From Medical Device to Lifestyle Brand: Global GTM & User Empathy Mapping
Strutt · GTM Strategy Intern · May 2025 – Feb 2026 · Singapore (Remote)
The Challenge
Strutt was preparing to launch an intelligent mobility device into the U.S. market, but faced a fundamental positioning question: was this a 'durable medical equipment' product, or something more? The team needed to deeply understand their users — people with conditions like MS, chronic fatigue, and various mobility challenges — to figure out not just what features to build, but what story to tell.
What I Did
Designing the research methodology
I authored the complete user research SOP — a multi-stage qualitative framework covering screening, discovery interviews, usability evaluation, and pricing research. The methodology was designed with sensitivity at its core: these are users sharing vulnerable, deeply personal experiences. I built a structured-but-flexible conversation guide anchored around three core questions: What is the user's current situation? What are their ideal expectations? And where does our product design fit or fail? I also created a user profile template capturing mobility specifics, media behavior, purchase patterns, and community advocacy potential.
The 'Safety to Joy' insight
The biggest finding came from synthesizing 200+ interviews using a Jobs-to-Be-Done framework. I organized all user needs into four core 'jobs': eliminate daily friction, expand physical and psychological boundaries, provide holistic safety, and express personal identity. About 60% of users anchored on safety as non-negotiable, while 40% were primarily motivated by joy, independence, and self-expression. But once safety felt certain, even the safety-first group wanted to talk about freedom. The product wasn't competing with other wheelchairs — it was competing with the feeling of being stuck.
Persona development & pricing
I distilled the research into 5 distinct personas — from 'Independence Rebuilders' to 'Lifestyle Tech Evangelists' — each with specific acquisition channel and messaging recommendations. Willingness-to-pay analysis revealed that users anchored expectations to existing complex rehab technology prices, enabling a value-based pricing strategy built around 'dignity and unassisted mobility' rather than hardware specs.
Growth analytics
I built SQL and Tableau dashboards to track our beta community, monitoring the full engagement funnel from landing page to community group to interview pipeline. I designed CRM segmentation logic to distinguish casual subscribers from high-potential candidates, with conversion metrics for each tier.
B2B partnerships & industry recognition
Beyond end-user research, I supported strategic outreach to B2B stakeholders — clinicians, DME distributors, and rehab facilities — to validate channel fit and reimbursement positioning. The combined insights across consumer and clinical audiences directly informed the go-to-market narrative Strutt brought to CES 2026, where the product won two awards including CES Best of Innovation.
Portfolio Artifacts
User Research SOP
Multi-stage qualitative methodology I authored
Want & Need Analysis
RedactedJTBD framework applied to 200+ interviews
User Profile Template
Multi-dimensional data capture framework
Engagement Funnel
CRM segmentation and conversion pathway
5 Personas
RedactedPersonas with acquisition strategy
Impact
What I Learned
"The most important data point in user research isn't what people say they want — it's the gap between their current reality and the life they imagine. When a user tells you they haven't left the house in 10 years, that's not a feature request. That's the entire product."