About UpStream Work
UpStream Work was built on a simple observation: what happens beneath the surface determines what moves in the market.
We exist to do that work.
Who We Are
We address the problems campaigns can’t.
UpStream Work was built around a pattern seen repeatedly in early growth and science-forward companies:
The product is credible. The team is capable The go-to-market plan is active — or about to be.
Yet traction feels inconsistent and harder than expected. Or commercialization hasn’t fully begun because the science has consumed all attention.
More often than not, the constraint isn’t effort. It’s that the upstream foundation is either unformed or carrying too much ambiguity.
UpStream Work clarifies positioning, category logic, and the belief shifts required for adoption — so when campaigns begin, they have something solid to amplify.
Who Leads The Work
UpStream Work is founded and led by Jackie Powell, a former medical device startup CMO with 19 years in regulated health and wellness and seven commercialization efforts launched from concept to market.
Her work spans neurotechnology, women’s health, and emerging consumer health — including the creation of new market definitions where none previously existed.
She brings pattern recognition from seven 0–1 and early-scale commercialization efforts, helping teams move from mechanism to meaning to market with the precision required in emerging and pre-category innovation.
Because strong science deserves equally strong strategic clarity.
What Drives the Work
OUR MISSION
To help science-forward companies translate complex mechanisms into clear meaning and durable market adoption — turning breakthrough science into trusted, usable, category-defining solutions.
OUR VISION
A world where transformative science does not stall at proof, but moves efficiently into understanding, belief, and real-world adoption — accelerating the impact of frontier health, neurotechnology, and regulated wellness innovation
How UpStream Works
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If the market cannot quickly understand what has changed, adoption slows.
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Awareness without belief rarely converts into durable traction.
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Mechanisms are translated carefully — never diluted or sensationalized.
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Positioning should build trust, not noise.
Contact Us
If you’re navigating positioning complexity, category ambiguity, or slower-than-expected adoption, share a bit about what you’re seeing in the form.
If upstream alignment is the right lever, we’ll recommend the right next step.
Prefer a direct path?