Discover endlessly inspiring customer insights

Hivemaker is an ethnographic
research studio.

We provide both startups and established brands with insights, strategic input and engaging stories about their customers. We believe that true insight transforms customers into lifelong collaborators.

What is ethnography?

Ethnography is both a research method and a mindset. It is the study of people in their natural habitats to understand their everyday behaviors and motivations. For Hivemaker, this often means venturing out to meet consumers in their own homes for face-to-face interviews, which last around 1-3 hours.

Why are ethnographies helpful?

Humans are complex. Unlike traditional market research, ethnographies help us ask rich contextual questions like “Can you show me how you put on your makeup everyday?” or “Why do you have two vanity mirrors on the counter?” Observing behaviors like this and unpacking motivations strengthens your power to predict what your customers want and need.

How do we nourish and build brands?

We discover insights and craft segmentations to inspire more precise targeting, brand positioning, messaging, and product innovation. Most importantly, we provide strategic direction for the entire customer experience. Once we unlock your customer’s POV, it’s like introducing a new collaborator to your team for many years to come.

Services

  • Research

    Our specialty is ethnography, but we offer all kinds of qualitative research, such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, bulletin boards, and more.

  • Coaching

    We provide workshops and/or coaching sessions for teams who are interested in learning how to conduct research themselves.

  • Speaking

    We give lectures and talks on all things consumer research, which are great for clients hoping to get a taste of Hivemaker’s approach.

Meet the Founder

Mia Lecinski is the Founder and Principal Researcher of Hivemaker Studios. She is trained by renowned ethnographer Gina Fong. Earlier in her career, Mia worked for a design and marketing consultancy, conducting qualitative research for leading brands like PepsiCo, Adobe and Cigna Healthcare. She also worked as a mixed methods researcher for a public policy think tank focused on serving national charities. She holds a degree in the social sciences and in design innovation from the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, she is certified by IDEO in Insights for Innovation and completed an in-residence program at the Stanford d.school.

“Working with Hivemaker is fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about Mia–her research really helped us! She’s a clear communicator with a thorough process and high-quality work. She gave us invaluable insights and unexpected nuggets that helped us better understand our customer segment. Now we have clarity around who our customer is and why they buy certain products and services. This helped us build our sales strategy and product positioning. When I shared this research with my fellow entrepreneurs and peers, they praised it as the gold standard…credit we give to Mia!”

– Bob Matteson, Founder & CEO, Relivable

Feeling curious?