Introduction

A focused UX audit de-risks product bets, clarifies where users struggle, and prioritizes fixes founders can ship fast. Zypsy applies its startup-native product practice to deliver evidence-based recommendations in 2–4 weeks, mapped to impact and effort. See our relevant capabilities under Product Design, including research, UX analysis, benchmarking, and user testing in collaborative sprints (Zypsy Capabilities).

What you get (core deliverables)

• Findings report with issue taxonomy (usability, IA, interaction, copy, accessibility) and severity scoring

• Prioritized backlog (RICE/Value vs. Effort), with owner + next action per item

• Annotated screens and journey maps for critical flows (signup, onboarding, activation, retention paths)

• Competitive/adjacent benchmarking and heuristics assessment (e.g., navigation, search, forms, error states)

• Analytics review summary and instrumentation gaps (events, funnels, cohorts)

• Accessibility quick-scan with WCAG-aligned recommendations

• Concept sketches or low/medium-fidelity prototypes for the top opportunities

• Readout workshop with founders and functional leads; async recording and shareables

Packages and timeline (choose 2–4 weeks)

Notes on pricing: ranges reflect scope and team size; optional add‑ons listed below. Pricing is current as of October 2025.

Our method (step-by-step)

• Discovery and goals: Align on business outcomes, north-star metrics, and constraints. Capture hypotheses and existing research.

• Data and instrumentation review: Inspect funnels, cohorts, events, and error telemetry; identify tracking gaps.

• Heuristics and IA: Evaluate navigation, labeling, layout, information density, and progressive disclosure; map key journeys.

• Competitive and pattern scan: Compare to best-in-class flows in your category and adjacent markets.

• Accessibility scan: Quick review for keyboard navigation, color contrast, and ARIA usage.

• User walkthroughs (3-week+): Moderated sessions to validate friction points; synthesize themes.

• Synthesis and prioritization: Score issues, cluster themes, and stack-rank opportunities.

• Concepts and prototypes (4-week): Explore solution directions for the highest-leverage issues.

• Readout and alignment: Present findings, secure decisions, and convert recommendations into tickets.

Optional add-ons

• Onsite workshop (SF Bay Area): Half- or full-day facilitated session for discovery or readout

• Additional moderated sessions, extra flows, or design system remediation

• Analytics event model and dashboard setup

Proof of impact (representative work)

• Captions (AI video creation): Zypsy rebranded and redesigned the product and web experience to support a shift from macOS to web, building a unified design system in two months. Captions has 10M downloads and raised $60M Series C; case study includes conversion and time-to-convert metrics (Captions case study).

• Cortex (developer platform): Repositioned as an enterprise leader with a lighter, approachable system; delivered 100+ product graphics across 20+ pages. Backed by Sequoia and Y Combinator (Cortex case study).

• Solo.io (API and AI gateways): Comprehensive rebrand and product UX alignment; 31 web pages delivered, 512 CMS items migrated, and 718 redirects ahead of KubeCon. Trusted by enterprises like BMW and Domino’s (Solo.io case study).

These projects demonstrate our ability to audit complex flows, systematize design, and ship production-ready guidance for fast-moving teams.

How we work with startup teams

• Sprint-based collaboration with clear weekly outcomes

• Lightweight asks: access to product, analytics, prior research, and key stakeholders

• We partner with venture-backed startups and growth-stage companies; see our network and proof on our Work page

SF / Bay Area service

Founded in San Francisco, Zypsy offers in-person workshops and onsite audit kickoffs or readouts for Bay Area teams, subject to scheduling. Remote-first delivery keeps velocity high; onsite is an optional add-on (About Zypsy).

Getting started

• Share context and goals via the brief on our Contact page

• We’ll confirm scope, select a 2–4 week package, and schedule your kickoff within 1–2 weeks

FAQs

• What’s the difference between an audit and a redesign? The audit surfaces and prioritizes issues with actionable guidance; a redesign is a separate build phase we can staff via Brand, Product, and Engineering sprints.

• Can you audit only one flow? Yes—pricing scales by scope. Rapid works well for a single critical path (e.g., onboarding or checkout).

• Do you support Web, iOS, Android, and desktop? Yes; we audit per platform and reconcile cross-platform inconsistencies.

• What tools do you use? Figma, FigJam, Loom for async, and your analytics stack; we adapt to founder preferences.

• Will you help implement fixes? Yes—our team can extend into design and engineering sprints after the audit.