Transforming Manufacturing Intelligence Through Advanced Sensing and User Experience
A Stanford-born advanced sensing startup struggled to convert pilots and communicate their value despite breakthrough technology, due to a lack of clarity around their ideal customer and a user experience that failed to translate raw data into actionable insights. By redefining their target market, redesigning the interface around real operational workflows, and embedding continuous user feedback, we helped them triple pilot opportunities, boost conversion rates to nearly 90%, and generate over $3M in new revenue while positioning them as a category leader in spatial intelligence.
The Challenge
A Stanford research-born advanced sensing startup had developed revolutionary technology that could perceive and digitize manufacturing floor activities in real-time. Despite their groundbreaking sensor technology, they struggled to gain market traction. Their platform collected valuable data, but potential customers couldn't easily visualize how this information would translate into tangible productivity improvements. The company had brilliant engineering talent but needed help defining their ideal customer profile and creating a user experience that would communicate their value proposition effectively.
When we first engaged with them, they were burning through runway with limited commercial success despite having raised a Series A round. Their pilot conversion rate hovered around 20%, and prospective customers frequently cited the disconnect between raw sensor data and actionable insights as a primary reason for hesitation.
Adjective's Approach
We began by immersing ourselves in their technology and the manufacturing environments they targeted. Spending time with their engineering team and visiting several manufacturing facilities gave us crucial insights into both the technical capabilities and the practical realities of implementation.
Rather than immediately diving into UI design, we first helped the company redefine what an "ideal customer" looked like. Through market analysis and stakeholder interviews, we identified specific manufacturing sectors where spatial intelligence would deliver the highest ROI. This shifted their focus from a broad manufacturing play to a targeted approach aimed at facilities with specific characteristics in automation maturity and operational complexity.
With a clearer customer profile established, we designed a user interface that bridged the critical gap between their sensor data and machine data from the factory floor. The new UI wasn't just visually appealing—it translated complex spatial intelligence into intuitive visualizations that manufacturing managers could immediately act upon. We created navigation flows that aligned with standard operational workflows and integrated metrics that spoke directly to core manufacturing KPIs.
Throughout development, we established and managed comprehensive user research protocols. We conducted in-depth interviews with operators, supervisors, and executives across multiple pilot sites. This continuous feedback loop enabled rapid iteration and ensured the platform addressed real-world pain points rather than perceived needs.
The Results
The impact was transformative. Within three months, the company tripled their qualified pilot opportunities. More importantly, their pilot conversion rate jumped from 20% to nearly 90% as prospects could now clearly see the value proposition through the redesigned interface.
Manufacturing facilities implementing the technology reported significant operational improvements. Overall Equipment Effectiveness increased by an average of 19% across pilot sites. Unplanned downtime decreased by approximately one-third, and operators demonstrated productivity gains of more than 20% by optimizing their workflows based on the platform's insights.
Perhaps most telling was the dramatic reduction in problem-solving time. Factory teams reported they could identify root causes of production issues 70-75% faster with the enhanced visibility provided by the platform. This acceleration in troubleshooting translated directly to improved uptime and output quality.
The business impact extended beyond operational metrics. The successful pilots generated over $3 million in new revenue. The company successfully positioned for their next funding round based on demonstrated customer value, and they expanded their team with new hires in sales, implementation, and customer success roles.
The Transformation
The VP of Product later reflected that our partnership fundamentally changed how they communicated value to customers and implemented their technology. By redefining their ideal customer profile and creating an interface that translated complex data into actionable insights, we dramatically accelerated their market penetration.
This engagement exemplifies our approach: bridging advanced technology with market adoption through strategic customer definition, user-centered design, and continuous validation. The company has since established itself as a leader in the emerging spatial intelligence category with a clear differentiation from traditional manufacturing execution systems.
What began as a UI design project evolved into a comprehensive transformation of their go-to-market strategy, product experience, and value proposition—ultimately unlocking their path to commercial success.