Built for Mars
Built for Mars operates BFM+, a subscription platform offering a curated library of 1,400+ UX Bites, case studies, cheatsheets and a product psychology glossary, plus AI tools and founder-delivered UX audits serving design and product teams at companies including Amazon, Stripe, Notion and Klarna.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBrighton, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Built for Mars does
Built for Mars is a UK-based UX research and education platform founded in 2018 by Peter, a sole operator based in southern England. The company operates a subscription product called BFM+ that distributes a proprietary library of more than 1,400 categorised UX Bites, long-form case studies, cheatsheets, and a 60+ term product psychology glossary to over 40,000 design and product professionals, with named users including the design teams at Amazon, Airbnb, Stripe, Notion and Apple. Alongside the subscription, the founder personally delivers one-on-one UX audits to product teams at companies such as Klarna, Grammarly, Quickbooks, Moonpay and Octopus Energy, with reported outcomes including a 16% conversion lift for Quickbooks and onboarding improvements for Penfold.
The platform is built around a content and learning architecture rather than a traditional SaaS workflow: a 5-week UX Bootcamp and AI-generated Custom Pathways provide structured learning, while AI Insights analyses uploaded design screenshots against the full library plus a hidden six-year corpus of consulting experiments. Distribution has expanded beyond the owned website through a Figma Community plugin (with free-credit hooks for non-subscribers), a Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint for AI agents, a multi-language Podcast Mode, and a following/alerts system that turns the subscriber base into a competitive UX research network. A historical exclusive partnership with Mobbin bundled complementary visual reference flows into the BFM+ offering.
The business model combines a recurring self-serve subscription (individual and now seat-based BFM+ Teams after a March 2025 launch following 14 months of beta) with founder-led professional services revenue from UX audits. The company is privately held, bootstrapped, and operates without disclosed external funding or parent structure, with all consulting and content operations centred on the founder.
Built for Mars firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Built for Mars
- Legal name
- Built for Mars Ltd
- Website
- https://builtformars.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Built for Mars operates BFM+, a subscription platform offering a curated library of 1,400+ UX Bites, case studies, cheatsheets and a product psychology glossary, plus AI tools and founder-delivered UX audits serving design and product teams at companies including Amazon, Stripe, Notion and Klarna.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Built for Mars industry classification
Industry- Product category
- UX Research and Design Education
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Management Consulting Services (54161), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) & Learning Portals (EDAFAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Learning Experience Design (LXD) & UX for Learning (EDAGAKAF), Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC), LMS Integrations, Interoperability & Identity (LTI/SCORM/xAPI, SSO, APIs) (EDAFAAAI), Skills, Competency & Capability Management (Skills Frameworks, Badging within LMS) (EDAFAAAE)
Keywords
Where Built for Mars is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brighton
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Built for Mars business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- BFM+ Subscription: Subscription-based access to UX research library, case studies, UX bites, cheatsheets, AI tools, custom pathways, and bootcamp. Includes team features with flexible seat-based billing.
- UX Audits: One-on-one consulting engagements where founder Peter audits product UX end-to-end, delivered as actionable slideshows with to-do lists and post-audit consulting.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | BFM+ subscription with team options |
| Other | Multi-year contract | UX Audit professional services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Built for Mars product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Built for Mars operates BFM+, a subscription-based UX research and design education platform providing access to a library of 1,400+ UX Bites, case studies, cheatsheets, a product psychology glossary, AI-powered insights, a Figma plugin, and structured learning pathways. Alongside the SaaS platform, the company sells one-to-one UX Audit consulting engagements delivered personally by founder Peter Ramsey to product teams at companies such as Stripe, Notion, and Klarna.
Product overview
Built for Mars is a UX research and education platform offering a subscription-based library (BFM+) of 1,400+ content pieces including case studies, UX Bites, cheatsheets, and a product psychology glossary. The platform provides structured learning through a 5-week UX Bootcamp and AI-powered Custom Pathways. Premium features include AI Insights for design feedback, a Figma Plugin, Podcast Mode for audio learning, and BFM+ Teams for organizational access. The company also offers standalone UX Audit consulting services for product teams seeking personalized analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- BFM+ Subscription Annual subscription product providing access to a library of 1,400+ UX Bites, case studies, cheatsheets, product psychology glossary, AI Insights, Custom Pathways, the 5-week UX Bootcamp, and BFM+ Teams collaboration features. Used by 40,000+ design and product professionals and teams at Amazon, Airbnb, Stripe, Notion, and Apple.
- UX Audits One-on-one consulting engagement where founder Peter audits product UX end-to-end, delivered as actionable slideshows with to-do lists and post-audit consulting. Targeted at competitive product teams at technology companies; backed by an ROI guarantee within 6 months. Trusted by 100+ product teams including Stripe, Notion, Klarna, Grammarly, Quickbooks, Moonpay, Octopus Energy, and AJ Bell.
