What thinktank does

thinktank (legal name: thinktank research) is a privately held, founder-owned boutique market research and strategy consultancy headquartered in Berkeley, California, with a secondary office in Carbondale, Colorado. Founded in 2008 by Robin Boyar — a researcher with 20+ years of experience who previously built Electronic Arts' first centralized research department and has worked on over 100 video game franchises — the firm delivers customized mixed-methods research engagements to a client base that includes Fortune 100 corporations, video game brands, early-stage ventures, and nonprofits.

The firm's service portfolio is organized around four integrated methodologies: quantitative research (segmentation studies, concept surveys, branding evaluations), qualitative research (focus groups and interviews with audiences ranging from tween gamers to IT professionals), UX research (one-on-one usability testing and contextual interviewing), and video game playability testing (alpha/beta-stage game evaluation integrating qualitative, quantitative, and UX methods). Notable proprietary capabilities include the 'Golden Questions' segmentation methodology, a 10-question framework that predicts audience cohorts with approximately 90% accuracy. Delivery is enabled by a 'Superfriends' network of best-of-class providers for participant recruitment, focus group facilities, survey hosting, translation, and editing, supporting local San Francisco Bay Area execution as well as US-wide and global engagement.

thinktank operates a pure project-based professional services revenue model with pricing not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is senior-led direct engagement — the firm explicitly markets on the fact that every team member has senior-level expertise — with lead generation driven by website case studies, founder LinkedIn presence, email newsletter, and conference speaking (Digital Hollywood, GDC, GamesBeat, GigaOm, LA Games Conference). The company has 1-10 employees and no disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or institutional ownership.

Name

thinktank

Legal name

thinktank research

Website

https://thinktankresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

thinktank is a founder-owned boutique market research consultancy delivering customized mixed-methods research in media, technology, healthcare, and video games to Fortune 100 companies, game developers, startups, and nonprofits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer insights research
• Video game research
• UX research services
• Brand strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Research Engagements: Boutique market research and strategy consultancy conducting bespoke projects for clients. Projects include validating product concepts, evaluating brand positioning, assessing user experience, testing video games, and more. Revenue generated through project-based consulting fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

thinktank is a boutique market research and strategy consultancy that delivers bespoke, customized research engagements for clients in media, technology, healthcare, and video games. Services span the full product lifecycle from pre-concept validation through post-mortem analysis and are delivered through four core approaches: Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, UX Research, and Video Game Playability Testing. The firm serves Fortune 100 companies, video game brands, early-stage ventures, and nonprofits, executing projects locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the U.S., and globally.

Product overview

thinktank is a boutique market research and strategy consultancy specializing in media, technology, healthcare, and video games. The company offers a unified portfolio of research services organized around four core methodologies: Quantitative Research (segmentation studies, concept surveys, branding evaluations), Qualitative Research (focus groups, interviews), UX Research (usability testing, contextual interviewing), and Video Game Playability Testing. These services are delivered as bespoke consulting engagements tailored to client needs, from pre-concept validation through post-mortem analysis. The company is led by founder Robin Boyar and serves Fortune 100 companies, video game developers, early-stage ventures, and nonprofits. Research can be conducted locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout the US, and globally through their network of best-of-class providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quantitative Research Survey-based research including segmentation studies, concept surveys, and branding evaluations with predictive benchmarks and actionable findings that provide a roadmap to success. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement to enterprise clients, video game brands, startups, and nonprofits.
• Qualitative Research Focus groups and interviews conducted with diverse audiences including tween gamers, moms, and IT professionals, using an empathetic and engaging approach led by Robin Boyar. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement.
• UX Research One-on-one usability testing, contextual interviewing, and other user-centered methods often integrated with quantitative and qualitative research stages. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement to enterprise clients.
• Video Game Playability Testing Specialized research combining qualitative, quantitative, and UX elements to test video games during critical alpha and beta development stages, evaluating gameplay, engagement, and monetization potential. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement to video game developers and publishers.
• Customer Segmentation Studies Analytical engagement identifying and prioritizing target audiences through attitudinal and behavioral drivers, including development of predictive 'Golden Questions' (a set of 10 questions predicting cohorts with approximately 90% accuracy) and persona creation. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Created 'Golden Questions' segmentation methodology that predicts audience cohorts with ~90% accuracy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• YTH (Youth + Tech + Health)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with YTH (Oakland, CA nonprofit) to conduct primary research on teen reproductive health attitudes and behaviors. Research was funded by a Ford Foundation grant. thinktank conducted phone interviews, online surveys, and focus groups, and developed a white paper with actionable policy and education recommendations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kelton Global: Boutique insights and strategy agency delivering quantitative, qualitative, and co-creation research to major brands — directly comparable in service mix and client tier, though slightly larger in scale.
• Interpret: Los Angeles-based boutique market research consultancy specializing in video games, entertainment, and media — directly comparable to thinktank's gaming and media research practices and serving the same publisher/developer buyer base.
• C Space: Boutique customer research and strategy consultancy using mixed methods and online communities to deliver ongoing consumer insights — comparable in methodology, client tier, and engagement model.
• Greenberg Strategy: Boutique market research and strategy consultancy serving Fortune 500 technology and consumer companies with mixed-methods research — directly comparable to thinktank in client mix, methodology, and boutique positioning.
• Quantic Foundry: Specialist gaming research and player segmentation firm that has built a quantitative model of player motivations — directly comparable to thinktank's video game playability testing and segmentation work, serving the same gaming clients.

Broad incumbents

• Schlesinger Group (now part of InnovateMR): Large qualitative research services firm providing focus group facilities, recruitment, and insights support globally — a scaled competitor for the qualitative portion of thinktank's service mix.
• Material: Larger strategy and insights consultancy combining research, design, and technology services for major brands — competes with thinktank on strategy engagements and overlaps on custom research and product concept work.
• Circana (formerly NPD + IRI): Global leader in consumer and retail measurement including a dedicated games practice — competes for the same enterprise gaming and entertainment research budgets as thinktank but at much greater scale.
• Newzoo (now part of Savvy Games Group): Global games market intelligence provider serving publishers, platforms, and investors with syndicated and custom gaming research — overlaps with thinktank's gaming practice but with a broader data/insights platform model.

Others

• Tootris: Not a direct competitor; included only as a flagged adjacency where industry database signals intersect. Should be omitted if not clearly relevant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/robin-boyar
• Xx.com/thinktanktweets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about thinktank