Building startups

You are not short on effort.

You are short on signal.

The usual cycle is dashboards, debates, and interviews that start at zero.

Roadmaps wobble. Messaging stalls. Confidence dips.

There is a calmer way. Start with what your market already says in public.

Turn open-web signals into patterns you can brief the team with.

Pair that with a simple monthly view of how competitors and language shift so decisions stop feeling like a guess.

That’s where I come in.

I run TrendLoom’s Market Radar, a high-touch insight system that gives Seed–Series A teams a continuous, structured read on customers, category, and competitors.

It uses only ethical, public data and an academically grounded framework that combines statistics, ML, and LLMs.

Interviews are not replaced. They are sharpened so you walk in with better hypotheses and leave with decisions you can defend.

I have advised 100+ founders on GTM, messaging, and discovery, and built Zaqlick from my Kellogg-WHU EMBA research into AI-assisted personas. I treat AI as an engine inside a method, not a magic trick.

I help with

• Open-web signals turned into clear patterns
• Competitive intelligence that tracks what changed vs last month
• Product discovery that starts deeper, not from zero
• Messaging that uses real customer language
• Decision protection for roadmap and GTM

Results

• Teams align faster because debates shift from opinions to signals
• Interviews get sharper, messaging tightens, and weak bets are dropped
• Leaders report a steadier sense of “what’s happening now” month to month

There are a few ways to work together:

Start with a 15-minute Signal Check. Bring one question. I will tell you if strong signals exist, what they suggest, and the next best move. If you want deeper support, we roll into Market Radar.

DM me the word “SIGNAL” to see if you are a fit and which path makes sense.

Elena Tsemirava

Rutabaga

Rutabaga™ empowers your company to leverage insights-driven innovation, following the throughline from research, to insights, to outcomes. Adopting Rutabaga reduces the risk of investing precious time and resources in ideas that do not have a market fit.

Co-Founder & CPO

Pinpoint.

Managing Partner

Member of the consultancy leadership team, managing and mentoring a diverse team of researchers.

Design Research Manager

Led generative studies uncovering customer problems and needs and evaluative studies to gather feedback and insights on potential solutions, including co-design sessions.

Design Researcher

Built and scaled the research operations infrastructure by developing and educating colleagues on standard operating procedures across participant scheduling, data storage, and template management.

Design Research Program Manager

Owlet Baby Care

Helping lend a voice to parents and babies throughout the organization.

Laying the foundation for, and scaling our in-house research and insights practice.

Director of Research and Insights 

The Art Institutes

Instructed over 20 students, teaching Introduction to Design Management.

Adjunct Faculty

Columbia Sportswear

Created transparency into the innovation team's project timelines for the first time, enabling design and development departments to plan for incorporating innovations into product line plans appropriately.

Project Manager | Global Innovation

frog design

Managed, in partnership with creative and technology peers, cross-disciplinary, multi-million-dollar projects

Program Manager

Served on the Program Management team, collaborating on project timelines, financial reporting and project status updates.

Program Coordinator

Portland Trail Blazers

I was one of five interns for the 2008-2009 season. I interned for the Marketing Department and my primary responsibility was managing Rip City Magazine, the official game program. I collaborated with others in marketing, corporate sponsorship and the print production vendor on content, design, and delivery.

Marketing Intern

Portland Advertising Federation

Colaboratory is Portland Advertising Federation’s six week summer internship. Interns spend two weeks at three different agencies. I interned at Ascentium, HMH and Anvil Media. 

Interns also compete against their peers in two creative teams developing a campaign pitch for a Sameunderneath (a sustainably focused apparel company).

Account/Project Manager | Colaboratory

Picadilly Flowers

If you can imagine, February is a busy time of year for floral shops. I started as a Sales Clerk to help answer the phones that were ringing off the hook as well as place orders for the line extending out the door. During my time at Picadilly, two talented floral designers took me under their wing and taught me there is a formula to creating a bouquet of a dozen roses.

Sales Clerk and Assistant Floral Designer

McDonald's

Shift Manager

I connect the work to the intended outcome. 

I seek to understand what stakeholders are looking for and know when to help them rethink what they are asking for.

My ever-growing skill set is the result of working with a diverse set of clients and colleagues on a variety of projects.

taplio

The Battle

Elena Tsemirava

Allison McKeever

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