specific examples of how their businesses conduct research - and what they’ve learned along the way. Who should listen? -Early stage startups wanting to build impactful businesses -Funded startups managing their customer research strategy -VCs wanting to invest in data-based businesses -You can find us on SoundCloud and your favorite podcast platforms
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Research that Crescendos Featuring Chris Beaman
10/23/2021
Research that Crescendos Featuring Chris Beaman
In today's episode, we talk with Chris Beaman about how he approaches user research with senior citizens for the startup, Rehab2Fit. Chris Beaman is an entrepreneur and technologist with specialties in product and growth. Chris grew up in Boston and worked as a software engineer before becoming a user experience designer, a digital marketer, and eventually a startup founder. Today, Chris lives in Austin and leads user research efforts at Rehab2Fit, a fitness company based in Boulder, Colorado. On the side, Chris builds products and offers services to startups and startup founders through his company, Astronomic. Show Notes: If you know anyone in Austin age 50+ who experiences knee pain, please tell them to visit to register for a user test with Chris. Study participants are paid $100 cash for their feedback.
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A Product the Market Wants Featuring Melinda Hwang
10/20/2021
A Product the Market Wants Featuring Melinda Hwang
In today's episode, we talk with Melinda Hwang about how she found her market through spreadsheets, Facebook groups, and customer service questions. Melinda Hwang is the founder of Happy Masks, a company whose mission is to provide masks that combine breathability and comfort without compromising on protection. Melinda grew up in Taiwan, a country where wearing masks to help prevent diseases ranging from SARS to the common cold has been commonplace for decades, and also where Happy Masks are made. Melinda is proud to utilize the technology and resources there to bring Happy Masks to the US market. Prior to founding Happy Masks, Melinda worked in Marketing at a number of Fortune 500 companies for over 15 years. Melinda is also the mother of 3 young children, ages 4, 6, and 7. As a mother to young children and the daughter of parents in their late 60s and 70s, Melinda understands at a very personal level the need to provide masks to keep her family safe and healthy. Show Notes Melinda has graciously offered free shipping to our audience with the code "startupinsights".
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