Research practice · 2026

JEREMY
KELLY

Product & Insights Strategist

Research that doesn't change a decision is theatre.

Open to permanent and contract roles · Wellington or remote

Explore the work Request the private portfolio
Portrait of Jeremy Kelly
RESEARCH ×
PRODUCT STRATEGY
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01 / About

Kia ora, I'm Jeremy.

I'm a UX Researcher and product and insights strategist with 8+ years in fintech, SaaS, resource management, and video games.

I work where the brief is still blurry: finding the real question behind the ask, then shaping the evidence into a story teams can act on.

Six years in UX research; before that, customer experience leadership close to support, operations, and product. I bring a product lens to trade-offs, prioritisation, and the decisions teams face.

My work runs in three modes: Tactical, when a near-term decision needs confidence; Strategic, when the question is where to play and what to prioritise; and Operational, when insight needs to outlive the study it came from.

Three principles sit under all of it:

  • Scale the signal, so a finding becomes an asset, not a moment.
  • Share the story, because findings nobody acts on are theatre.
  • Shift what's next, because the point is a changed decision, not a prettier deck.

The beard is real. So is the rigour.

8+ YRS · FINTECH · SAAS · RESOURCE MANAGEMENT · VIDEO GAMES · WELLINGTON / REMOTE

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02 / Selected work

Selected work.

01 Onboarding confidence. Why users left before their first commitment. SHIFT 02 Mobile strategy. Defining the real role of mobile. SHARE 03 Financial workflow discovery. Finding the opportunity between teams. SHIFT 04 Insight operations. Making past research easy to reuse. SCALE 05 Voice of customer strategy. Surfacing risk before it shows up. SCALE

Public snapshots, edited with care. The full stories live in the private portfolio.

01
SHIFTTactical

Onboarding confidence.

SituationA financial product was losing users before they made their first commitment.
WorkSurvey, prototype testing, moderated sessions, persona segmentation, and design partnership to find where confidence broke.
ShiftThe roadmap moved from fixing surface friction to designing for trust, reassurance, and readiness to commit.
SignalOnboarding conversion improved after the redesign.
SHIFT VISITSTARTVERIFYDEPOSIT CONFIDENCE BREAKS HERE Funnel becoming confidence, not friction
02
SHAREStrategic

Mobile strategy.

SituationA mobile product was caught between two jobs: a smaller version of desktop, or a focused tool with its own role.
WorkStakeholder interviews, customer evidence, cohort patterns, and Jobs-to-be-Done analysis clarified how mobile was really used.
ShiftThe team stopped debating feature parity and aligned around a clearer product role for mobile.
SignalEngagement increased after the product role became clear.
SHARE DESKTOP ACT MOBILE ≠ Different tools, not different screen sizes
Jeremy distinguishes himself as a remarkably thoughtful and pragmatic researcher with an exceptional ability to connect dots across complex problems.
— Michael Luchen · Director of Product (former), Float
03
SHIFTStrategic

Financial workflow discovery.

SituationA product opportunity sat between teams, not inside one feature.
WorkDiary research captured workflows in context, paired with interviews, opportunity framing, and product planning.
ShiftThe team moved from a feature wishlist to a clearer investment path and sequenced opportunity areas.
SignalThe investment case held up, and the team knew where to start.
SHIFT DELIVERYHROPSFIN $ leak$ leak$ leak ROADMAP PATH Workflow pain → roadmap sequencing
04
SCALEOperational

Insight operations.

SituationA growing research archive needed to become easy to find, reuse, and build on.
WorkArchive audit, playbook design, repository structure, stakeholder training, and AI-assisted retrieval.
ShiftPast research became reusable decision infrastructure instead of a static archive.
SignalThe team got better at answering recurring questions from existing insight.
SCALE AI · INDEX search the repository… Fragmented archive → evergreen system
05
SCALEOperational

Voice of customer strategy.

SituationA recurring feedback programme needed to surface risk earlier, before topline sentiment made it obvious.
WorkCohort-level sentiment analysis built with analytics, triangulated with qualitative interviews and live project data, then synthesised with product and leadership.
ShiftResearch moved from reactive reporting to strategic signal-setting.
SignalCohort-level analysis made hidden risk visible before the next brief landed.
SCALE +0- TOPLINE AVG newer veterans RISK HIDDEN IN THE AVERAGE Topline average → cohort-level signal
Jeremy is an excellent researcher and an absolute joy to work with. I would jump at the chance to work with Jeremy again.
— Alice Winthrop · Staff Product Manager, Float

03 / How I work

How I work.

Three modes: test the decision, shape the bet, build the system.

TACTICAL

Testing decisions

Moderated usability sessions, concept and prototype testing, and quick-turn surveys when a near-term decision needs confidence. Built to answer this sprint's question, not next year's.

STRATEGIC

Shaping strategic bets

Mixed-methods discovery: in-depth interviews, diary studies, Jobs-to-be-Done, segmentation, and opportunity framing when the question is where to play and what to prioritise. Qual for the why, quant for the weight.

OPERATIONAL

Building systems

Research repositories, playbooks, taxonomy and tagging, and AI-assisted retrieval that keep evidence working after the study ends. The ops layer most teams skip.

The principles guiding it

01
^SCALE
— The signal

Scale the signal.

Find the real problem, structure the evidence, and build systems that keep insight useful after the study ends.

SEEN IN: INSIGHT OPERATIONS ↓

02
XSHARE
— The story

Share the story.

Bring teams into the work early, then frame findings in a way people remember, repeat, and use.

SEEN IN: MOBILE ENGAGEMENT ↓

STORIES ARE BETTER RECALLED AND UNDERSTOOD THAN EXPOSITION · MAR ET AL., 2021, META-ANALYSIS, N=33,000+

03
/SHIFT
— What's next

Shift what's next.

Turn research into roadmap decisions, product direction, investment choices, and operating change.

SEEN IN: ONBOARDING CONFIDENCE ↓ · FINANCIAL WORKFLOW DISCOVERY ↓

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04 / Private portfolio

Available on request.

Private · by request

This site is the public view. The full portfolio goes deeper, and because it covers real clients and real decisions, it stays private.

  • Five case studies, end to end: problem, approach, artefacts, outcomes
  • The real artefacts: research plans, journey maps, synthesis, decks
  • Most useful if you're hiring; also shared for consulting and contract work
Download CV (PDF)

No form needed for the CV. The full portfolio is the thing worth asking for.

Request the portfolio

Tell me a bit about you and I'll send it over. Hiring, or looking for contract or consulting support? That's exactly the conversation I'm after.

Sends straight to my inbox, where a real human (me) reads it. I reply within one working day. Prefer email? jeremy@thebeardedresearcher.com.

Request sent.

Thanks, it landed in my inbox. I'll get the private portfolio over to you shortly. If you don't hear back, email jeremy@thebeardedresearcher.com.

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