About Lean Otter
We exist to help established non-tech businesses build digital products that solve real problems for real customers. Through our studio, we design and build with you. Through Lean Otter Learn, we give your team the frameworks to keep improving it.
Who we work with
Our clients are not startups. They are law firms, surveying practices, training providers, construction businesses. They have traded for years, they know their customers, and they have built something worth protecting. What they do not have is in-house product capability. They need a partner who understands their world well enough to build something that actually gets used, not an agency who will take a brief, deliver it, and move on.
What we believe
The problem is always more interesting than the solution.
The hard work is finding the right problem first. That takes time with real people, uncomfortable questions, and the discipline to resist moving fast before you understand what you are moving towards.
AI makes the human work harder, not easier.
Generating a prototype takes seconds now. What AI cannot do is sit with your customers and understand why they behave the way they do. That work is slower, messier, and more valuable than it has ever been.
Build capability, not dependency.
The best outcome is a client who no longer needs us. We design, build, and then teach. Because a team that understands what they have will always do more with it than one waiting for the next invoice.
Co-founder, Product and UX
Over twenty years in product, UX, and AI-powered design and delivery. Works with businesses across the full product journey, from identifying the right thing to build through to shipping and iterating in the real world.
Co-founder, Learning Design and People Research
Brings the human side of AI and innovation into focus. With over twelve years in learning and development, she helps organisations build the confidence, capability, and culture needed to make change stick, not just happen.
Product Engineering and Prototyping
Spent over a decade as a software engineer and architect before moving into product leadership. Helps clients navigate uncertainty, decide what is worth building, and turn early opportunities into practical prototypes. Still a hands-on builder.
Product Strategy and Commercial
Works at the intersection of product, commercial strategy, and market positioning. Has held senior leadership and CEO-level roles across HR and WorkTech, bringing that experience to bear on value propositions, prioritisation, and growth.
Product Strategy and Delivery
Over twenty years across product discovery, strategy, and delivery. Helps businesses turn ideas into clear, actionable plans and make steady progress towards launch, focusing on the work that will have the most impact.
Product Design and Prototyping
Specialises in the design and prototyping of digital and physical products, with a focus on AI-driven applications. Turns early-stage concepts into tangible prototypes that can be tested in the real world, across software, hardware, and interface design.
User Research, Design and Storytelling
Combines user research, behavioural design, and storytelling to shape experiences that are clear, grounded in real behaviour, and easy to understand. They have a particular interest in how thoughtful design and narrative make complex ideas accessible.
Start with a conversation
The first conversation is twenty minutes. No brief required.
Start a conversation