I've been building digital products for over 10 years, first as an individual contributor playing almost every role on a product team, then as a product and sales leader, and now as a solo digital product & design consultant.
I approach building effective digital products and businesses with a focus on building capacity, process, and strategy. My work with clients is never one-dimensional. I'll build your first prototype or redesign your product or website, but in doing so I aim to improve your organisation.
During the course of a project, I quickly build an understanding of the business context and objectives that my initiative sits within (and question these when relevant), define or redefine processes as needed, and take time to help my peers become stronger contributors. You don't hire me to stick to a tight script. You hire me to leave your team, product, and business stronger than when I started.
I usually work with 2-3 clients at a time, mostly on long-term projects (usually at least 3 months). I'm not looking for quick, transactional work. I'm here to build partnerships with amazing people and organisations. I've worked with World Resources Institute, Accenture, Canon, PwC, the European Commission, Boston Consulting Group, and a number of venture-backed startups, nonprofits, and venture capital firms. Here's what they say about working with me.
If you're interested in working together, get in touch with me at trevor@lighthouse-studio.co.
My projects typically fall into one of these four categories:
I can take a team from an idea to prototype, or rough prototype to polished MVP - whatever “launching” means to you. I'll dig into the weeds as much as you like - I can design every screen, establish the look and feel of the product, or collaborate with your designers. Most importantly, I'll establish and run a process to validate your assumptions and de-risk the product and the business, from in-depth user research to testing to strategic analysis.
I've been in your shoes, and I've got plenty of scar tissue from mistakes made and lessons learned. As we go, I'll be there as a sounding board, sparring partner, and advisor for every decision you need to make along the way.
Example: I worked with the team at Furbnow, a home retrofit software startup, to design the first versions of their website and web app, while also helping set up various processes to regularly speak with users, collect feedback via surveys, and set up metrics for success throughout their sales funnel. I also advised them on fundraising strategy and redesigned their pitch deck.
For most organisations, not running an experimentation programme (sometimes called “conversion rate optimisation”, though I believe this term is too restrictive) means leaving insights and revenue on the table. Yet it can be quite difficult for an organisation to spin up an experimentation team or programme. For many, it's a new way of working - a new cadence, a new way of doing research, and a new method of product development that can feel at odds with the way your product team likes to work.
Having run traditional product teams and experimentation teams, I'm not only able to rapidly build a mature experimentation programme, but also integrate the programme into your broader product org and business, while setting up your team to successfully own the work in the long term.
Example: I led an experimentation programme for a global hotel chain, which uncovered meaningful insights about their users, generated millions in marginal revenue, and brought data-driven decision making and new user research processes to their product team. As the programme has matured, we're applying the resulting insights across the organisation in a variety of ways.
As an organisation scales, developing strong product teams and keeping things running smoothly becomes increasingly difficult, especially when scaling introduces new strategic challenges, pressure for expansion into new markets, and sometimes challenging pivots. You can't rely on what got you to this point to take you to the next level.
As a fractional product lead, I can run teams, mentor junior product managers, create roadmaps, and develop product strategy, all in the name of building “well-oiled machines” of product development. To me, success looks like a fulfilled team with a relentless focus on the correct business goals, smooth processes, and building quality software with a high but sustainable output.
Example: I acted as an embedded product lead for several teams, sometimes more than one at a time, over a period of 9 months for Carbon Intelligence, a part of Accenture. I helped the broader tech org execute a pivot in product strategy, and with each team I worked with I established new ways of working, aligned the team around clear KPIs and target users, and mentored a full-time replacement for myself.
Occasionally, I'll work in a more “light touch” way with clients to occasionally advise on product strategy and decision-making, build capacity in their product team or build the product team from scratch, and help out with specific projects on an ad hoc basis.
A few examples: I've completed several projects doing ad hoc research and due diligence for a climate-focused venture capital firm, advised entrepreneurs-in-residence looking for climate tech opportunities at a venture incubator, and trained a product team building software for a renewable energy communications agency.
"Trevor's impact was transformational. He spotted and addressed inefficiencies in the team almost immediately, aligning us to a single product focus, and gave our team clear KPIs and a product vision for the team to work towards."
Scott Johnson
Tech Lead, Carbon Intelligence, a part of Accenture
"We brought in Trevor to help us launch our web app, redesign our website, and help us develop our messaging. Trevor is a first-rate designer and worked well with the team from the outset, working quickly and delivering polished outputs that would take others quite a bit longer (and with much less to show).
A designer like Trevor, with his enthusiasm for working on hard problems and skill in communicating both internally and externally, is an invaluable resource for any team."
McGee Young
CEO, WattCarbon
"Trevor has a unique blend of skills that combine functional expertise and business acumen. He's confident, organised, urbane. Clients of our agency, where he has led a number of experimentation programmes, love to work with him."
Johann van Tonder
CEO, AWA digital
"Trevor partnered with Bantam as we developed our first tech-enabled technology platform to support all of the deliverables we produce and deliver daily in a productized manner.
From the Discovery Phase to the Rollout Plan to defined Assumptions and Product Goals, Trevor led our team through a process that created simplicity and clarity where chaos could have quickly taken hold.
Since working with Trevor, Bantam has a highly functioning working prototype product that we are using with all of our clients.
I recommend investing in success from day one by partnering with a consultant like Trevor when starting your product-technology journey."
Natasha Kalergis
CEO, Bantam Communications
The impact of my work is incredibly important to me. After finishing a degree in climate science and helping build a climate technology business, I began to prioritise projects and clients where I believe I'm furthering efforts to improve the state of our planet. Yet over time, my conception of “impact” has broadened to encompass the “human” side of things.
I find it incredibly meaningful and impactful to build strong and fulfilled digital teams and work on wicked problems across industries, helping individuals develop in their careers and in organisations, as long as the end product of the work isn't causing undue harm to the planet. Ultimately, I'm driven by solving systemic problems, in organisations and in society.
Interested in working together? Reach out and we can schedule a call (or a coffee if you're in the Amsterdam area) to discuss your challenges and how I might be able to help: trevor@lighthouse-studio.co