FOR FOUNDER-LED CREATOR ECONOMY STARTUPS MOVING BEYOND MVP
Your product has outgrown the way you build it.
Your MVP got you here. Now features are piling up, product decisions are getting harder, and the founder is becoming the bottleneck. Halo Studio embeds with your team to build the systems, alignment, and product direction needed for what's next.
"Working with Joneil frees up your cognitive load. You stop second-guessing design decisions and trust they'll be the right ones."
— Jessie & David, Co-Founders, Werk
the problem
Growing an early-stage startup is messy—but your product process doesn't have to be.
As startups move beyond MVP, product decisions become more complex. Features pile up, priorities shift, and what once worked with a small team starts to break down.
If this feels familiar, you're probably not struggling with design. These are usually the first signs your startup has outgrown the way it's building products.
What it feels like to build your product
"We're shipping features, but adoption isn't improving."
Your team is moving quickly, but you're not always confident you're building the right things.
"Every new feature feels like starting from scratch."
Without shared patterns and systems, your team keeps rebuilding what they've already solved.
"The way we built our MVP doesn't scale anymore."
What worked for a team of three starts breaking as your company grows and more product decisions need to be made.
What your team feels like
"Everyone has a different idea of what we're building."
Without shared systems, every team starts solving the same problem differently.
"Every week feels urgent."
Customer requests, investor feedback, bugs, and new ideas constantly reshape the roadmap, making it difficult to build intentionally.
What it feels like to be the founder
"Every important product decision comes back to me."
Your team shouldn't need you to move every product decision forward.
"I'm spending more time managing product than leading my company."
The ultimate founder fatigue.
These aren't design problems.
They're growing pains.
The difference is...
Growing pains don't go away on their own.
As your company grows, they become more expensive.
The problem isn't your team.
It's that everyone is building without the same operating system.
Work with Halo studio
Great products aren't built by passing work from one team to the next. They're built through conversations, collaboration, and shared ownership.
halo studio works as an embedded product partner, participating in the conversations where product decisions are made—not just the handoffs that happen afterward.
Build the right things
Clarify priorities, validate ideas, and make sure your team solves the right problems before investing time in building them.
Design with confidence
Design product experiences grounded in user needs—not assumptions.
Build systems that scale
Turn reusable patterns, documentation, and workflows into systems your team can rely on as it grows.
"Every sprint should leave your company more capable than it was before."
— Joneil, Founder of halo studio
Take action
Whether you need clarity, a focused product redesign, or a long-term partner, Halo Studio meets you where your team is today.
Design Health Report
Understand what's slowing your product—and exactly what to do next.
$1,900 · 1 week
Best for
Founders who want an expert assessment of their product before deciding what to build next.
you'll leave with
✓ Product Health Score
✓ UX & product audit
✓ Prioritized roadmap
✓ Strategic recommendations
✓ Live walkthrough & action plan
Product Foundation Sprint
Most founders start here⭐️
Redesign your product's foundation for the next stage of growth.
Custom fixed-fee engagement · 4–6 weeks
Best for
Startups that know what needs to change and want focused product improvements without committing to an ongoing retainer.
Typical projects
✓ Redesigning onboarding or key user flows
✓ Improving the overall UX
✓ Creating or evolving a design system
✓ Preparing for launch or fundraising
✓ Giving engineering a stronger foundation to build from
Build the foundation your product needs to scale.
Embedded Product Partnership
A long-term product partner embedded within your team.
Starting at $6,500/m · 3-month minimum
Best for
Teams looking for strategic product design support beyond a single project. Pricing depends on your company's stage, team size, and level of support required.
throughout our partnership
✓ Make product decisions with more confidence
✓ Give engineering confidence in what they're building
✓ Create systems your team can rely on as you grow.
✓ Improve collaboration across product, design, and eng.
✓ Leave your company stronger than when we started
start here
Not sure which option is right for you?
Most founders start with either the Design Health Report or the Product Foundation Sprint. During our discovery call, we'll recommend the engagement that best fits your goals, stage, and team.
If you continue into an Embedded Product Partnership within 30 days of completing a Design Health Report:
✓ Your Design Health Report is included in onboarding.
✓ Your $1,900 investment is fully credited toward your first month.
Why I Built halo studio
I started halo studio because I kept seeing the same pattern across startups.
Teams weren't struggling because they lacked talent. They were struggling because product decisions lived in people's heads instead of shared systems. Founders became the bottleneck, engineering rebuilt work, and everyone worked hard—but not always in the same direction.
After five years designing products alongside founders, product teams, and engineers, I realized I didn't want to build another design studio.
I wanted to build a different kind of partnership.
One that helps startups make better product decisions, create systems that scale, and leave every team more capable than when we started.
That's why halo studio works as an embedded product partner.
My goal isn't just to improve the product you're building today—it's to improve how your team builds products tomorrow.
Joneil
Founder, halo studio
5+ years in startup product design
Alongside the team at Werk.dance
"Working with Joneil frees up your cognitive load. You stop second-guessing design decisions and trust they'll be the right ones. She has a spot-on instinct for how people move through a product, while making it look and feel great. She's also incredibly collaborative, easy to work with, and always moving things forward. If you get the chance to work with her, take it."
Jessie Ma & David Osorno
Co-founders, Werk
"Joneil communicated design intent clearly and made handoffs incredibly efficient, so it was always clear what we were building and why. She was collaborative, thoughtful about engineering tradeoffs, and consistently pushed for reusable patterns over one-off solutions. Her attention to detail made the product feel polished and intentional."
Hector Ligsay
Founding Software Engineer, Werk
Here's the mechanism behind the transformation.
That's the Design Operating System. Every partnership moves through six phases.
Phase 1: Align
Phase 2: Diagnose
Phase 3: Architect
Phase 4: Build
Phase 5: Optimize
Phase 6: Enable
Better decisions. Better systems. Better products.
What it's like to work together
Embedded
I'm part of your product team.
Strategic
We focus on the right problems first.
Iterative
Continuous progress over perfection.
Systemic
Everything is designed to strengthen your team's way of working.
You bring the vision. Halo Studio brings the system. The best partnerships happen when we're solving the same problem together.
We'd work well together if...
✔ Early-stage founders actively building and growing their product.
✔ Teams looking for a long-term product design partner—not just another freelancer.
✔ Founders who value thoughtful collaboration and healthy product discussions.
✔ Companies ready to invest in better systems, not just better screens.
✔ Teams that believe great products come from better decisions—not just faster execution.
✔ Founders who want design, product strategy, and systems working together.
This isn't the right fit if...
✘ You're looking for a one-off design project or quick redesign.
✘ You simply need someone to execute design tickets.
✘ You're looking for the lowest-cost option.
✘ You expect AI alone to replace product thinking and collaboration.
✘ You want someone to own your product vision or make business decisions for you.
✘ You're not looking for an embedded, collaborative partnership.
If we're not the right fit together, I'll point you to the right direction.
Ready to get started?
You bring the vision. halo studio brings the system.
Let's explore whether an embedded partnership is the right fit for your team. We'll talk through your product, goals, and challenges.
20-minute call | No obligation | Ask me anything
If we're not the right fit, I'll happily point you in the right direction.