Walk into your next budget review with proof, not a pitch deck.
In three weeks, we'll help your team make a confident call: build it, or don't. You'll have a working product your stakeholders can actually use, real signal from real users, and the one readout your leadership needs to approve it — so you decide before you spend six figures finding out.
Fixed scope. Fixed timeline. No long-term contracts.
The Design Sprint, rebuilt for the AI era.
The original Design Sprint helped teams test ideas before they built them. But AI-assisted tools have changed what's possible inside a sprint. Teams no longer have to validate with sketches or static mockups. They can test realistic, working product experiences in weeks — and bring real evidence into the budget conversation.
The riskiest moment isn't the build. It's the decision to build.
Decks don't de-risk.
Slides describe an idea. They don't prove anyone wants it.
Full builds are expensive bets.
Committing $250K+ to an unvalidated concept is how innovation budgets quietly disappear.
Internal buy-in is hard to earn.
Stakeholders say yes to things they can see, touch, and believe.
Get real product signal before you commit real build budget.
Everything you need to confidently say “build it” or “kill it” — and to bring your stakeholders with you.
A real, functional prototype
Not a static mockup. A production-quality, beautifully-designed front-end your team can demo live.
Validation with real users
Structured testing with your actual target users or stakeholders, with clear findings and a go/no-go signal.
An executive-ready decision readout
The one document your team forwards to leadership: whether the problem is real, whether your solution earns it, the user signal, key risks, recommendation, budget logic, and what comes next.
A build roadmap & cost estimate
Exactly what "yes" looks like, what it costs, and how to get there — so your next budget ask is easy.
How the sprint works
One focused team. One idea. Three weeks. Senior, human-led strategy — accelerated by AI, never replaced by it. No drawn-out scoping.
- Week 1
Frame & Design.
We align on the idea, the riskiest assumptions, and what success looks like. Then we design the prototype.
- Week 2
Build & Test.
We build a real, interactive prototype and put it in front of real users to gather honest signal.
- Week 3
Decide.
We synthesize findings into a clear recommendation, an exec-ready readout, and a build roadmap.
Built for teams who have to make the call.
This is for you if
- You lead innovation, digital, or product at a mid-market or enterprise company
- You have an idea worth testing but not yet worth a full build
- You need internal buy-in before committing budget
This isn't for you if
- You already know exactly what to build and just need hands
- You want the cheapest possible developer
- You're not willing to test with real users
Fixed-price validation before full-scale investment.
Designed to help your team make a confident build decision before committing six figures to development.
Your real alternative isn't a cheaper sprint. It's a $250K–$500K build you're not yet sure about. A Validation Sprint is the cheapest way to find out which decision you're facing — before it's on your budget.
Decision Sprint
2 weeksA focused sprint to pressure-test a single idea — a working product demo and early signal, fast. Best for one well-defined decision.
- Working product demo
- Light user validation
- Decision readout
Validation Sprint
3 weeksA working product, structured user validation, an executive-ready decision readout, and a build roadmap — everything you need to confidently say 'build it' or 'kill it'.
- Working, functional product demo
- Structured user validation
- Executive-ready decision readout
- Build roadmap & cost estimate
Green-lit projects can roll straight into a full build engagement ($40K+) — same team, no re-scoping, no lost momentum.
Two decades de-risking decisions for organizations that can't afford to be wrong.
The Validation Sprint is new. The judgment behind it isn’t. For 20+ years I’ve taken uncertain, high-stakes product ideas from blank slate to validated, build-ready decisions — inside financial institutions, federal agencies, and enterprises where being wrong has real consequences. The sprint simply packages that experience into three focused weeks.
Selected experience across: Capital One · NATO · Medicare (60M+ users) · Estée Lauder · Hello Wallet (acquired by Morningstar)
When the cost of wrong is highest.
Led UX on the Medicare & CHIP Financial System and the MyMedicare.gov experience used by 60M+ beneficiaries — modernizing legacy workflows where errors aren't an option. The same rigor I bring to validating your idea before you commit budget.
Idea to validated decision, repeatedly.
Facilitated design sprints and validation work — from an OSHA compliance app (stakeholder interviews → customer journey → prototype tested with real users) to an AI-powered HR chatbot and a diagnostic flow. Each went from blank slate to a prototype stakeholders could confidently greenlight.
Fluent in your world.
UX and product design for Capital One, Estée Lauder, and Hello Wallet — financial services, enterprise internal tools, and regulated consumer products. I speak the language of steering committees, compliance, and stakeholder buy-in, because I've spent two decades inside it.
Most agencies build what you ask for. We help you find out if you should.
AI has made software faster to build. That makes the decision of what to build even more important. A Validation Sprint gives your team a realistic product demo, structured user signal, and an executive-ready recommendation — so every dollar committed afterward is backed by evidence instead of momentum.
Questions, answered.
Stop guessing. Start with proof.
Book a 30-minute strategy call. We’ll help you assess whether your idea is ready for validation — and whether a sprint is the right next step.