Chetan J
[ RESEARCH & STRATEGY ]

Case Studies

In-depth product teardowns applying CIRCLES, PRD writing, UX research, and competitive analysis — the frameworks that drive real product decisions.

Cursor (Anysphere)/2026/Teardown

The $29B Fork

How four MIT students forked VS Code, grew with almost no traditional marketing, and built what may be the fastest-growing SaaS product ever — while every model provider simultaneously funds them and competes with them.

Product TeardownSaaSAI CodingCompetitive AnalysisUnit Economics
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Duolingo/2026

Breaking the B1 Wall

52 million daily users. $1 billion in revenue. A learning ceiling nobody's fixing. A product strategy using the CIRCLES framework and PRD to address Duolingo's intermediate plateau.

CIRCLESPRDUX ResearchRICE ScoringWireframes
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Figma/2026

Rebuilding Trust After UI3

How a major redesign and AI data-sharing controversy tested trust with Figma's power users — and a PM framework for earning it back through progressive migration and transparent AI.

Trust RecoveryCIRCLESPRDRICE ScoringWireframes
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Apple/2026

When Glass Cracked

How Apple's most ambitious redesign since iOS 7 broke accessibility for millions — and what a better path forward looks like. A UX case study analyzing WCAG failures, heuristic violations, and solution design.

UX ResearchAccessibilityWCAG 2.2Heuristic EvaluationRICE
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Notion/2026/Teardown

Notion's $600M Paradox

How AI Agents Could Solve the Onboarding Problem That Templates Never Fixed. After interviewing 10 Notion users and analyzing 10,000+ reviews, one pattern dominated: the flexibility that makes Notion powerful makes it overwhelming.

AARRR FunnelUser InterviewsRICE ScoringWireframesARR Modeling
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Rivian/2026

Rivian's Broken Handshake

How phone key failure rates as high as 70% threaten a $5.8B joint venture — and a PM framework for rebuilding trust through feedback, state communication, and failure recovery improvements.

CIRCLESPRDRICE ScoringUX WireframesBLE/UWB
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Perplexity AI/2026/Teardown

The $20 Billion Subscription Gamble

Perplexity built the fastest-growing AI subscription business — then silently gutted its Pro plan, swapped premium models for cheaper ones, and pushed users toward a 10× more expensive tier.

Product TeardownPricing StrategyAARRRCompetitive AnalysisTrust
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Sonos/2026

When the Music Stopped

How Sonos shipped a major app rewrite that removed core features, broke accessibility, and cost the CEO his job. A PM framework for how the migration should have been managed.

CIRCLESPRDSafe MigrationAccessibilityRICE Scoring
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TikTok Shop/2026

Redesigning Trust in Social Commerce

Redesigning trust, discovery & purchase confidence in the world's fastest-growing social commerce platform. CIRCLES framework, wireframes, and a full PRD for a Trust Layer.

CIRCLESSocial CommercePRDWireframesTrust Design
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Spotify/2026/Teardown

Listening Into Loyalty

How Spotify turned a music player into a growth machine. A teardown of Discover Weekly and Wrapped — the two features that drive retention and acquisition through algorithmic personalization and viral data storytelling.

Product TeardownGrowth LoopsRecommendation SystemsViral MechanicsRetention
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Aatram/2026

Start Starting

Three roommates built an app that treats procrastination as an emotion problem, not a discipline problem. A 0-to-1 case study from brainstorm to App Store — user research, behavioral science, beta iteration, and metrics-first product thinking.

0-to-1Behavioral ScienceUser ResearchBeta TestingiOS
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/ CIRCLES Framework/ PRD Writing/ RICE Prioritization/ UX Research/ Competitive Analysis