John Stephens · Q5 Labs
I build tech that delivers outcomes, not just insights.
I help companies grow with strategy and bespoke software.
Who I am
I started in journalism, then moved into tech at NerdWallet when it was about 50 people — where I built their content and syndication platform from zero to one. It still powers their site today.
Since then I’ve spent my career as a product manager, at LinkedIn, NerdWallet, and Intuit, building and evangelizing ways to use AI to bring ideas and products to market faster and smarter. I put an English degree to work well beyond its intended bounds: I build to communicate, and I communicate to build.
Q5 Labs is where I do both on my own terms — shipping OptimizeTrack and partnering with companies who want strategy and software from the same place.
What I’m building
OptimizeTrack — Content Performance Intelligence
Most content optimization runs on vibes: one-off briefs built on gut feel, no measurement of whether they worked, and the knowledge walks out the door with whoever wrote them.
OptimizeTrack closes the loop. It connects to your Google Analytics and Search Console, recommends what to change, measures whether it moved the needle, and remembers. Every site gets a learning model unique to it — what actually works here, not what the SERP looks like. It catches pages competing with each other, turns interventions into copy-ready briefs and client-ready reports, and measures visibility in AI search, not just Google.
A platform for doing — not just analyzing.
- Closed-loop measurement
- Per-site learning model
- Collisions (cannibalization)
- Reports & briefs
- GEO measurement
- GA4 + Search Console
Work with me
I come in with the experience, find what’s slow or expensive, and build the solution that fixes it — whether that’s strategy, process, or technology. Three ways that usually goes:
Strategy & advisory
SEO, GEO (generative engine optimization), content performance, GTM and martech. I learn your landscape and find where the pain and the opportunity actually are. Discovery sprints or an advisory retainer.
Process
When the bottleneck is how the work actually gets done, I redesign the workflow — turning ad-hoc, tribal effort into a repeatable system that’s measured and sticks. Often the highest-leverage fix, and what makes the strategy and the tooling actually land.
Technology
When the answer is “you need a tool for this,” I build it — fast, and priced on the outcome rather than the hours. It’s the same approach behind OptimizeTrack; several of its core features started as client work.
Selected work
A meditation app · a govtech platform · a venture firm
FAQ
What does Q5 Labs do?
Q5 Labs is John Stephens's independent practice. It ships OptimizeTrack, a Content Performance Intelligence platform, and provides consulting — strategy and bespoke software — for companies that want both.
What is OptimizeTrack?
OptimizeTrack is a Content Performance Intelligence platform that connects to Google Analytics and Search Console and closes the loop: it recommends what to change, measures whether it worked, and remembers. Each site gets its own learning model, it flags pages competing with each other, and it measures visibility in AI search, not just Google.
What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?
GEO is optimizing for visibility and citation in AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI overviews — not just ranking in traditional search. OptimizeTrack measures it, and it's part of how John Stephens advises clients.
Does John Stephens take on consulting clients?
Yes. Through Q5 Labs he works in three modes: strategy and advisory, bespoke software builds priced on outcome, and ongoing operation of what he builds. The best way to start is to email john@q5labs.co.
How is OptimizeTrack different from a typical SEO tool?
Most tools analyze; OptimizeTrack is built for doing. It closes the loop from recommendation to measurement, learns what works on each specific site instead of mimicking the SERP, and treats AI-search visibility as a first-class metric.
Let’s talk