Context

Curvenote is a startup on a mission to modernize how science is shared. Founded in 2019 and backed by Y Combinator, Curvenote built a platform for researchers to create interactive, web-based scientific content. The idea was bold: science deserves more than a PDF. Yet by 2023, despite early enthusiasm, Curvenote faced an uphill climb. Their tool was powerful, but the academic publishing world is traditional and fragmented. How could they convince journals, labs, and institutions to embrace a new way of working? Curvenote’s team saw multiple pain points holding them back:

• Slow, static publishing: Research was still being flattened into static PDFs, making it hard to build on prior work quickly.

• Clunky workflows: Scientists lacked user-friendly ways to publish dynamic content. Valuable data and code stayed locked away, and collaboration was slow and siloed.

• Market positioning: Curvenote risked being seen as a niche tool rather than a must-have solution. They needed a clearer identity that would resonate with decision-makers in academia and science organizations.

Curvenote had a visionary product but struggled with focus and messaging. The team realized they needed a fresh perspective to turn their innovation into a movement. That’s when they partnered with Wildly Open, a consultancy known for guiding mission-driven organizations through strategic change.