The Challenge
Clean energy startup Arcadia had experienced rapid initial success in the utility space but was hitting a growth ceiling. Their product suite had become confusing to consumers, making upselling difficult and limiting their expansion potential. Despite their environmental mission resonating with early adopters, they struggled to articulate their value proposition to a broader market.
The Research Question
How can Arcadia grow beyond existing members to reach new audiences while maintaining a cohesive brand and product experience?
This required identifying who would drive their next wave of growth and understanding what these customers truly valued about clean energy solutions.
Our Insight-Driven Approach
Key Consumer Insights and the HXC
Our research revealed that Arcadia's most successful path forward wasn't designing for everyone, but focusing on their High Expectations Customer (HXC)—the users whose needs would drive innovation and whose satisfaction would pull the broader market forward.
The research identified:
Product confusion was limiting adoption - The existing product suite and features were confusing to consumers, making the value proposition unclear and upselling difficult
Stand-alone vs. ecosystem benefits - Customers needed to understand individual product benefits while also seeing how they fit into a larger value ecosystem
Behavioral segmentation patterns - Clear behavioral profiles emerged that allowed Arcadia to sequence their market approach for maximum growth
From Insights to Product Strategy
These insights directly informed a comprehensive repositioning strategy:
Cohesive ecosystem approach - We helped transform their fragmented product suite into a unified platform initially called "Utopia" (later rebranded as "Arc")
Clarified value propositions - Each solution was positioned with a stand-alone benefit while fitting into an overarching value narrative
Sequenced market targeting - We created a roadmap that prioritized customer segments based on their growth potential and acquisition cost
Implementation & Training
Beyond delivering insights, we:
Facilitated sessions to establish product strategy and roadmap aligned with marketing and customer service
Trained the Product and Design teams in research techniques and innovation tools
Created frameworks for ongoing experimentation to unlock continued value
Ensured insights could be translated into implementation through detailed action plans
Fueling Investment: The $30M Series C
Our work directly contributed to Arcadia's ability to secure a $30M Series C funding round. The repositioned platform played a central role in their pitch to investors by:
Demonstrating a larger TAM (Total Addressable Market) by showing how the refined platform could appeal to mainstream consumers beyond eco-conscious early adopters
Presenting a clear, staged growth strategy with specific customer segments identified and prioritized for acquisition
Offering a coherent product roadmap that gave investors confidence in the company's ability to scale efficiently
Showing improved unit economics through higher retention rates and increased customer lifetime value
Investors were particularly impressed by the data-driven approach to identifying high-value customer segments and the strategic sequencing of market expansion efforts based on behavioral research.
The Product Impact Lesson
Arcadia's transformation illustrates a fundamental principle of product-market fit: sometimes the path to broader adoption isn't designing for the broadest possible audience, but rather focusing intensely on your high expectations customers. By creating a product that delights these users, you build a foundation for reaching the mainstream market.
The most successful products don't try to please everyone at once—they identify the customers who can drive their next phase of growth and design specifically for their needs.
