No juniors. No hand-offs. Just the fix.
The people on your first call are the people in your product, from first look to shipped fix. UX writing included. Here’s how it works.
Six promises. None of them is “synergy.”
Senior and staff level only
The people you meet on the first call are the people doing the work. One small team of designers, writers and researchers.
Straight talk
We say what we think, including the bits you won’t love. Politely, directly, and with a fix attached. And we skip the compliment sandwich, because nobody’s hungry for it.
Message us like a colleague
Slack, WhatsApp, iMessage – whichever app you already have open. No ticket numbers, no account manager playing telephone.
Fewer meetings
One short call a month to look at results. Everything else’s async. Your calendar will barely notice we exist.
Reports you’ll actually read
One page: what was broken, what was fixed, and what the results were. If it takes more than five minutes to read, we cut it.
No AI slop
Everything you get is written, checked, and signed off by a discerning human who has seen your product and has opinions about it.
Senior designers, all up in your product.
Every engagement starts with a first fix: four steps, one flow fixed, and a review of what changed.
Discover
We audit your product, back it with the evidence you have (or go get it), and rank every issue by what it costs you.
Write and design
From thinking to words, and only then design, we rework one key flow. We pressure-test it with real users.
Ship
We ship the fix alongside your engineers or build it ourselves. A month after release, we review the results with you.
Keep going
Keep us on month to month and we work down the priority list: the next flow, the next fix, the next pressure point. See how
The time to first deposit dropped by 68% after the very first sprint their team delivered. They’ve become ongoing partners since.
Their strategic mindset means UX/UI choices always align with business goals. It was never just about getting users through a funnel. It was about getting the product ready to raise.
I saved money and time by not hiring full-time UX designers. The seniority of their work has blown me away.
Uncomfortable, and exactly what we needed. They found what didn’t work and fixed it, which got our growth flywheel going.
I’ve never had a better UX/UI partner. Their contribution was vital in delivering an exceptional user experience at Oasis.
The Special Something formulates and validates hypotheses very well, and thoroughly incorporates diverse opinions before implementation. I could see how much they care about the product.
They gave us a finished exchange design in two weeks, and by month four it had traded over $3B.
Exactly who you want on your team. They take specs from first sketches to production-ready deliverables fast, and with the small details still right.
Three ways to work together
Start with a one-off engagement or jump straight into a retainer. The checklists are flexible – let’s talk about what your product needs.
- A UX audit, with every issue ranked by what it costs you
- Your most acute problem solved as a prototype, ready to build
- Professional UX copy included for the prototype
- Strategic oversight, so you fix the right thing first
- The full prioritized list of issues and possible fixes, scoped separately or worked through later on a retainer
- A direct line to us for the month, wherever you prefer to chat
- Design work: flows, screens, prototypes
- Professional UX writing
- Testing with users
- Working alongside your engineers to ship
- A monthly call and/or report on results
- A direct line to us, wherever you prefer to chat
- Everything in Momentum
- 2 to 3 flows moving at once
- A lead designer in your team rituals
- A quarterly design roadmap workshop with your team
Prices exclude VAT. Retainers are paid monthly in advance, and unused retainer days roll over for one month maximum. Invoiced in US dollars at these prices.
When you need more help
- Extra days. Busy month? Add single days or day packs (at a discount).
- User research. Want more sessions with real users? We recruit, run, and write up a round of interviews or tests.
- Bigger pieces of work. A redesign, a new product area, a launch – quoted separately.
This changed after we shipped.
We don’t stop at the handoff. We stay until the fix is live, then look at what it changed. These are the numbers our clients saw.
What people ask us
What does The Special Something do?
The Special Something is a senior UX team for tech startups that finds where users get stuck and fixes it. Most people start with one month, one problem, and no long contract. We audit your product, rank every issue by what it costs you, and prototype the nastiest one. If you like what you see, we can work together on a monthly retainer.
Who does The Special Something work with?
The Special Something works with product leaders, founders and CEOs at funded or profitable tech startups that already have a product in the market. Good fit: signup, onboarding or core flows that lose people, and a team that wants senior help without a full-time hire. Bad fit: big corporations where a button change needs four committees. We’ll say so on the first call and save you both the trouble.
What is included in a first fix?
A first fix from The Special Something is a one-month, one-off engagement. You get a full audit, a ranked list of issues with the likely cause of each, senior strategic oversight, a direct line to us, and a prototype of the problem costing you most. UX copy gets reviewed, not rewritten. And you keep the whole list, even if you never hire us again.
Can the scope and pricing be customized?
Yes. The Special Something’s plans are starting points, not boxes. After a short call, we shape the scope and price around what your team needs, and you can pick and choose what to include. If something doesn’t fit, we’ll say so plainly. Promising more than we can deliver well is the fastest way to lose a client.
Is there a minimum commitment or long-term contract?
No. The Special Something’s first fix is a one-off, one-month engagement. Retainers run month to month, and you can stop with one month’s notice. Bigger arrangements, like the Full speed plan, are agreed upfront. No long contract, no hostage situation. If we stop being worth it, you’ll know within weeks.
How does day-to-day communication work?
Clients get a direct line to The Special Something on Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage or Slack, with replies within one working day. No ticket numbers, no account manager playing telephone. Retainers include one short monthly call and a one-page report, not a deck. The team is based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and works async-first, so most questions get answered without a meeting.
How soon can The Special Something start?
The Special Something can usually start within two weeks of the first call. It takes a small number of clients at a time, so dates depend on capacity. Tell us when you need to begin, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we can. A straight “not yet” beats a late “sorry.”
Who owns the work, and does The Special Something sign NDAs?
The client owns the designs, copy and specifications once the invoice is paid. Yours, in other words. The Special Something also signs NDAs, yours or ours, before you share anything sensitive.
Which tools does The Special Something use, and does it use AI?
The Special Something designs in Figma and works in whatever tools the client already uses, such as Slack, Linear, Notion or Jira. It uses AI to speed up research and first drafts, and never sends a first draft. A senior person who has studied your product writes, checks and signs off everything delivered. No AI slop, just a human with opinions.
Ready to stop losing users?
Good. Tell us the screen, the drop-off, or the question your support inbox gets every day. We’ll tell you what we’d do first.