# Zack Naylor

> Zack Naylor is the Minneapolis-based co-founder and CEO of Aurelius, a research repository and insights platform he started with Joseph Szczesniak in 2015. His career spans design, user research, product strategy, writing and podcasting. He contributed to the global #WhatIsResearchOps project and served on the ResearchOps Community board in 2018-2019. In 2026, Blank Metal identified him as an AI strategist and product lead on its fourth-place Global Codex Hackathon team.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Aurelius; AI Strategist/Product Lead at Blank Metal
- **Organizations:** Aurelius, Blank Metal, ResearchOps Community, The Nerdery, Pikimal, Lockerz, ModCloth
- **Education:** Art Institute of Pittsburgh
- **Known for:** Co-founded Aurelius in 2015 and helped reshape it around research repositories and insights., Core contributor to the global #WhatIsResearchOps project and ResearchOps Community board member, 2018-2019., Aurelius joined the TinySeed accelerator in May 2021.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Speaker biography identifies him as UX Manager at Pikimal, following roles at ModCloth and Lockerz; also taught introductory web design and Photoshop.
- **2012** — Presented User Research & Strategy for UX as Senior UX Designer and User Research Practice Lead at The Nerdery.
- **2014** — Published A Call for Quality in UX Magazine.
- **2015** — Co-founded Aurelius with Joseph Szczesniak.
- **2017** — Research-focused beta usage helped shift Aurelius away from its broader product strategy offering.
- **2018-2019** — Served on the ResearchOps Community board; contributed to #WhatIsResearchOps.
- **2021** — Aurelius joined TinySeed; discussed product rebuilding with Rob Walling.
- **2026** — Blank Metal named him AI Strategist/Product Lead in its July account of a fourth-place Global Codex Hackathon finish.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Aurelius in 2015 and helped reshape it around research repositories and insights.
- Core contributor to the global #WhatIsResearchOps project and ResearchOps Community board member, 2018-2019.
- Aurelius joined the TinySeed accelerator in May 2021.
- Member of the three-person Blank Metal team whose App Mapper placed fourth among thirty teams at the Global Codex Hackathon, as reported July 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Blank Metal published its Global Codex Hackathon account, identifying Naylor as AI Strategist/Product Lead and describing his work on App Mapper and a findings export.

## Links

- Website: http://www.zacknaylor.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacknaylor
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/zacknaylor

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/zack-naylor
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15