Building a Trusted Marketplace

Partnered with an early-stage startup to validate a two-sided marketplace and uncover what truly drives trust and adoption for enterprise buyers and independent experts. Multi-phase research reshaped product positioning, eliminated risky assumptions, and helped transform a vision-driven idea into a research-informed product strategy.

Hivemindd, an early-stage startup, needed to validate its marketplace concept and understand what truly drives trust and adoption for both enterprise clients and independent experts. I partnered with the founders over eight months to ground the product strategy in real user needs and enterprise realities.

Designed and led a four-phase research program, including concept interviews, expert usability testing, feature prioritization, and client/MVP validation

Engaged 35+ participants across both sides of the marketplace, including consultants, IT leaders, finance stakeholders, and executives

Identified credibility blockers for experts

Uncovered experts’ core needs

Mapped enterprise procurement and compliance workflows

Reframed product positioning to support enterprise requirements

Synthesized findings into a clear narrative that aligned founders around priorities, investment decisions, and long-term direction

Hivemindd shifted from a vision-driven concept to a research-informed product organization. The work eliminated high-risk assumptions, clarified user needs, and directly shaped product positioning, feature strategy, and credibility signals. The founders emerged with a validated roadmap, shared decision-making language, and a compelling story for customers, partners, and investors, turning research into a competitive advantage.