Navigating the Role of a Solo Researcher in an Early-Stage Startup: Insights from a Novice’s Journey
Hey there! It has been quite a while since I last published an article on Medium. Today, I am really excited to share my valuable experience as a solo researcher in an early-stage company where the establishment of a research culture is still in progress. Although there is some level of awareness regarding the significance of having a research culture, not everyone within the company fully grasps its true value. Currently, I am a newly onboarded researcher in this organization, ready to embark on this exciting journey.
As a solo researcher, there are three things that come to mind when accepting the offer. Here are the three aspects that I have truly experienced throughout my journey as a solo researcher:
Whenever I have to choose words, “FEAR” always comes to mind.
Fear is one of the emotions that surfaced when I initially accepted the offer from my current company. It’s not that the offer isn’t beneficial for me, but rather, it revolves around the responsibility of being a solo researcher and how I will conduct the research. Being alone means there’s a plethora of tasks, particularly onsite research. In my current company, most business is conducted remotely, involving technology, except for WhatsApp. Initially, I thought I had to go onsite to conduct the research.
However, this fear only applies because I am relatively new to the role of a researcher, with less than two years of experience before working at GoCement. For context, I also struggle with managing others’ expectations, prompting me to contemplate various ways to address this challenge.
In this context, as a solo researcher who has undergone several mentorships through ADPList, one strategy that brings me some solace is to “make sure to befriend everyone that you could potentially recruit as peers for research,” as well as “ensure you communicate with your stakeholder or DRI and explain what they expect from you and vice versa.”
Although these strategies provide some relief, the fear of not being able to impact the business and the responsibility that I can’t share with others still lingers. I maintain the belief that a solo researcher can excel, especially if they have significant prior experience to help establish a robust research culture capable of making a significant impact.
Next, after FEAR, the second word that comes to mind is “LEARN”.
Although I admit to feeling fear and anxiety about the possibility of making mistakes in my work due to working alone, I have come to realize that being a solo researcher has its advantages. Alhamdulillah, I have been able to learn a great deal in this role. Without a lead, I am responsible for managing and fulfilling requests from various departments. This includes creating a research roadmap by engaging with all teams in my company to gain a deeper understanding of the business and their needs. Additionally, I independently share all of my research findings with other teams. This experience has improved my collaboration skills, as I previously only shared my work with the product and product design teams in my previous company. In my current job, I now share my research even with C-level executives, which provides me with a different sense of fulfillment compared to my previous role as a researcher.
It is something that I may not have experienced if I had not taken the job as a solo researcher. I have learned a lot about collaboration and how to be a better sparring partner for designers, heads of product, and product managers. This is important because one of the core skills of a researcher is communication and managing stakeholder expectations. As a solo researcher, you are responsible for all of this. You are expected to create an impact within the team without anyone else needing to learn, as they will be learning from you. So, make sure to learn a lot, make an impact, and share your knowledge with others. This will help create a great research culture and convince stakeholders to recruit more researchers.
One thing that I feel is missing is a leadership role for researchers. It can be quite overwhelming to handle everything on your own.
For me a lead researchers' role is not just about someone who are arranged your job or maybe make the junior learn from the more experience one. But obtaining feedback from a more senior and more experience researcher is that I feel missing. Because for me, feedback is an important for me as a researcher to grow. if the feedback given from the more senior and experience researcher it would help me to at least learn faster because he/she knew that the more experience talking about research.
But complaining and whining is not for me, so because of the drawbacks there are several things that you can use to gain feedback as a solo researcher:
- To improve your research skills in your current company, consider having regular mentoring sessions, either with a researcher from ADPList or with your friends. These sessions will provide valuable feedback on your research process. It is recommended to seek feedback from someone in a similar role as yours, as they can help you identify areas for improvement and suggest ways to enhance your research practices.
- Personally, I recommend conducting regular 360 reviews, whether through live discussions or survey-based feedback, soon after completing a research project. It is important to ask all team members involved in the project for their input. This process is extremely helpful in identifying areas where improvement is needed. In my own experience, I received valuable feedback on how I reported and delivered the project to other departments. Not everyone understood my message, so I made an effort to ensure clarity and understanding for all parties involved.
- The last thing is to make sure you receive feedback as soon as you have completed the research with the participants during your debrief sessions. This will help you to make necessary improvements and come up with fresh ideas for the next participant.
All of this really help me to not entirely cover up but still able to learn more about myself and what needed to fix from myself as well.
Then What is my key takeaways from here:
- As a solo researcher, you can develop a well-rounded skill set and learn more about the business by taking on more responsibility and collaborating with others. It’s your chance to avoid being limited to one focus, such as qualitative research, and instead take on both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This is because smaller companies often need a variety of methods to provide both quantitative and qualitative insights.
- However, if you are a junior researcher and happen to be the sole researcher, please relax and talk to your stakeholder or DRI to understand their expectations. Start learning and improving more from your surroundings. If you encounter a block, you can ask the community for help. Gear up and learn more so that everyone in the team or company will be inclined to invest more in the research team.
- If you are hiring your first researcher and would like to build a research culture, I suggest looking for someone with more experience, preferably at the senior or lead level. They already know what to do and what to expect, unlike more junior researchers who may not have as much experience.
