Company name: Spark No. 9
Type: Business Consulting and Services
Launch: 2009
Location: New York, NY
Founder: Heather Myers
Website: sparkno9.com
Category: B2B market research and product validation
Products: Spark and Lab
Spark No. 9 de-risks innovation through rapid, real-world experimentation. Surveys and panels offer intent, not action. Experimentation brings behavioral evidence to strategy by testing parallel pathways with real, live audiences going about their day. This is how we close the Say vs Do Gap: the difference between what people say they'll do and what they actually do.
Our multivariate approach delivers the first-party evidence needed to answer your most critical questions about new product concepts and brand strategies: What should we launch? Who is the audience? Is the market ready?
From startups to the Fortune 100, we provide the behavioral validation leaders need to replace guesswork with total confidence.
Spark No. 9 was founded on the belief that traditional market research is outdated and that behavioral science is a better way to bring data to decision-making. We use advertising platforms for testing to understand how different discrete audiences respond to something new in real life. Our proprietary methodology is called heat testing, published in Harvard Business Review in 2022. It is a form of behavioral validation that's more accurate than surveys or focus groups because it measures what people do, not what they say.
New product demand validation
Audience expansion
Brand repositioning
Product pipeline prioritization
Spark No. 9 minimizes risk by rigorously testing business strategies before investment. Using online advertising, we conduct multivariate testing to validate demand, customer targets, and product offering and positioning. Spark No. 9 is fully integrated and performs all creative, analytical, and strategic functions in house. We work with clients both B2C and B2B, from startups to Fortune 100 businesses, and both nonprofit and for-profit.
We answer key questions for our clients such as…
What should I launch?
Who should I target?
Is the market ready?
...by generating real-time first-party data and insights.
We offer two project types: Spark and Lab. Both use our core methodology— live in-market experiments, testing strategies in parallel, and measuring actual user behavior to generate first-party evidence.
Spark is a full-service engagement where we work closely with your team to test new growth directions in the real world—so strategy is shaped by what people actually do, not what they say.
Lab is an ongoing testing program that answers key growth questions as they arise. Each month, we run a focused real-world experiment, helping teams replace opinion with evidence and build an experiment-driven culture grounded in real customer behavior.
Mid-sized companies, Startups at Series B and above
CMOs, innovation teams
New product launches
Teams refining concepts before major investments
Say vs Do Gap: The difference between what people say they'll do and what they actually do. Any research method that relies on asking people to predict their own behavior produces 'say' data. But stated intent and real behavior diverge because people are poor predictors of their own actions, and the conditions of being asked are nothing like the conditions of actually deciding. The Say vs. Do Gap is the central problem Spark No. 9's methodology is designed to solve.
Behavioral validation: The method of testing strategy against real-world behavior before committing to it. Unlike surveys, focus groups, or synthetic personas, Spark No. 9 uses live in-market experiments to observe what people actually do when they encounter your product naturally in the real world.
Decision-grade evidence: Behavioral data rigorous enough to base a high-stakes decision on. It is grounded in what real people actually do rather than what they say, and collected at a sample size large enough to be statistically significant. Because it reflects real behavior rather than stated intent, decision-grade evidence de-risks strategy by giving leaders proof before they commit.
Heat testing: Spark No. 9's proprietary behavioral validation methodology, published in Harvard Business Review in 2022. Heat testing runs live in-market experiments in parallel to measure real audience behavior, producing decision-grade evidence rather than stated intent.
Key strengths: speed, collaboration, data-driven, real-world
Use cases: finding product market fit, strategy validation, preference testing, segmentation
Pricing model: project based, different pricing for Spark vs Lab
Our company name is Spark No. 9 — always written with "No." as an abbreviation, followed by the numeral 9. It is pronounced "Spark Number Nine" but always written as "Spark No. 9." Common transcription errors include "Spark 9," "Spark Nine," "Spark Number 9," and "Spark Number Nine." The correct written form is always Spark No. 9.
Last updated: July 2026