About Us

Beyond the obvious - The Science of the Unseen

Established in 2013, Latenta is a London-based boutique research agency making waves across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Ranked in the global 0.01% research talent by Upwork, our work has quickly earned the trust of reputable clients who value our unique ability to answer their most complex and critical research questions.

At Latenta, we are defined by our name. We believe that the most powerful drivers of human behaviour are often hidden from view. Our raison d'être is to uncover these latent phenomena—the invisible forces, attitudes, and motivations that shape consumer and voter choices, perceptions and sentiments. Like dark matter in the marketplace, you can’t see them directly, but their gravitational pull dictates everything.

We straddle the commercial and political worlds, providing a cross-disciplinary advantage that helps organisations make smarter, evidence-based decisions. Latenta is more than a research supplier; we are your strategic partner in discovery and high-stakes strategic decision-making. We provide the evidence that illuminates the path forward.

Your unfair advantage, quantified.

+2.9
x
Average increase in conversion rates.
+34
Countries we have conducted research in.
+5.5
X
Increase in outreach efficiency vs top competitors.
0.01
%
Rated in the top 0.01% of research experts.
86.3
%
Electoral campaign success rate.
Why Latenta?
In the cosmos, dark matter is an invisible mass that holds galaxies together. In commerce and politics, latent forces play the same role–pulling customers and voters toward (or away from) you. We specialise in detaching and measuring those vectors of influence and invisible currents so that you can act before competitors even know they exist.

Our Mission - To make the invisible forces that shape our world visible, providing leaders with the unassailable clarity required to move from doubt to victory.

Our Vision - To create a world where the most critical commercial and political decisions are no longer gambles, but are made with the certainty of unassailable evidence.

As a proud Company Partner of the MRS and a Corporate Member of  ESOMAR, we adhere to the highest codes of conduct.
Behind the results

Latenta is a team of researchers spearheaded by its founder, Dr. Mike Popesku, a marketing scientist, data innovator, and business leader who combines elite academic rigour with battle-hardened commercial acumen. This unique expertise is grounded in a PhD in Marketing Science, a successful career as a university lecturer at leading British universities, where he taught research methods and business intelligence, and advanced training in applied data science.  

Mike is singularly focused on decoding the "why" behind human choice, a conviction that the most powerful forces shaping markets and electorates are latent. This obsession with uncovering the unseen is the foundational principle of Latenta, where his ability to translate complex data into decisive strategic clarity gives clients their ultimate competitive edge.

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Dr. Mike Popesku

Mike's expertise was forged and proven in the world's highest-stakes arenas. His talent for high-pressure strategic thinking saw him win European international case study competitions. This strategic prowess was then proven commercially at Cambridge Analytica, where he as Head of Research pioneered advanced segmentation techniques and provided the linchpin expert analysis in a triumphant US IP lawsuit. As an entrepreneur, he masterminded a research-tech SaaS platform, raising $6.7M and securing $1M in recurring revenue within first year. This relentless drive is validated by his ranking in the top 0.01% of research experts globally—a testament to the world-class gravitas he brings to every client engagement.

Our Philosophy
The most powerful forces shaping your world are invisible. We exist to make them visible. Business and politics are governed by what can be seen and counted: sales figures, market share, poll numbers, and clicks. Leaders are conditioned to manage these observable metrics. But this is like navigating the ocean by only watching the waves, completely ignorant of the deep currents and gravitational tides below. The waves are the effect. The currents are the cause.

At Latenta, our philosophy is built on a single, foundational truth: the most decisive forces driving human choice are latent phenomena. They are the invisible "dark matter" of the marketplace—the beliefs, attitudes, values, and motivations that, while unobservable directly, exert a gravitational pull on everything. To ignore them is to gamble. To measure them is to win. This conviction is expressed through four core principles.

01. The Unseen World is the Real World.

We believe that what customers and voters do is a lagging indicator. The leading indicator is what they secretly believe and feel. These latent drivers—brand equity, customer loyalty, perceived value, political trust—are not soft, abstract concepts. They are the fundamental, quantifiable assets that dictate every commercial and political outcome. Our work begins where the dashboard ends, decoding the hidden architecture of choice to give you predictive power.

02. If It Matters, It Can Be Measured.

Many dismiss the drivers of human behaviour as too "fuzzy" to quantify. This is a failure of imagination, not of science. We hold that any phenomenon with a real-world effect can be measured with scientific rigour. We reject single-question metrics and simplistic polls that create an illusion of knowledge. Instead, we engineer sophisticated measurement instruments—blending advanced statistics, psychometrics, and behavioural economics—to transform the invisible into a reliable, steerable strategic asset. This isn't an academic exercise; it is the bedrock of evidence-based decision-making.

03. Your Product Is Not the Main Event.

Companies are experts on their products. Customers are experts on their lives. We believe value is not a feature you build into a product (Value-in-Exchange); it is an experience the customer co-creates in their own world (Value-in-Use). A customer doesn't buy a camera; they seek to capture a perfect memory. They don't take out a loan; they pursue an opportunity. By shifting the focus from your transaction to your customer's outcome, we uncover the true levers for creating loyalty, delight, and unshakable brand preference.

04. Evidence is a Strategy, Not a Report.

An insight that doesn’t inspire action is an expensive waste of time. Our work is not complete when the data is analysed; it is complete when your team has a clear, unified, and actionable plan. We see ourselves as your partners in discovery and decision-making. Our final, most critical step is to translate our findings into a concrete and strategic roadmap, ensuring the evidence we uncover becomes the catalyst for your next decisive move. We don’t just deliver a map; we help you take the first step on the journey.
The Latenta Axiom
Our entire philosophy can be distilled into one axiom: Clarity precedes victory. In a world drowning in data noise, we provide the signal. We replace ambiguity with certainty, opinion with evidence, and risk with advantage. We give leaders the unassailable clarity they need to act with conviction and shape the future.
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