Meet Nicole Bacchus, Director of Research at Thumbtack

Nicole Bacchus (she/her), Director of Research, oversees Thumbtack’s research discipline where she works to understand the needs of our consumers and pros and embed research into the various stages of product development.

In this Q&A, she shares her unique career journey from working in publishing and brand management, to leading research teams and supporting product launches at large-scale technology companies. She also shares more about the work her team is currently focused on as well as her advice for researchers early in their careers.

What led you to working at Thumbtack?

Joining Thumbtack was a natural fit for me — it embodied everything I was seeking in my next career move. The opportunity to spearhead and evolve the research discipline within a company whose mission deeply resonated with me was irresistible. As someone who understands the challenges of homeownership firsthand, I was excited to contribute to an app that helps homeowners manage and maintain their homes — all while supporting professionals in growing their businesses.

What has your experience at Thumbtack been like thus far?

Having been at Thumbtack for seven months now, my experience has been nothing short of incredible. In my quest to take the research discipline to the next level, we’ve buttoned up our operational processes, brought on a vendor partner to help with more tactical research to scale, delivered impactful, foundational research that is helping to shape strategy and experiences, and upped our game in regards to quality and craft. We’ve made significant strides in making research indispensable in our product development approach. I look forward to leading the team in our collective goal to advance our user-centricity as a company.

What was your path to a career in research? Did you always envision yourself working in the research field?

My path to working in research has been an interesting one. I didn’t envision myself working in research, mostly because it wasn’t on my radar — UX Research was still a pretty young field. To be honest, I went to college with ambitions of being a diplomat, then a writer. I graduated from college and immediately went into book publishing. Ironically, getting my MS in Publishing inspired me to leave the field and go back to school to get my MBA. Upon graduating, I spent a few years working in brand management at a chocolate company. During that time, I worked hand-in-hand with the Consumer Insights team and fell in love with research.

In the years that followed, I worked in research and strategy roles in a variety of contexts. Some of my best adventures in research were in design and innovation consulting, and some of my favorite projects included informing a campaign to help women prevent unwanted pregnancies, designing a customer transformation strategy for a hearing aid retailer, and developing innovation opportunities in healthy snacking for a major CPG company.

I moved into tech when I was offered a role at Instagram. I spent nearly six years at Meta, leading research teams in helping to support some of the company’s biggest launches, including Instagram Reels, Facebook Shops, and Meta’s Smart Glasses (a partnership with Ray-Ban). It’s been a wild journey, and I’m excited that it’s led me to Thumbtack!

What is your team focused on? Tell us about your daily work.

I support a whip-smart team of UX and market researchers, as well as Research Ops. Together, we represent the voices of our consumers and pros. We work to deeply understand their needs to make their experiences with our app better. We also guide teams in anticipating which new experiences will help solve some of the problems consumers have when it comes to taking care of their homes.

My team is always working on impactful studies. Most recently, we’ve been working to understand how people seek help when taking care of their homes and what keeps them from proactive home maintenance. These studies will help our teams better understand how we can help homeowners.

What advice would you have for someone looking to get into a career in research? What skills are needed?

I often get this question. In particular, researchers early in their careers are often interested in understanding how to get into tech right away. My general advice for folks at the beginning of their careers is to focus on learning and getting the right tools for their toolkit.

Study product development and research in school (if that’s an option), take on internships, and talk to as many people in the industry as possible to get a sense of what the day-to-day involves. Don’t worry about landing your dream job right out of school. Focus on getting the job that will give you the most variety in terms of research challenges (agencies are great for this).

Being a great researcher doesn’t just require fundamental skills like being able to apply the right research methodology and excellent data analysis. You have to be able to write and present compelling narratives, influence stakeholders, and educate others on the power and application of research. Focus on those skills and build from there.

How has Thumbtack’s virtual-first work model supported you?

As an avid traveler, the virtual-first model has been incredible in supporting the flexibility I’m looking for in my life. I anticipate fleeing the cruel New York winter next year, opting for sunny Palm Springs instead.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Thumbtack?

Hands down, the people. Thumbtack has a rare combination of extremely smart and driven folks who are low-ego, incredibly collaborative, and truly driven by achieving product and company success.

Interested in a career at Thumbtack? Learn more at thumbtack.com/careers.