Find out what customers really need. Prove it with evidence.
Gain real market research experience and create evidence you can show employers. You help a tech startup test whether its idea is worth building, through interviews, surveys, competitor analysis and prototypes, and you leave with research that shaped real decisions.
Open to every level, from first steps to leading the team. Voluntary and fully remote, up to three hours a day across a 60 Volunteer day term.
Class projects ask questions. Startups need answers.
Most research portfolios are built on class projects with made-up products. At an early tech startup your findings decide what gets built, who it is for and whether it is worth building at all. That is the evidence employers look for.
Real decisions
Your research decides whether a founder builds, changes direction or stops.
Real customers
Speak with the people the product is for, not classmates.
Evidence you can show
Reports, personas and prototype tests you can talk through at interview.
Find your starting point.
Tech startups need market research people at every level. Check which description fits you, what you should already know and what you would take on.
New to research
Graduates, students and career changers who are curious and careful with detail.
- You should already know
- How to write clear questions and summarise what people tell you.
- You would take on
- Desk research, survey building, interview notes and competitor lists with guidance.
From another field
People from marketing, consulting, journalism, teaching or customer roles.
- You should already know
- How to listen, ask follow-up questions and spot patterns.
- You would take on
- Running interviews, analysing responses and building personas.
Already researching
Market researchers, UX researchers and business analysts who want startup experience.
- You should already know
- Research design, sampling and turning findings into recommendations.
- You would take on
- Owning a research stream, from plan to findings, and shaping the product concept.
Ready to lead
Senior researchers, insight leads and consultants, including people returning after a break.
- You should already know
- How to plan a validation programme and lead other researchers.
- You would take on
- Leading the validation team, setting the plan and delivering the final validation report.
Six research roles, one pathway.
These are the Volunteer roles tech startups list when they build their Idea Validation team. Start in one, then grow across the team as your Volunteer Terms add up.
Validation Team Leader
Runs the validation, keeps the team focused and delivers the final report with a recommendation.
Problem Analyst
Tests whether the problem is real, who has it and how they cope today.
Competitor Analyst
Maps direct and indirect competitors and finds where the product can stand out.
Customer Development Analyst
Finds early customers, groups them into cohorts and tests commitment.
Product Roadmap Analyst
Turns the findings into a product concept, road map and early mock-ups.
Prototyper
Builds a clickable prototype customers can try, then reports what they did.
Opportunities change daily. Create your free Volunteer profile to see live market research opportunities and apply.
What a Volunteer Term can look like.
Every tech startup is different. This example, a validation sprint, shows the kind of deliverables a market research Volunteer takes on, step by step.
Agree the questions
Agree with the Tech Founder what must be true for the idea to succeed.
Research the market
Desk research on the market, competitors and how people solve the problem today.
Run a survey and interviews
Build a short survey, then interview the people who feel the problem most.
Test a prototype
Put a simple prototype in front of early users and record what happens.
Report and recommend
Share the evidence and a clear recommendation in your weekly update.
Contributor, then owner, then lead.
Many Volunteers continue for up to three consecutive Volunteer Terms by mutual agreement. Each term can add responsibility, and every handover matters, because succession planning keeps the startup moving when you move on.
Contribute
Run desk research, surveys and interview notes.
Own
Own a research stream from plan to findings.
Lead
Lead the validation plan, mentor newer Volunteers and hand over a documented research library.
Leave with evidence, not a list of courses.
Depending on your role and the deliverables you complete, a Volunteer Term can leave you with evidence a hiring manager can check.
Research you ran
Surveys and interviews with real target customers.
Findings that mattered
Insights that changed what the startup built.
A persona and positioning
An Ideal Customer Persona and competitor map you created.
A validation report
A clear recommendation backed by evidence.
A Tech Founder reference
You can ask the Tech Founder you collaborated with for a reference.
Global connections
Connections with founders and researchers across 158+ countries.
AI summarises. People ask the right questions.
AI can scan markets, summarise reviews and draft surveys in minutes. Knowing which questions to ask, spotting what people do not say and judging what the evidence really means still needs a person. Volunteers who use AI for speed and people for depth will stand out.
Faster desk research
Use AI to scan the market, then check every claim.
Better questions
Let AI draft, then sharpen questions so they do not lead people.
Human insight
Interviews reveal motives and objections no dataset holds.
Collaborate across the startup.
No team stands alone at an early tech startup. These are the pathways you will collaborate with most.
Product Management
The product managers who turn your findings into a road map.
UI/UX Design
The designers who build on your personas and prototype tests.
Marketing
The marketers who use your positioning to reach customers.
All career pathways
See every pathway, from market research to legal.
What happens after you click.
Four simple steps from sign up to your first deliverable.
Create your free profile
Sign up as a Volunteer. It takes a couple of minutes.
Set out your market research skills
Add your experience, the tools you know and any results, honestly.
Apply to opportunities
Apply to market research opportunities at tech startups, up to three live applications at a time.
Agree and deliver
Interview, sign the Volunteer Agreement, agree the outcome brief and deliver from Day 1 with daily and weekly updates.
Before you apply.
Can I join without research experience? +
Is this paid? +
How much time must I commit? +
Do I need statistics skills? +
I am a founder. Where do I recruit research Volunteers? +
Will this help me get a job? +
Answer the questions that decide what gets built.
Join a tech startup's market research team for a 60 Volunteer day term. Free, fully remote and flexible.
Create your free profile, set out your skills and interests, and apply for suitable tech startup opportunities. You can hold up to three live applications at a time.