Runroom Lab

User-obsessed strategy in the age of AI

with Caroline Wilcock, Tomaso Vido & Izak Nel from Monzo
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🇬🇧 This LAB will be held in English

How to supercharge your product by anchoring innovation in real users' needs.

🇬🇧 This LAB will be held in English

In a context where artificial intelligence is redefining how we build products, the real competitive advantage still lies in deeply understanding people.

👉 In this Runroom LAB, we’ll explore how to combine research, data, and strategy to drive truly relevant products, together with Caroline Wilcock, Tomaso Vido, and Izak Nel, experts in research and data at Monzo.

The Monzo Online Banking Experience

The rise of AI is accelerating innovation, but it also amplifies a risk: building solutions disconnected from real user needs.

In this session, you’ll learn how leading teams are using research and data to:

  • Identify high-value opportunities
  • Make more confident strategic decisions
  • Design products focused on real problems, not technological hype
  • Build Synthetic Personas that act as dynamic and interactive repositories for your field research, making real user insights more accessible and actionable (not replacing them).

     

All of this through the experience of one of the most advanced teams in digital product: Monzo.

Key takeaways

  • How to translate user insights into strategic product decisions
  • How to combine qualitative research and data science in complex environments
  • How to overcome “AI solutionism”: Synthetic Personas as a powerful vehicle for real insights, not a replacement for them.
  • What frameworks leading teams use to prioritize opportunities
  • Real cases applied to digital banking and B2B products

We’ll close with an open discussion and networking.

Who is this Runroom LAB for?

Ideal for teams that want to go beyond AI hype and build truly useful, relevant, and scalable products.

  • Product Managers & Product Leaders
  • UX Researchers & Designers
  • Data & Analytics Professionals
  • C-level & Digital Leaders (CPO, CTO, Head of Product, etc.)
  • Innovation & Strategy roles

A Runroom LAB with

Caroline Wilcock

Caroline Wilcock

Caroline is a Senior Lead Researcher at Monzo, where she transforms complex and ambiguous problem spaces into actionable frameworks that drive strategic decisions. She works in business banking to help teams understand and empower small businesses. With 13 years in tech across finance, green energy, and media, she helps organisations identify high-value opportunities that solve real-world problems. Based in the UK, she holds an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction and is an active mentor in the research community. Outside of work, Caroline loves literature, board games, exploring new places with her dog Artie, and is currently learning to paint.
Caroline on LinkedIn

Tomaso Vido

Tomaso Vido

Tomaso is a Lead User Researcher at Monzo with a background in Psychology and Human Communication, currently focusing on the Business Banking collective. He also collaborates with BAU and BTS in Barcelona as guest professor. Having previously worked as a Staff Researcher and Research Manager at industry leaders like Glovo and eDreams, he specializes in qualitative methodologies and eye-tracking technology—the study of human visual behavior. Originally from Milan, Tomaso has lived in Spain for a decade. When he’s not deciphering user insights, he’s usually outdoors enjoying sports or spending time with his two-year-old daughter.
Tomaso on LinkedIn

Izak Nel

Izak Nel

Izak is a Lead Data Scientist at Monzo, where he works in small and medium sized business banking, working on customer understanding and monetisation initiatives. Based in London and originally from South Africa, he uses data, spanning product analytics, statistics, and machine learning, to guide product and business strategy. A recent convert to wider research methodology, he is particularly interested in combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to get deep understanding of the interaction between human behaviour and digital products. Outside of Monzo, he’s learning the ukulele, competes in amateur gymnastics competitions and spends as much time in nature as he can.
Izak on LinkedIn

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FormaciĂłn Service Design & Prototipado acelerados por IA generativa

Si te interesa profundizar sobre estos contenidos te invitamos a asistir a la formaciĂłn de Runroom Academy: Service Design & Prototipado acelerados por IA generativa

Del Service Design al Prototipo a través de la IA+CTA-1

PrĂłxima ediciĂłn: Modalidad Presencial
Fechas: 23 y 24 de abril (jueves y viernes) de 2026
Horario: de 9:30 a 17:30 (hora CET, España)

Runroom LAB es un evento mensual presencial y gratuito.

Tienes que inscribirte para reservar tu plaza.

¡Ahora también en Streaming!

Si no puedes acompañarnos en persona, podrás seguir la primera parte del Runroom LAB a través de LinkedIn Live o de YouTube.

InscrĂ­bete y te enviaremos los enlaces para seguirlo en directo.

La segunda parte del LAB (con los ejercicios prácticos, el debate y el networking), se celebrará Ăşnicamente de forma presencial. 

Inscríbete en este Runroom LAB 👇