Kate Callahan

  1. Product
  2. Advisor
  3. Product Strategy
  4. Brand Strategy
  5. Go to Market strategy
  6. Customer Discovery

I help small teams make big decisions with customer insights


Curious, strategic and resourceful researcher with two decades of experience partnering with product makers and marketers. I'm an experienced user researcher for B2B and B2C SaaS companies in financial services, human capital and employee benefits. I've been a "first-and-only" research hire, and I've also built a team across business units. I know what it takes to deliver impactful research and build processes and tools from the ground up to make it repeatable. I love elevating the skills and mi…

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    Miro
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    Asana
  3. Zapier
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Kate Callahan

Work

Experience

  • Human Interest

    Human Interest

    Sr. UX Researcher

    Sep 2022 - Jul 2023

    Human Interest is a fintech startup that helps small and medium-sized businesses offer low-cost, high-quality retirement plans to their employees.

    • Conducted qualitative discovery research to aim product updates and A/B testing experiments for growth optimization.
    • Devised go-to-market insights and usability testing research for a self-service onboarding transformation at a Series D B2B fintech startup providing retirement benefits for small and medium-sized businesses.
  • M1

    M1

    Sr. Staff User Researcher

    Apr 2021 - Jul 2022

    M1 is a Series E fintech startup with over $5 billion in assets under management.

    • Built core research operations to support the product and marketing teams.
    • Cultivated an opt-in panel of 2,000+ clients while reducing recruiting cycle time by 60%.
  • Paylocity

    Paylocity

    Team Lead, User Research

    Jan 2020 - Apr 2021

    Paylocity is a leading provider of payroll and human capital management (HCM) software solutions.

    • Trained product owners and designers on research skills.
    • Conducted primary research with executives, HR leaders and employees on engagement, benefits and the future of work.
  • Morningstar, Inc.

    Morningstar, Inc.

    Multiple Roles

    Jan 2011 - Dec 2019

    Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment insights and financial planning tools for professional and retail investors. My roles included Sr. User Researcher, Design Manager, and Lead Researcher.

    • Owned discovery research for service design and strategic product development initiatives in the US, UK and Australian investment advice markets.
    • Recruited and managed a team of five researchers in two cities while serving stakeholders and priorities across multiple lines of business.
    • Originated the role of user research within an established global firm and contributed to the development of proprietary data visualization IP for ESG and valuation ratings.
  • Institute of Design at IIT

    Institute of Design at IIT

    Master of Design Methods

    Aug 2009 - Jun 2011

    The Institute of Design’s Master of Design Methods is an executive master’s program that combines business strategy with human-centered design research to envision what's next.

    • Graduated on schedule and with Honors as a working student
  • DePaul University

    DePaul University

    Bachelor Of Science In Human Computer Interaction

    Sep 2002 - Jun 2004

    • Graduated with Highest Honor and a Minor in Urban Historical Archaeology.

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