Led the pivot that opened an AI ad startup's market

Weeks→hrs time-to-value for new customers

Outcomes · entered into evidence

EXH-01 time-to-value for new customers Weeks→hrs

EXH-02 larger, underserved market opened ↑ TAM

EXH-03 growth motion designed in Self-serve

EXH-04 product hire — set the foundations 1st

Challenge

An AI ad-generation platform aimed at large brands — a small TAM, slow time-to-value, and weak adoption.

Approach

Joined as first product hire; ran discovery to find a larger, underserved segment.
Led the pivot from enterprise brands to lower-budget eCommerce shops.
Designed self-serve growth loops and a free-trial flow with ready-made ad templates.
Re-shaped onboarding to get new customers to value fast.

The story

The technology was fine; the market was wrong. Discovery pointed down-market to eCommerce shops with small budgets and no agencies — which meant the product had to sell itself. Self-serve onboarding became the strategy, not a feature.

Artifacts

Pivot · segment map

TAM ↑

Enterprise brands

Small TAM · slow TTV · agency gatekeepers

eCommerce shops

Large, underserved · no agency · wants speed

Self-serve onboarding · weeks → hours

Land

→

Pick a template

→

Connect store

→

First ad live

Pivot strategy & self-serve onboarding flow

The pattern, proven

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