WHO WE ARE

Two researchers.
One firm.

Two researchers.
One firm.

We're Alexis and Courtney — we met in high school in the days of Dashboard Confessional, and several careers, coasts, and degrees later, we joined forces in 2020 to become Runaway Research.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Our values.

01
BE KIND.

Compassion and respect are paramount when gathering user insights; they also make client meetings enjoyable.

02
KEEP YOUR WORD.

Get the work done on time, communicate reliably, and do what you say you're going to do.

03
PEOPLE ARE MESSY; EMBRACE IT.

We are passionate about uncovering the complex and often overlooked aspects of human behavior. There will be unpredictable moments and pitfalls, but that complexity is what makes it so much fun.

04
THIS WORK IS A PRIVILEGE.

People let us into their lives, brains, and routines, and this is a responsibility that we honor.

05
LIFE IS A LOT MORE THAN WORK.

This is true for us, and hopefully for you. We celebrate this in our own professional relationship, and in our client relationships.

THE TEAM

Meet us.

Alexis Sypek

Alexis Sypek

Alexis Sypek

SHE / HER · BROOKLYN, NY

Alexis was a UX research strategist at The New York Times. Prior to that she led design research as part of the founding team at Blue Ridge Labs @ Robin Hood, a civic tech incubator that encourages new technology geared towards low-income Americans.

She holds an MSc from The London School of Economics and a Bachelor's degree in History from Duke University.

Outside of work she's either at CrossFit (judge her), painting badly, or dog-sitting for any friend that will let her.

Courtney Pitman

Courtney Pitman

Courtney Pitman

SHE / HER · LOS ANGELES, CA

Courtney built her career in policy research and higher education, spending several years building and running the online delivery of Masters and Doctoral programs at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.

She holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Penn State University.

Courtney likes hanging at the local YMCA, being a plant (and toddler) mom, and wearing sweaters when it's 65 degrees out.

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