We turn bold ideas into exceptional 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
Roberto has 12+ years of experience applying advanced statistical and machine learning methods to human-centered research. They specialize in end-to-end research and pipeline development, with work spanning neural decoding of abstract meaning, psychometric validation, population-level studies of societal institutions, and NLP of partisan bias in news. Roberto holds a PhD from Carnegie Mellon, has published in the Nature portfolio, and teaches PhD-level Data Science in CMU’s Psychology department. View LinkedIn profile
Roberto Vargas, PhD
Mixed Methods UX 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 UX Researcher
Lead UX Researcher
We also pull in talented contractors as needed, so let us know if you’re looking for work.
Beril Maples
Advisor
Beril Maples is a renowned UX and design leader with a track record of transforming complex ideas into impactful solutions at industry giants like Salesforce, Google, and Hubspot. Her strategic vision and expertise in building high-performing teams drive exceptional design outcomes, making her an invaluable advisor to Velocity Ave's mission of innovation and excellence. View LinkedIn profile
David has 8+ years of experience as an ethnographer. During his PhD at UC Berkeley, he has interviewed teachers, engineers, designers, and product managers about their experiences of digital tools and digitalization. He has published his work in leading sociology journals. Before graduate school, David was a PM and marketer at several tech companies. View LinkedIn profile
David Joseph-Goteiner
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
It’s true! We’re hiring!
Looking for your next challenge? We’ve got a 3-month (to start!) remote contract with your name on it. You’ll dive into meaningful work, partner with awesome clients, and collaborate with a team that’s as curious as they are kind.
Let’s make some magic happen. Send us a note to start the conversation.