MobLab

Caltech-founded behavioral-science platform paying verified college students $12–$30/hr to take research studies.

Research Behavioral Economics / Research Tech
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Pasadena, CA, USA HQ
11-50 company size
2011 founded

What is MobLab?

MobLab is a Caltech-rooted behavioral-science company founded in 2011 by Walter Yuan and Stephanie Wang, headquartered in Pasadena, CA with additional offices in Chengdu and Taipei (~40 employees). The company runs two complementary products. (1) MobLab Classroom — 70+ game-based simulations for teaching economics, management, and the social sciences, used by thousands of schools and distributed by academic publishers including Harvard Business Publishing. (2) MobLab Research — a participant platform where verified college students earn money completing academic research studies (surveys, interactive multi-player experiments, and decision-making tasks). Researcher customers include Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, and other leading universities, with studies published in Nature Human Behavior. Sign up to earn at https://www.moblab.com/products/research/participant.

Mission & values

Bring the rigor of laboratory experimentation to economics, management, and the social sciences — and let students learn (and earn) by playing.

Qualifications

MobLab Research is open to verified college students; account creation requires a valid .edu email and ~2 minutes of verification. Pay is $12–$30/hour, distributed via PayPal within 3–5 business days. Studies arrive by invitation, matched to your major, interests, and availability — formats include research surveys, interactive experiments, and individual or team-based decision-making tasks. Time commitment is flexible: complete studies at your pace. Participants can also earn verifiable credentials and digital-literacy / research-experience attestations. Founding-member referral bonus: $10/referral on the first 200 referrals (vs. the standard $5). Eligibility for non-student adults or participants without a .edu email is not advertised.

Leadership

W

Walter Yuan

CEO & Co-Founder

Managed Caltech's social-science experimental laboratories for over a decade before co-founding MobLab in 2011.

S

Stephanie Wang

Co-Founder & Senior Economist

Co-founder; faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh.

M

Matt Jackson

Chief Scientific Advisor

P

Patrick Burke

Director of Partnership & Business Development

C

Celine Lin

Director of Products

H

Howard Chen

Technical Product Director

K

Kevin Zeng

GM, Asia-Pacific

D

David Hung

Economist & Director of APAC Sales

H

Howie Chien

Data Scientist & Product Manager

Hiring process

  1. 1

    Create your account

    Sign up at moblab.com/products/research/participant with a valid .edu email — verification takes ~2 minutes.

  2. 2

    Link PayPal

    Securely connect your PayPal account to receive study payouts.

  3. 3

    Receive study invitations

    You'll be invited to studies that match your major, interests, and availability.

    About 1 day

  4. 4

    Complete studies at your pace

    Surveys, interactive multi-player experiments, or decision-making tasks — individually or in teams.

  5. 5

    Get paid

    Compensation arrives via PayPal within 3–5 business days of study completion.

    About 5 days

Funding

StageSeries A
Total raised$9,600,000
Investors
Andrew Nikou Foundation Doushen (Beijing) Education & Technology MagniPro Ventures Rhea Fund AI List

Awards & recognition

  • Research published in Nature Human Behavior

    Nature Human Behavior ↗

  • Distributed via Harvard Business Publishing Education

    Harvard Business Publishing

  • Andrew Nikou Foundation strategic partnership

    Andrew Nikou Foundation

Company information

Frequently asked questions

How much do studies pay?
Most studies pay between $12–$30/hour.
How do I get paid?
Compensation is distributed via PayPal within 3–5 business days of completing a study.
Who can participate?
You need a valid .edu email to create an account; verification takes about 2 minutes.
How do I find studies?
After signup you receive invitations to studies that match your major, interests, and availability — studies are not open enrollment.
What kinds of studies are there?
Research surveys, interactive multi-player experiments, and individual decision-making tasks.
Is there a referral bonus?
Founding members earn $10 per referral on their first 200 referrals (the standard rate is $5).

Stay in the loop.

One email per week, 5 hand-picked roles.