About

Research pioneer and marketing genius Dave Hora founded Dave's Research Co. in 2020

DRC — Dave's Research Co. — is based in Porto, Portugal and works with product teams across the globe, remotely and on-site.


The practice is built on a pragmatic view of awareness in product development: we must build clarity around the work with rigor to match the risk, insight to match the opportunity.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to moving the team forward. There are, however, certain modes of learning well-suited to each of our different challenges and opportunities.

Dave's Research Co. helps teams work on strategy and product initiatives with the right tools for the job.

Hand planes: less recommended for product development.

About Dave

I'm a practicing brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, amateur winemaker, and read avidly, 50-70 books each year. Many of them are good.

I view research as a focused learning practice aimed at doing things better. It asks for humility, rewards attention, and demands competent advocacy. Lately, my scope of awareness is broadening into visualization for strategy, and what it means for product teams to operate with the right level of contextual awareness.

In that vein, I build DRC as a vehicle for pointing the tools of research inwards, exploring how the larger product context is co-evolving with research.

In general, I'm fascinated by the creative process and the notion of skill. Most of my work and play is driven by larger questions:

  • How do we make good things?
  • How does that work when groups of people are involved?
  • What does it mean to master a craft?
  • How do we effectively teach and share our understanding?

Conference / Speaker Bio

Dave Hora is the founder of Dave's Research Co., helping teams build clarity and learning loops into product and design initiatives.

In 2011, he began as the first researcher at a mobile startup in San Francisco, then went on to work as the first researcher five more times, at companies including ResearchGate, PlanGrid, and Instacart. In 2020, Dave began consulting as DRC out of Porto, Portugal, and works with teams across the globe.

Dave writes a weekly newsletter on critical thinking and learning in the organization, occasionally turns rice into sake, and is a practicing brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Talk and Workshop Index:

Dave's Research Co.

Learning loops and conceptual clarity for strategic product initiatives.

Dave's Research Co.

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