UX Research Geeks21 Aug 2025

Using user insights to bring teams together | Olivia Ponedel | #61

Olivia Ponedel, a meticulous product designer, discusses her experience of working at different startups and acting as a middleman to bridge the gaps between product, sales, and engineering teams and users. She shares how research in startups requires flexibility, close collaboration, and finding ways to connect user insights to business priorities to have an impact on product decisions.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/olivia-ponedel-using-user-insights-to-bring-teams-together

Episode highlights

00:01:23 Olivia’s background

00:03:06 Olivia’s role in Finix Payments

00:08:11 Research methods and prioritization

00:18:44 Reflections on UX research

00:21:32 Closing thoughts

About our guest Olivia Ponedel

Olivia is a meticulous product designer with deep experience bringing user empathy and clarity to complex systems—from consumer fintech and enterprise logistics to payment processing workflows. At the time of this recording, she led the design of no-code payment tools at Finix Payments, helping drive the company’s expansion from software platforms to direct merchants. Olivia now works at Meta, where she leads design for effective business communications in the advertiser experience.

🔎 Where to follow Olivia

LinkedIn

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

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LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

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