We turn bold ideas into breakout products—
research, design, and strategy
all under one roof.
Velocity isn’t just about speed, it’s direction.
Our human-centered user experience process is designed to help you get to where you want to be faster and more effectively. Ready to learn more? Read on or get in touch.
What sets us apart
We’re a user experience agency founded by ex-Googlers who’ve launched internal products and guided 77+ teams—from scrappy startups to global enterprises. We go beyond surface-level research to uncover what really matters to users—turning observations into bold, actionable insights that shape product direction, fast.
Startups to giants—we uncover what matters.
Whether you’re launching something new or leveling up what’s already out there, we work across business-to-business and business-to-consumer to reduce risk, unlock value, and move fast on what matters. Our work leads to sharper positioning, faster time to market, and products people actually stick with.
We de-risk, unlock, deliver.
We plug in like an internal team—low ego, high impact—and believe the best products start with deep user insight and a shared strategy. From first spark to final pixel, we turn minimum viable products into minimum lovable products—and help teams fall in love with the problem, not just the solution.
More than a partner—one with your team
We always give everything we do 110%.
This is a fun moment of Maya and Nisha sharing postcards from the field with their broader team and the client.
Find out why financial products need to speak to trust, emotion, and relationships.
Download our free report
We surveyed 1,000 people about money
FREE INSIGHTS REPORTDiscover how layoffs can spark powerful career reinvention—read more about Maya’s story redefining what’s possible after unexpected change. Spoiler alert: It led her to start Velocity Ave! Learn more
The NY Times features Velocity Ave Founder, Maya
HELPING EARLY CAREER UXERS GROWWe know what it’s like to be the only UXer at a company , or on your team at a large enterprise. If you need support, reach out to us.
Schedule time to chat about Boost
You’re not alone. We got you.
INTRODUCING VELOCITY BOOSTAbout us
Maya is the former Head of UX at Area 120, Google’s startup incubator, where she helped launch 58 products. Research priors also include Google Ads & Analytics, DocuSign, Indiegogo, and Gannett. Maya holds an MBA and founded an e-commerce startup. View LinkedIn profile
Maya Joseph-Goteiner
Managing Partner
Nisha has 18+ years of experience designing and leading teams for enterprise and consumer products across startups and major companies like Google and Salesforce. She holds a BS in ICS from UC Irvine and an MS in HCI from Carnegie Mellon. View LinkedIn profile
Nisha Desai
UX Partner
Risha is a researcher, strategist, and service designer with experience across Fortune 100 companies, civic orgs, and museums. She was the first Director of UX Research for AmEx’s B2B division, and recently led a participatory design initiative for Grants.gov. She holds a BA from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Columbia. View LinkedIn profile
Risha Lee, Ph.D.
Principal Researcher
Kelly has 14 years of UX research experience, applying a social sciences lens to strategic and ethnographic work. She blends qual and quant insights to shape business strategy, 0→1 products, and service design—most recently in AI, new products, and healthcare. She also teaches Design Thinking at Northwestern. View LinkedIn profile
Kelly Coney
Lead Researcher
We also pull in exceptional contractors as needed, so let us know if you’re looking for work.
Featured Work
Interested in learning more? Schedule time to chat.
“Their effort and support enabled us to achieve a completely different level of user understanding, pivotal for our product development. The diary study and concept tests helped define our entire go-forward strategy, a relatively large departure from where we were before.”
Chris Pedregal, LinkedIn
Founder & Product Manager at Google — built Stack (acquired by Google Drive)
Project: UX research for AI scanner and organizer
“Strongly recommend Nisha as a UX partner who not only implements but elevates ideas. Despite a tight timeline and new domain, she brought clarity, fresh thinking, and helped us stay on track. Her impact is in our MVP and on our roadmap—we couldn’t have done it without her.”
Gaurav Vaish, LinkedIn
Co-Founder at Applied AI
Project: Financial services app UX
“Working with Maya and the Velocity Ave team gave us the clarity we needed to move fast without second-guessing. Their segmentation work didn’t just validate our assumptions—it revealed entirely new ways to think about our users. The insights are now foundational to our roadmap, onboarding, and messaging. Couldn’t recommend them more highly.”
Dean Hurtado Iwaoka, LinkedIn
Head of Growth at Anaconda
Project: Market segmentation
Let’s connect.
Have an ambitious product to build—or a tough challenge to solve? We’d love to be your partner. Whether you need strategic design, sharp insight, or hands-on UX support, let’s find time to talk. We’re ready when you are.
Schedule an appointment or reach out to us at info@velocityave.com