The User Research Strategist: UXR | Impact | Career

Strategic Research in Startups | Brittany Lang (Chorus Innovations)

Jan 22, 2026

Brittany Lang, a research manager at Chorus Innovations, brings a rich background in industrial design and information science. She discusses the importance of strategic research in startups, emphasizing the need for researchers to take initiative rather than waiting for perfect briefs. Brittany highlights the significance of gut instincts in decision-making, the balance between quick findings and in-depth research, and aligning work with business goals. She also shares practical tips for building stakeholder relationships and adapting to shifting priorities in fast-paced environments.

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ADVICE

Pitch Research When You See Opportunity

If you spot an opportunity, be the research requester and pitch the study rather than waiting.
Propose briefly, educate stakeholders, and accept 'no' as feedback without fear.

ADVICE

Trust Your Gut And Speak Up

Trust your gut when a decision feels off and voice the need to investigate.
Build confidence to suggest research even when stakeholders haven't asked for it.

ADVICE

Match Deliverables To Purpose And Audience

Match deliverable fidelity to purpose and audience; quick docs for fast decisions, polished artifacts for long-lived work.
Use design principles to make findings digestible for different stakeholder types.

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Brittany is a mid-career research leader based out of Portland, Oregon. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from the University of Oregon and a Masters in Information Science from the University of Michigan. She has worked with startups, nonprofits, mid-size and Fortune 100 companies as an independent contributor as well as a manager of research teams.

Currently, you can find her building a research practice (and team) at Chorus Innovations, a startup working to provide innovative behavioral healthcare solutions to agencies, counties, and states across the U.S.A. Before Chorus, she managed a large research team in an agency environment supporting topics related to consumer trust and privacy for big tech clients.

She firmly believes research and collaborative teams are at the heart of every successful business, and that everyone’s life story would make a great movie. When she isn’t working, she enjoys outdoor adventures and wellness activities, and spending time with loved ones.

In our conversation, we discuss:

* How strategic research actually plays out in early-stage companies, and why researchers shouldn’t wait for perfect briefs.

* Moving from research receiver to research requester and how that shift changes your role entirely.

* Coaching ICs to trust their instincts when they’re the only ones seeing a gap.

* What makes something “strategic,” and how to avoid wasting time on low-impact requests.

* How Brittany and her team adapt when projects get shelved, priorities flip, or research gets ignored.

Some takeaways:

* No one will ask for what they don’t know exists. Waiting for research requests is a trap. If you’re seeing patterns, pain points, or opportunities, you might need to be the one raising your hand. The best projects often start when researchers pitch work that no one else thought to ask for.

* Gut checks are data points too. If a product decision feels off, or you’re thinking “we should probably look into this,” that’s reason enough to pause and dig deeper. The instinct to question is part of the job. Lean into it instead of waiting for someone else to validate it.

* Strategic research doesn’t always mean big projects. It can be a one-question survey. A reused screener. A short desk research doc. What matters is that it moves things forward, not that it looks impressive in a deck.

* Blocked ≠ Wasted. Brittany’s team logs blocked work in a “vault” and revisits it later. When projects get paused or dropped, they reflect on what caused the stall. Sometimes it’s organizational. Sometimes it’s a signal that previous research wasn’t shared well enough. Either way, it’s fuel for doing better next time.

* Every team needs a vision even if it only lasts six months. In startup settings, long-term planning is a luxury. Brittany meets with her team every 3-6 months to reset direction, recheck learning goals, and match priorities to what’s actually happening across product and design. It keeps the team from floating aimlessly when the org shifts.

Where to find Brittany:

* LinkedIn

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