🤝Work with Mike

I help companies create new value and define new categories by focusing on the front-end of innovation.

My work isn’t about incremental improvements to existing products. It’s about developing a fundamental, underlying truth about a market. Based on that truth, we systematically identify the correct Job to be Done and the correct job executor, laying the foundation for a breakthrough product.

Getting these wrong by relying on a handful of customer interviews is a serious mistake.

How I Can Help

I offer a few focused ways to put this theory into practice.

1. JTBD Discovery & Category Definition (Project)

This is a full, end-to-end research and strategy project. We go beyond symptoms to deconstruct your market and uncover a core, fundamental truth. We then use that truth to define a new opportunity and map the ‘Job to be Done’ that will unlock it.

Best for: Teams seeking to define a new market category, launch a breakthrough product, or find a new, defensible strategic direction.
What you get: A detailed map of the core Job, a definition of the target “Job Executor” (and their functional, social, and emotional needs), and a prioritized list of opportunities for new value creation, a willingness-to-pay breakdown, and the size of that opportunity.

2. JTBD-Driven Strategy (Advisory)

This is an ongoing partnership. I’ll work alongside your leadership and product teams as a strategic advisor, helping you build your roadmap, marketing, and GTM strategy around the core JTBD insights.

Best for: Founders and product leaders who are building a new category and want to ensure their execution stays aligned with the fundamental customer truth.
What you get: Regular strategic sessions, roadmap reviews, and on-call guidance as you build and launch.

3. Team Workshops & Training (Education)

I’ll equip your team with the analytical methods and tools to deconstruct problems and conduct effective JTBD research on their own. This workshop covers root cause analysis, first principles thinking, and data synthesis.

Best for: Product, design, and marketing teams who want to build an in-house competency for front-end innovation.
What you get: A multi-day, hands-on workshop (virtual) tailored to your team’s specific challenges.

My Approach: Deconstruction to Priority

My philosophy is grounded in a two-phase process. First, we deconstruct the market to find a fundamental truth. Second, we use that truth to build a prioritized innovation plan.

Phase 1: Deconstruction & Truth-Finding

Before we can identify a “Job,” we must first establish a “Truth.” Using analytical techniques like Socratic Questioning and Root Cause Analysis (as detailed in my “Practitioner’s Toolkit”), we systematically dismantle conventional thinking and market assumptions. This process reveals the core, underlying causal dynamics of a situation, independent of any current product.

Phase 2: From Principle to Priority

Once we have this fundamental truth, we apply it using the 10-step framework from my “From Principle to Priority” series. This is how we translate a core insight into a category-defining product.

My process involves:

Principle: Establishing the core, first-principle truth that frames the market opportunity.
Trigger: Identifying the event or context that makes a new solution relevant (this emerges from the “Truth”).
Causality: Identifying the causal factors and system dynamics that create demand.
Investigation: Identifying the correct “Job Executor” (the specific ‘who’) and defining their full Functional, Social, and Emotional job.
Story: Building a detailed Timeline of the customer’s decision-making process.
Synthesis: Analyzing Timelines to find deep, recurring Patterns.
Framework: Organizing these patterns into a “Job Map” that outlines the customer’s real-world process.
Insight: Using the Job Map to pinpoint the biggest opportunities for new value creation.
Alignment: Designing a defensible business model (using the 10 Types of Innovation) that aligns Profit, Offering, and Experience.
Priority: Turning the strategy into an aligned, effective Roadmap.

Who I Work With

I partner with ambitious founders, product leaders, and marketing teams who are ready to build with deep customer empathy. My clients are typically:

B2B or B2C SaaS companies trying to find or solidify product-market fit.
Founders & Product Teams launching a new product and needing to validate the core problem.
Growth & Marketing Teams looking to dramatically improve their messaging and positioning by speaking to the customer’s actual Job.

Ready to Define Your Category?

I’m currently booking projects for 2026.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building from a foundation of truth, I’d love to chat.

Click here to get in touch

My Writing

To learn more about my approach, you can read my latest articles on jtbd.one, including the full From Principle to Priority series.