Michael Jordan in a white Bulls 23 jersey rising for a jump shot over a Jazz defender.

Product + brand research you can feel.

Emotion is the ultimate competitive advantage. Here’s my thinking, approach and what’s next.

My story

Who

Hi — I’m Tom. Over the last 20+ years, I’ve led global research, insights and strategy initiatives for products and brands that touch billions of people for clients including Google, YouTube, Nike, Microsoft and more.

Underpinning it all is one simple belief: Emotion is the ultimate competitive advantage to create desire, accelerate adoption, improve engagement and increase retention.

Understanding the emotional layer between people and Product or Brand isn't about soft 'vibes'—it's about measurable financial impact.

Leading strategy at Wieden & Kennedy on Nike, I wrote the brand repositioning platform for Brand Jordan that set the foundation to grow from $800 million to $6.6 billion in AR.

Collaborating with acclaimed designer Scott Wilson/MNML, I wrote the PRD for the redesign of SonoSite’s portable ultrasound machine that helped support an exit valuation of $1B to Fujifilm.

Evaluating Google's AI-driven feature “What people are saying” with real humans after it was developed using synthetic models, I helped provide the human context that helped grow MAU since its launch in 2025.

Putting my money where my mouth is, I self-funded a mobile video start up, Fabric, with award-nominated AI; in 2026, I've built and deployed multiple agents on our way to becoming a self-driving company.

Today, I help founders, senior executives and innovation teams turn emotion into a repeatable competitive advantage—aligning what your brand promises with what your product delivers.

Selected work & timeline

Selected Work

Full résumé (PDF)
Fabric 2023 – Present

Founder  ·  SF, CA

Transformed app to AI-native from AI-as-feature — reimagined the end-to-end experience, built and deployed a series of agents, and integrated Gemini to elevate the role of researchers to Chief Story Architects.

  • IIEX 2023 Innovation Award Finalist — for Fabric's industry-first emotion and sentiment AI.
  • Got to proof of concept in less than 12 months after launch.
  • Had our PO renewed by Google — meeting their stringent compliance requirements.
  • Managed a tight knit team of six people in the US and India — front end, back end, mobile, web, UX, design.
MindSwarms 2009 – 2023

President  ·  SF, CA

Built and managed a team of 25 from scratch — UXRs, project managers, designers, videographers, designers, admin.

  • Grew Google from $250k in revenue to $7.5 million.
  • Managed and oversaw over 100 global projects — for clients including YouTube, Nike, Verizon.
  • Ranked #1 vendor in Google’s Fast Research program in 2022.
Earlier  ·  Prior to 2009 President @ Bassett & Partners, Design & Brand Strategy (Nike Innovation Kitchen, Sonos, Xbox). Strategist: Wieden + Kennedy / Nike, TBWA / Apple.

Off the clock

Personal

Away from the keyboard, along with my wife of 20 years who also works full time, I try to find the emotional unlock for our two sons to become their best selves. We prioritize cooking from scratch, even though that can be slightly stressful because it takes time. We also juggle three dogs. Early mornings and weekends, I let it rip on the end of an oar in competitive masters rowing for the Olympic Club, experiencing the intoxicating highs and crushing lows of sport.

Two of the dogs sitting on a beach, looking in opposite directions.
Our Bay Area German Shepherd Rescues, Zuzu and Jaxx.
Close-up of the third dog, a shaggy black face with one eye peering through the fur.
L'il Miss Mila.
Tom rowing a single scull, mid-stroke, in a red and black racing suit.
Masters rowing for the Olympic Club.