Shaping healthtech product strategy through user insight
Vojo Health
An early-stage healthtech startup offering personalised, DNA-driven plant-based nutrition guidance.
At a glance
Research objectives
- Understand what users most value in a DNA-based plant nutrition service.
- Challenge or validate assumptions about the product roadmap.
- Prioritise features and services users are willing to pay for.
What the research revealed
- Users valued expert, human, support more than automated tools.
- People wanted clarity and accountability, not just information.
- Metrics were secondary to motivation and progress.
- Peer communities were only appealing when supported by nutrition experts.
Research approach
- Stakeholder interviews to clarify the product vision and constraints.
- Qualitative interviews with prospective users.
- Thematic analysis of needs, barriers, and motivations.
- Quantitative scoring to prioritise features and services.
Impact of the research
- Repositioned Vojo as a service-first experience, not a tech-led product.
- Created a research-backed subscription model based on customer priorities.
- Delivered a ranked list of feature demand to guide MVP development.
- Designed a minimum viable service experience that users would pay for.
- Strengthened investor messaging with an insight-led product strategy.
Challenge
Vojo Health was preparing for investment and development of its first product. The founder had a clear vision for an automated, tech-led experience. But there was limited clarity around what potential users actually wanted from a service like Vojo.
To move forward with confidence, and secure funding, the team needed to validate their assumptions and understand real customer needs, expectations, and willingness to pay. The goal was to align the product roadmap with real-world demand and design a service experience that users would value from day one.
Approach
I led a lean research programme to bring clarity to Vojo’s product strategy. This included:
- Interviews with the founder and stakeholders to map business goals and constraints
- Qualitative research with prospective users to understand motivations and blockers
- Thematic analysis to surface pain points, preferences, and value drivers
- Quantitative scoring to rank and prioritise features
- Development of a tiered subscription model and the design of the service experience based on user-defined value
The research revealed a gap between the original roadmap and user expectations. People didn’t want more automation, they wanted support. They prioritised human connection, expert guidance, and help staying on track. The proposed tech features didn’t reflect what users were willing to pay for or engage with.
With the founder, we repositioned Vojo around a service-first experience and created a subscription model that reflected users’ real priorities. The minimum viable service experience defined what to launch first, what to phase in later, and how to deliver meaningful value without overwhelming the team.
Impact
The research helped Vojo reposition its product strategy based on user insight. It guided the shift from a tech-first platform to a service-led model and provided a clear rationale for which features to prioritise. The work also strengthened the investment case by showing alignment between user needs, delivery capability, and commercial potential.
Vojo emerged from the process with a clear roadmap, a validated subscription offer, and a focused strategy grounded in customer demand.
