SEE MORE

What SEE MORE does

SEE MORE Future Research & Development is a Hamburg-based future research institute founded in 2008 and operated by sole proprietor Oliver Leisse. The firm delivers strategic foresight, consumer trend analysis, and advisory services to enterprise clients across German-speaking markets and internationally, with a client roster that includes Deutsche Bank, TUI, REWE Group, Audi, Microsoft, Google, Henkel, Merck, and Bergader Privatkäserei. Its distinctive methodology combines ethnographic field research conducted through a network of ~100 researchers and partners in over 50 global metropolises with AI-augmented analysis, operationalized through the proprietary IQ-Trends (Intelligent Questioneer) tool and the Consumer Trend Circle analytical framework that organizes trends into six fundamental need/motivation dimensions.

The product portfolio comprises four integrated lines: (1) IQ-Trends, an AI-powered research tool that uses prompt engineering against third-party AI systems to deliver rapid, cross-market trend analyses supplemented by human expert interpretation; (2) Keynotes (Vorträge), 45-60 minute paid speeches delivered in-person or online in German, English, or AI-translated to any language, at a cadence of ~50-70 per year; (3) Future Scope, a recurring online briefing service offered monthly or quarterly to corporate leadership teams; and (4) Zukunftsberatung (Future Consulting), bespoke strategic advisory projects for individual enterprises. The firm also publishes books ('Be Prepared', 'So geht Zukunft', 'The Age of Agents', 'Die Zukunft der Gastro') and produces the 'Baby und Boomer' generational podcast.

The business model is professional services with a hybrid GTM driven by the founder's personal brand as a keynote speaker and thought leader. Revenue is generated through keynote fees, custom consulting projects, and subscription briefings, with no published pricing. Sales occur directly via the founder and team without channel partners or resellers, and acquisition is heavily reliant on the speaking circuit, referrals, and content marketing. The entity is founder-owned and profitable based on apparent longevity, with no external investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or holding company structure disclosed.

Name

SEE MORE

Legal name

SEE MORE Future Research & Development

Website

https://see-more.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SEE MORE is a Hamburg-based future research institute founded in 2008 that delivers AI-augmented trend analysis, consumer insights, and strategic foresight through keynotes, consulting, and online briefings to enterprise clients across German-speaking markets and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Consulting and Futures Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA), Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Futures research consulting
• Trend forecasting services
• Keynote speaking engagements
• Strategic future consulting
• Consumer trend analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Keynote Speaking Engagements: Oliver Leisse delivers paid keynote speeches at corporate events, conferences, and industry gatherings. Sessions are delivered in-person on stage or online, in German or English (or AI-translated into any language). Typical duration is 45-60 minutes. This is a one-time professional services revenue stream driven by the founder's personal brand and speaking reputation.
2. Future Scope Online Briefings: Monthly or quarterly online briefing sessions for client leadership teams, employees, customers, and partners. Clients invite participants who join from anywhere. Each session runs approximately 60 minutes, covering 6-8 curated future trends with moderated discussions. Sold as recurring or one-time subscriptions to corporate teams.
3. Zukunftsforschung (Future Consulting): Highly individualized future consulting engagements for enterprises and industries. Includes strategic forecasts tailored to the specific company and sector, strategy optimization, offer reviews, and development of new strategies. Sold as bespoke consulting projects, likely project-based or retainer structures.
4. IQ-Trends Research Reports: AI-augmented trend analysis reports for specific markets and industries. Used as a premium research deliverable combining AI interrogation tools with expert human analysis. Peter Trumpfheller of Bergader Privatkäserei is cited as a client for IQ-Trends analysis in the premium cheese market.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SEE MORE Future Research & Development is a Hamburg-based institute for future research and innovative strategies. It delivers trend forecasting, keynote speeches (Vorträge), online briefings (Future Scope), and bespoke strategic consulting (Zukunftsberatung) using a hybrid methodology that combines artificial intelligence tools with ethnographic consumer research conducted across more than 50 global metropolises. The institute helps enterprises anticipate near-term (3-5 year) developments in consumer behavior, technology, and markets.

