CORRECTING and REPLACING Hootology’s Vision to Turn Qualitative Insights into Quantitative Power Marks Significant Milestones with New Hires, Client Wins, and Product Advancements

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Please replace the release of release dated January 16, 2026 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The updated release reads:

HOOTOLOGY’S VISION TO TURN QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS INTO QUANTITATIVE POWER MARKS SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES WITH NEW HIRES, CLIENT WINS, AND PRODUCT ADVANCEMENTS

Hootology, a market research platform merging trusted research principles with modern technology, has seen significant growth since the July launch of HOOQZ, the AI-powered platform for hosting dynamic discussions in simulated environments to gain qualitative, human insights at a quantitative scale. The company has brought senior brand, marketing, and research industry leaders to its team, all of whom were attracted by the innovative approach and strength of HOOQZ as a true game-changer for the insights industry.

The company, which announced $1.1 million in funding to advance its product suite in July, has also continued to grow its client base in the last six months, with the addition of a Fortune 100 financial services company, a Fortune 200 healthcare brand, and an NFL team to its roster. These client wins demonstrate not only trust in the power of HOOQZ, but the continued importance of human-driven insights at a scale that only AI can enable. Further, the product updates that Hootology’s July pre-seed financing was intended to power have rapidly advanced the speed at which HOOQZ can operate, in addition to the breadth and depth of study it has provided from launch.

This technological prowess has also attracted senior-level talent to Hootology. Recent hires brought on board to support the continued growth of HOOQZ include:

• Strategic Growth Director Katrina Noelle, a well-known industry thought leader, is transitioning into an advisory role at her own insights agency to join Hootology, which, in her own words, “is the only player in this space building exactly what’s needed to take this industry forward.”
• Data Scientist Anirban Ghosh, PhD, is poised to bring HOOQZ analysis and data insights to the next level.
• Client Strategist Sangdi Chen, a former Bain strategist with an MA in Social Psychology from The University of Chicago, will assist in turning HOOQZ findings into a client strategy.

Hootology will also bring an additional researcher on board to help meet the growing demand for the deep insights only the HOOQZ platform can provide at scale.

“I am ecstatic to have attracted the caliber of talent we have in Katrina, Anirban, and Sangdi,” says Hootology founder and CEO Stefanie Francis. “To have true industry insiders get as excited about HOOQZ as we’ve been from day one–and who can see the power of what we’ve built from an outside lens–is as meaningful an endorsement as the new client wins. Our new hires are all people who care deeply about the psychology of human insights at scale, and are excited about modernizing the participant experience. I am thrilled for where we are headed in 2026 with this team.”

Hootology continues to develop HOOQZ with additional features tailored to the rapidly changing needs of strategists, marketers, and product developers. A larger product update is anticipated later this year. To learn more, visit: hootology.com.

About Hootology

Founded in 2016 by Stefanie Francis, Hootology marries sound research principles with modern technology to maximize the effectiveness of marketing and strategy initiatives. Hootology’s HOOQZ (pronounced hʊks) drives rich, nuanced insights into how consumers develop and maintain loyalty to the products and services they purchase, delivering qualitative insights at a quantitative scale. To learn more, visit: hootology.com.

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