Extreme product-market-fit
needs robust customer research.

01.

100% growth driven

Research is powerful, particularly at early stage. We are an advisory firm that laser focuses on helping you achieve early growth goals and go from nascent to extreme product-market-fit.

02.

Battle-tested playbook

We are seasoned operators who have a proven track record propelling hyper-growth at companies like Robinhood and Airbnb. We have a battle-tested playbook for what works at your growth stage.

03.

Full-spectrum research

Our multi-method expertise combines user research, market analysis, survey science, and data analytics to paint the complete picture, delivering insights others miss.

04.

Tightly coupled

We love to roll up our sleeves and work hand-in-hand with C-suite leaders and decision-makers on the toughest strategic challenges.

We Built Robinhood Options From Scratch

We didn't research Options Trading—we invented it. Starting from nothing but market opportunity, our research study quickly identified the right segment for Robinhood, unique pain points that no one is addressing, produced designs for all its key flows (what current interface still closely resemble), and charted out a 3-year roadmap. Research didn't just inform the product. It WAS the product.

A 3-month launch, 0.5M users in year one, and a product that generates over 40% of Robinhood's revenue.

Robinhood Options Interface - Sell AAPL Call Screen showing multiple strike prices and profit chances

Legacy design for Robinhood Options (2017) - closely resembles current interface

Context

In early 2017 Robinhood (series B) started looking into options trading market.

Method

Field interview and observations; prototyping; 6 weeks

0.5M

active users in first year

$791M

2021 revenue

40%

of total revenue

0.5M

active users in first year

$791M

revenue in 2021

We Built Robinhood Options From Scratch

We didn't research Options Trading—we invented it. Starting from nothing but market opportunity, our research study quickly identified the right segment for Robinhood, unique pain points that no one is addressing, produced designs for all its key flows (what current interface still closely resemble), and charted out a 3-year roadmap. Research didn't just inform the product. It WAS the product.

A 3-month launch, 0.5M users in year one, and a product that generates over 40% of Robinhood's revenue.

Context

In early 2017 Robinhood (series B) started looking into options trading market.

Method

Field interview and observations; prototyping; 6 weeks

Legacy design for Robinhood Options proposed by the 2017 research, which closely resembles the interface in 2025

Xuan Zhao

Founder

I am a startup advisor and former research director. As one of the first 60 employees at Robinhood, I built and led user research through the company's 500x growth from Series A to Series E, and was directly responsible for 0→1 research effort for most of its flagship products. This includes Options ($222M, Q4 2024), interest-earning products including Cash Management ($296M, Q4 2024), Banking, Web, Passive Investing and Robinhood Learn. I subsequently led monetization research teams at Airbnb and Instagram, optimizing revenue streams for Airbnb flexible payment and Instagram creators. I now combine strategic advisory with operational investment to help accelerate early-stage companies.