Product overview

SEE MORE is an institute for future research and strategic consulting, founded in 2008 and based in Hamburg. The company operates a portfolio of four integrated service offerings: (1) IQ-TRENDS — an AI-powered trend research tool that combines artificial intelligence with human expert analysis to generate rapid, cross-market trend insights via structured prompts; (2) Keynotes/Vorträge — tailored keynote presentations on AI, metatrends, retail, hospitality, and future skills delivered both in-person and online; (3) Future Scope Online Briefings — monthly or quarterly 60-minute curated sessions presenting current future developments with interactive discussion; and (4) individual Zukunftsberatung (Future Consulting) — bespoke strategic consulting for companies. The company also produces the 'Baby und Boomer' podcast and publishes books on future trends. The offerings are interconnected: consulting engagements draw on IQ-TRENDS research, and keynotes incorporate insights from all service lines, creating a unified future intelligence ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IQ-TRENDS AI-powered trend research tool (Intelligent Questioneer) that combines artificial intelligence with human intelligence, using prompt engineering to query AI systems for rapid, deep, and cost-efficient trend analyses across national and international markets.
• Keynotes (Vorträge) Live and online keynote presentations and impulse talks on future trends, AI, metatrends, retail, Gen Z, customer experience, hospitality, gastronomy, and future skills. Delivered in German or English (AI-translated to other languages), typically 45-60 minutes, tailored to client audiences.
• Future Scope (Online Briefing) Quarterly or monthly 60-minute online briefing sessions delivering curated, up-to-date future trend insights to corporate leadership teams. Clients select topics in advance and SEE MORE delivers a customized presentation with moderated discussion.
• Zukunftsberatung (Future Consulting) Individualized future consulting for companies and industries, including strategy development, optimization of offerings, and creation of new strategic directions tailored to the client's specific business context.

Quantifiable outcome

• Harvard and MIT September 2023 study cited: AI makes knowledge workers 25% faster and 40% better in learning applications.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Tim CortinovisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Oliver Leisse co-authored the book 'The Age of Agents' (2024) with colleague and future researcher Tim Cortinovis and multiple AI models. This was described as an experiment in human-AI co-authorship.
• Jan ScheidstegerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Oliver Leisse co-authored 'Die Zukunft der Gastro' (2024) with Jan Scheidsteger, a gastronomy development expert. The book was published by Deutscher Fachverlag after three years of collaborative work.
• Christian Monzel (Partner)minorOthersChristian Monzel is identified as a partner in the context of IQ-Trends, providing commentary on the integration of AI in trend research and the value of combining human and artificial intelligence for best results.
• Peer HartogminorOthersCo-founded the agency Klaar Kiming in Hamburg in 1998, which Oliver Leisse led for 10 years. An early partnership in his entrepreneurial career.
• Frank EilersminorOthersOliver Leisse co-hosted an early podcast with Frank Eilers, discussing the first book chapter by chapter. Podcast titled 'Zukunft, Trends und Strategien'.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting incumbent serving large enterprises with strategy and consumer insights work. Competes for the same corporate Zukunftsberatung budgets but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Kantar: Global market research and consumer insights incumbent serving most Fortune 500 brands. Overlaps with SEE MORE on consumer trend research and brand strategy but offers much broader portfolio including media, analytics and consulting.
• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm selling syndicated research, advisory, and consulting to enterprise technology and consumer leaders. Comparable enterprise research-and-advisory model, scaled to thousands of enterprise subscribers.
• Euromonitor International: Global market research firm producing syndicated consumer and industry research. Competes for enterprise consumer-trend budgets with a much larger research library and global delivery footprint.
• GfK (NielsenIQ): Major global market research incumbent with deep DACH roots. Competes in syndicated consumer insights and bespoke research, but operates at vastly greater scale across all industries versus SEE MORE's curated enterprise offering.
• Gartner: Global research and advisory leader with a subscription-based business serving enterprise executives. Adjacent to SEE MORE's Future Scope briefing model but at vastly larger scale and across many more verticals.

Direct peers

• WGSN: Global trend forecasting subscription platform focused on consumer, fashion, retail and hospitality trends. Overlaps with SEE MORE's consumer-trend orientation and Future Scope subscription model, though delivered at much larger scale.
• Zukunftsinstitut: German trend and future research institute headquartered in Frankfurt. Closest direct competitor in DACH: publishes annual trend reports, runs Zukunftskongress events, and sells bespoke consulting — overlapping heavily with SEE MORE's Consumer Trend Circle, keynote, and consulting offerings.
• TrendOne: Hamburg-based trend research consultancy providing trend scouting, consumer insights, and innovation workshops across DACH. Directly comparable service portfolio (trend reports, consulting, workshops) and similar German-mid-market customer base.
• Foresight Factory: London-based consumer trend forecasting firm that produces global trend frameworks and bespoke consulting for major brands. Comparable trend-research methodology and enterprise customer mix, with overlapping methodology on consumer insights.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seemorefuture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/see-more-future-research-development
• Instagraminstagram.com/seemorefuture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 SEE MORE