MobLab

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

Research Behavioral Economics / Research Tech
Visit MobLab
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ New (0 reviews)
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.