We’ll share how we built a well-oiled user research operation at Ramp Network, a crypto startup. This case study is packed with real-life examples of what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned along the way.
We’ll cover how we got stakeholder buy-in, secured budget, picked tools, and set up processes for both continuous discovery and targeted research. We’ll also show how we educated the organization, involved teams in research, and ultimately changed how the company operates.
If the audience wants to see a real example of how to scale user research in a fast-paced startup environment, this talk will provide no-fluff insights and reflections on how to make it happen.
Watch this WaysConf session, then continue with related talks or explore the current programme.
This case study explains how a Web3 scale-up moved from founder intuition and sporadic discovery to a durable research practice. The talk follows the first researcher’s path from fast, low-cost usability sessions through stakeholder mapping, mixed-method evidence, behavioral personas, and internal education. Its central lesson is organizational: research culture grows when teams see useful evidence quickly, designers carry insights into delivery, leaders protect the capability during difficult periods, and customer knowledge becomes part of strategy rather than a specialist’s private output.
A lightweight usability study exposed severe confusion around wallet addresses and crypto networks, giving the new practice an immediate, concrete problem that product teams could understand.
Watch from 10:00The researcher first learned who welcomed research, who feared slower delivery, and which relationships could help evidence travel through the organization.
Watch from 15:29Qualitative accounts of stress became more influential when connected with quantitative patterns, producing evidence that could guide both product decisions and company strategy.
Watch from 21:19The team created practical personas from thousands of qualitative and quantitative data points instead of inventing convenient profiles around existing features.
Watch from 27:29Training, coaching, designer advocacy, and leadership support helped customer insight spread beyond the research role and survive changes in budget and pressure.
Watch from 32:59These concise notes were edited from automatic captions and checked against the talk structure. They are not a verbatim transcript.
The first usability sessions required little budget or ceremony, yet they revealed a foundational obstacle: people entering crypto could not reliably connect wallets, addresses, and networks. That concrete evidence gave teams something more useful than a general request to value research. It demonstrated that observing customers could uncover risks hidden by internal familiarity with the product.
Watch from 9:49Before imposing a research process, the new role examined the organization itself. Some colleagues hoped research would improve decisions; others worried it would delay delivery. Identifying those expectations helped the researcher choose allies, anticipate resistance, and design early work that answered important questions without confirming fears about unnecessary overhead.
Watch from 15:21Across a growing body of qualitative and quantitative evidence, user stress appeared repeatedly among both crypto newcomers and experienced customers. The value did not come from one dramatic quote. It came from seeing the same underlying behavior in different sources, then turning that pattern into a product and strategic concern the wider company could act on.
Watch from 21:00The resulting personas were not workshop inventions designed to accommodate a roadmap. They synthesized thousands of observations and measurements into practical decision aids. Their credibility depended on traceable evidence, while training and coaching helped colleagues understand how to use them without treating the profiles as rigid substitutes for continued customer contact.
Watch from 27:10Building the practice was less about perfect templates than about proving value early and making customer evidence difficult to ignore. Designers carried insights into their teams, leaders continued to support the role, and repeated exposure created a company-wide habit. Over time, research influenced not only individual features but also what the organization chose to prioritize.
Watch from 38:09
