Rachel Swanson - Founder, Method + Mode

Rachel Swanson is the founder of Method + Mode, a consultancy delivering primary research for product innovation, audience development, and brand building across beauty, fashion, wellness, tech, CPG, and media. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked with early-stage startups and global brands, previously holding senior strategy and insights roles at Condé Nast (Glamour, W, Corporate) and agency-side at Digitas and POSSIBLE (WPP). In this episode, Lexie Bettina sits down with Rachel to explore her path from sociology research to founding Method & Mode. Rachel opens up about her early roles at Digitas and Condé Nast, the leap into independent consulting, and how she's using AI to scale research and help partners build AI-native insights functions.