- Figma Plugin Plugin distributed via the Figma Community marketplace that provides access to Built for Mars AI tools and the entire UX content library directly within Figma. Allows designers to receive instant UX feedback on designs, create post-it notes for later reference, and test designs against the full library of UX ideas.
Quantifiable outcome
- 16% conversion boost for Quickbooks
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Built for Mars
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Built for Mars technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
Built for Mars partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- MobbinminorExclusive partnership offering 6 months of Mobbin Pro free to all BFM+ subscribers (promotion has now ended). Mobbin is described as 'the greatest UI/UX library on earth' with 1000+ apps and 62,000+ user flows. Partnership combined Built for Mars's 'why' contextualization with Mobbin's 'what' visual reference library.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Built for Mars competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nielsen Norman Group: The most established UX research and training firm, offering reports, courses, and live training to design professionals and enterprises. Directly comparable as a premium UX education brand, though Built for Mars differentiates through entertaining, meme-driven content versus NN/g's traditional research report format.
- Interaction Design Foundation: Online UX and interaction design education platform with structured courses, bootcamps, and certifications serving hundreds of thousands of designers globally. Comparable as a subscription-based UX learning destination, though their model is course-centric while Built for Mars emphasizes a continuously updated content library plus AI tools.
- Smashing Magazine: Long-running web and UX design publishing brand with articles, books, conferences, and a membership program. Comparable as a design-focused content brand monetizing through subscription and membership, though Smashing is broader across web dev while Built for Mars narrows on UX/product design specifically.
- Mobbin: UI/UX pattern library cataloging real screens and flows from 1,000+ apps and 62,000+ user flows. Direct competitor in the curated design reference space and an existing GTM partner; Built for Mars differentiates by layering psychology and 'why' context on top of Mobbin's visual 'what' reference library.
- UX Design Institute: Provider of university-accredited UX diplomas and certificates aimed at career-changers and working designers. Comparable as a paid UX education provider, though their model is credential-led and course-led versus Built for Mars's library-and-tooling subscription model.
Emerging players
- CareerFoundry: Online bootcamp for UX, product design, and other digital disciplines with mentor-led programs. Comparable to Built for Mars's Bootcamp and Pathways offering, though CareerFoundry emphasizes long-form, mentor-supported career-change programs versus BFM+'s self-serve, AI-augmented subscription.
- Designlab: UX and product design bootcamp offering mentor-led courses and certificates for individuals and enterprise teams. Comparable in serving designers seeking structured learning, with partial overlap on the BFM+ Teams enterprise angle, though anchored in human mentorship rather than AI personalization.
Others
- Lenny's Newsletter: Popular subscription-based product management newsletter and community with deep practitioner content. Comparable in serving product and design professionals with paid content, but adjacent rather than direct: Lenny covers product growth broadly while Built for Mars narrows on UX research and psychology.
- Reforge: Subscription-based product growth education platform with courses and a practitioner community for senior product and growth leaders. Comparable as a paid, content-driven education destination for product professionals, though Reforge targets senior PMs while Built for Mars targets designers and UX-curious PMs.
Broad incumbents
- UserTesting: Enterprise usability testing and human insight platform used by product teams to evaluate UX. Comparable in serving enterprise product teams seeking UX insight, but as a broad incumbent offering usability research infrastructure rather than the curated educational content library BFM+ provides.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Built for Mars social profiles
Digital presenceBuilt for Mars financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Built for Mars leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Built for Mars funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Built for Mars M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Built for Mars
What does Built for Mars do?
Built for Mars operates BFM+, a subscription-based UX research and design education platform providing access to a library of 1,400+ UX Bites, case studies, cheatsheets, a product psychology glossary, AI-powered insights, a Figma plugin, and structured learning pathways. Alongside the SaaS platform, the company sells one-to-one UX Audit consulting engagements delivered personally by founder Peter Ramsey to product teams at companies such as Stripe, Notion, and Klarna.
Is Built for Mars a public or private company?
Built for Mars is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Built for Mars founded?
Built for Mars was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Built for Mars based?
Built for Mars is headquartered in Brighton, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Built for Mars make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. BFM+ Subscription is the primary driver. The others are UX Audits.
Who are Built for Mars's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nielsen Norman Group, Interaction Design Foundation, Smashing Magazine, Mobbin and UX Design Institute. Emerging players are CareerFoundry and Designlab. Others are Lenny's Newsletter and Reforge. UserTesting is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Built for Mars have an API?
Yes. Built for Mars offers MCP (Model Context Protocol) access, allowing users to access the entire library from their favourite agent. The MCP integration enables programmatic access to the UX content library. Developer documentation is at docs.builtformars.com/overview.
What industry is Built for Mars in?
Built for Mars's product category is UX Research and Design Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAAAB, Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) & Learning Portals, with a secondary code of EDAGAKAF, Learning Experience Design (LXD) & UX for Learning. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.