Katelyn Bourgoin | A serial entrepreneur and growth geek... in glasses

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Stop Guessing.
Start Growing.

I help frustrated product teams identify their best customers
and figure out what triggers them to buy (or stop buying).

work with me

Katelyn Bourgoin,
Halifax marketer.

Featured in

Grow 2-3X faster

Companies that invest in ongoing customer research grow 2-3X faster. Yet, studies show that only 3 out of 10 teams do it regularly — crazy, right?

Many teams know they should be talking to more customers. Yet they’re constantly challenged with who to talk to, what to ask them, how to analyze the feedback, and how to share what they learn with their teams. I help product teams overcome these common hurdles.

If you’re hungry for more clarity, direction, and faster growth, you’re in the right place.

work with me.

“Conversion rates have increased more than 3X”

“One of the best things about Katelyn is how she treats Marketing as a Science. We contracted her to help redo our website. She helped us to figure out the buyer persona and interview our customers to ensure our strengths and the major pain points were highlighted. Since the launch of the website, sign up conversion rates have increased more than 3 times.”

SREEJATA CHATTERJEE, CO-FOUNDER LEADSIFT

“She provides focus, clarity and prioritization”

“Katelyn is an incredible resource. She provides focus, clarity and prioritization when we need it most. I would highly recommend Katelyn’s strategic and customer focus for any business that is struggling to find their place in the market.”

STEPHANIE PRONK, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

“Customer insights are, arguably, absolutely crucial to commercial success”

“Katelyn described the jobs-to-be-done customer research framework to me when we started working together. It resonated with me right away, but it took time for me to fully appreciate the power of the tools that she had assembled. The speed with which they focus attention and simplify the process of understanding the customer needs that are triggering a buying process is astonishing. The resulting customer insights are, arguably, absolutely crucial to commercial success.”

COLIN DEACON, SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR & SENATOR

My clients

This is Katelyn Bourgoin.

I know what you’re going through because I’ve been there myself…

The pressure is on. Your team can’t afford to waste time on the wrong projects. You also don’t have the luxury of spending countless hours learning about product marketing, customer research, and growth process. You’ve got sh#t to do. Don’t worry — I can help.

There are a few ways we can work together…

60-min strategy call

The clock is ticking. You know that your business could be growing faster, but something isn’t working and you want answers. You don’t need someone to kiss your ass and tell you that your startup idea, sales page or growth strategy is genius. You need strategic, actionable advice — advice that helps you to move fast, avoid roadblocks and get sh#t done.

Don’t waste another minute feeling stuck. If you’re ready for fluff-free real talk, I’m your gal.

learn more

customer research

The world’s fasting-growing businesses aren’t just lucky. They have a unique DNA. They stalk their customers, test their assumptions, work strategically, and measure their results so they can scale their impact much faster. It’s not rocket science. It’s a simple process.

I coach product teams how to leverage the power of customer research. I’ll help you get started and I’ll be by your side from planning research objectives through to execution, data analysis and insight mining.

learn more

online course

Customer Discovery 101 is a self-paced online workshop for product teams. Learn how the world’s fastest growing companies use customer insight to build better products and sell more of them.

Learn how the world’s best product teams use customer research to fuel their growth.

explore course

speaking

I love riffing about business. Sometimes I talk on big stages with 300 people watching. Sometimes I do it in more intimate settings with just a handful of folks. And sometimes I talk in the shower, which totally annoys my husband.

If you’re interested in either of the first two options, let’s chat.

let's chat

Customer Camp

Many teams want to be more customer focused, but actually doing it can be tricky. That’s why we created Customer Camp.

Our live group workshops give teams the time, space and direction to power through the messy strategy work needed to grow faster. We don’t just tell them what they *should* do — they’ll actually *do the work* during each guided session.

tell me more

Want to know a secret?

I planned to be a millionaire before my 30th birthday…

I’m Katelyn Bourgoin.

And, by age 28, I was well on my way to making it happen. I’d launched two companies — RedRiot (a branding agency) and The Fork Project (a restaurant consulting business). And the dolla-dolla bills were rolling in.

The Fork Project got acquired in under two years and RedRiot was growing quickly. I’d built a rockstar team of creatives and we were reeling in clients like Target and Holiday Inn.

On paper, everything was going according to plan. I knew that if I stayed the course I could grow RedRiot into a seven-figure consulting agency. Yup. I’d be living the dream. There was just one problem…

I was bored out of my mind.

I wanted to do more than design logos, build websites, and develop social media marketing strategies. Truthfully? I wanted to change the world. I wanted to design a company, from the ground up, that would become a household name. You could say I was ambitious.

So, I did something crazy. I walked away from my safe, growing business to launch Vendeve — a high-risk tech startup. The next 18 months went by in a blur. We built an MVP, raised a little venture capital, grew our team, won pitch contests, pivoted our product, and wooed the press.

Forbes was calling Vendeve “the next LinkedIn” and they’d named me as an influencer. We were being recruited by TechStars. Even Randi Zuckerberg (Mark’s big sis) had her eye on us.

We were on a roll. And the timing was puuurfect because my 30th birthday was just around the corner. I felt invincible. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out… a lot.

I’ll save you the dirty details of what happened next. The year that followed was a rollercoaster of calamities, fuck-ups, and unfortunate events. Suffice it to say…

I am not a millionaire… yet.

I am however battle worn, wiser and fully committed to helping other entrepreneurs to learn from my mistakes.

Do you want to change the world? I can help. But before we chat, you should start by following these simple rules…

simple rules.

stalk your customers

You don’t need to guess what your customers want. They’ll tell you. They’ll tell you with their words and they’ll tell you with their actions… or their lack of action. The world’s fastest growing companies aren’t mind-readers. They’re just better listeners (aka stalkers) than the competition.

test then invest

Every great business, product or marketing campaign started as a shiny new idea. But here’s the thing about ideas: ideas are cheap. Execution is expensive. Don’t waste your precious time and money working on the wrong projects. Smart businesses always test before they invest.

optimize for personalized

I hate to break it to you… but your target customer doesn’t care about you. They don’t want to buy your product, or read your email, or watch your demo. They just want personalized solutions to their specific problems. When you make it about them, you win.

niches build riches

Think that choosing a small niche will stop you from building a BIG business? Think again. Facebook started with college students. Amazon started with books. Google started with search. See a trend? Targeting “everyone” isn’t a business strategy. It’s a death sentence.

trust comes before growth

Did you know that 65% of new business comes from referrals? The best growth hack is building products that people love, solving real problems, and partying where your customers party. Great marketing will create demand, but no amount of marketing can make up for a shitty product.

blog.