Backstory
Artificial intelligence (AI) will transform our lives over the coming decades. Economically, its potential to create value is immense, but so too are its risks.
“What are the areas in which AI can simultaneously create business and societal value?”
Our team spent more than a year reflecting on this question. We knew that we wanted to build something in the AI space, but wanted to ensure that it would have a net-positive impact on society. We concluded that one of the most promising and ethical applications of AI is the facilitation of better research.
Research helps people and entities of all types better understand and engage with one another. It enables the attainment and progression of knowledge across countless domains. It has become foundational to our evolution as a species and is essential to our future survival.
Through our parent company, Storyhackers, we have spent more than 10 years building educational resources for organizations. Research has always been central to our process. We use it to understand the considerations of our clients and empathize with audiences to produce content that resonates.
We're excited to be launching Expansively and appreciate any feedback you may have. Reach out to us any time from our contact page.
Founding team
The founding team is committed to the responsible development of AI-powered research solutions that support the evolving field of decision intelligence.
Justin Strauss
Co-founder
Justin oversees the organization's vision, strategy, and product development. He has an established track record in entrepreneurship, informatics, epidemiology, and market research.
In the years prior to establishing Expansively, Justin co-founded Storyhackers, a publishing, education, and consulting company that has furthered the missions of hundreds of organizations. Before that, he led and supported a wide variety of research, including patient reported outcomes studies, multi-institution cancer studies, and the development of clinical decision support tools. He also invented and led the validation study for a natural language processing algorithm that helps cancer researchers accurately extract information from clinical text reports.
Justin holds a B.A. in Sociology and M.A. in Demographic and Social Analysis from the University of California, Irvine. He spends his free time meditating, studying stoicism, hiking with his dogs, and photographing nature.
Ritika Strauss
Co-founder
Ritika focuses on community building, partnerships, and customer success. She has spent more than a decade supporting projects in governance, institutional fundraising, marketing, product development, data analytics, and revenue optimization.
She previously co-founded Storyhackers, building a successful consulting practice at the intersection of storytelling and qualitative research. She specializes in simplifying complexity and turning abstract concepts into practical things that people can use. She has supported several leading AI companies with fundraises, go-to-market planning, and customer acquisition.
Ritika holds a B.A. in Literature from Claremont McKenna College and M.A. in Demographic and Social Analysis from the University of California, Irvine. She spends her free time hiking with her dogs, studying yoga, reading philosophy, and building cross-disciplinary curriculum.