About
I optimize platforms
so my customers can stop managing workflows and start managing growth.
I'm a Systems Builder who optimizes platforms for revenue and operational scale. Over 20 years across banking, fintech, B2B SaaS, and government, I've developed four proprietary frameworks — a system of systems — for customer retention, B2B logistics orchestration, cultural ecosystem design, and state-driven compliance architecture. These aren't theories — they're the systems I've built and measured in production.
The problems I solve are structural: fragmented data that prevents clear decisions, manual workflows that slow order-to-cash, one-off integrations that limit scalability, and disconnected identity systems that create user friction. I build the platforms that fix those problems and measure the results.
Core Methodology
A System of Systems:
Four Frameworks. One Operating System.
Four proprietary frameworks. The psychology of retention, the mechanics of data delivery, the culture of innovation, and the architecture of compliance. Together, they are the operating system behind every platform I've built.
Pillar 1
Onboarding Psychology
Onboarding & Retention
The Psychology
Three-visit retention science translated to SaaS onboarding. The math is precise: a flawless Visit 1 produces a 40% probability of return. By Visit 3, you're at 70%+. The goal is never the second visit — it's the fourth.
“You have to market to three visits, not one.”
Session 1
40% return probability
Zero-Friction Entry
The entire org routes around a flawless first experience. Flag the user as first-time and suppress every non-essential prompt. The experience sells the return.
Session 2
42% return probability
The Precision Win
A low-cost, high-empathy next-best-action delivered at peak receptivity. Not a generic upsell — a personalized recommendation based on what they just did. Timing is the product.
Session 3
70%+ return probability
Habit Lock
Lock in the habit before the user has consciously decided to be loyal. A feature unlock, a milestone reward, or a first-month benefit — the moat is built before they know they're inside it.
Evidence
+12–15%
Direct deposit
USAA Visit 2
+27%
Activation
Tend onboarding
Pillar 2
Tiered Persona Model
Tiered Persona Model
The Mechanics
Orchestrating the Inverted Pyramid of B2B logistics. Managing the flow between the Customer End-Point, the Affiliate Base, and the Vendor/Decorator Layer. I design for the “Customer’s Customer” to remove middle-man friction.
“I remove Tier 1 from the loop to accelerate Tier 2’s velocity.”
Tier 1
Distributors & Affiliates
The Middle-Men
The friction layer between vendor and end-user. Automating Tier 1 workflows — onboarding, order routing, catalog sync — is the highest-leverage move in any B2B platform.
Tier 2
Decorators & Buyers
The End-Users
The value recipient. Every hour saved in Tier 1 is an hour of velocity returned to Tier 2. Reducing Tier 1 touchpoints from 5 to 1 is not an ops win — it’s a product moat.
Tier 3
Suppliers & Manufacturers
The Vendors
Integration that once took 3–6 months now takes 3–4 weeks. When vendor onboarding becomes a trigger, not a project, the platform becomes the industry’s default operating system.
Evidence
90%
Email reduced
iPROMOTEu
4 Wks
Faster delivery
vs. baseline
Pillar 3
Cultural Ecosystem Design
Cultural Ecosystem Design
The Innovation Engine
Innovation programs fail not because ideas are bad, but because the system around them is broken. Leadership drowns in volume. Contributors lack field tools. The Productable Model fixes all three.
“Volume without evaluation capacity is a liability, not a feature.”
Node 1
Graduate / Remediate
“Fail” ends the conversation. “Remediate” invites collaboration and tells the contributor: your idea has merit — here is exactly what it needs to advance.
Node 2
The Echo System
Cross-pollinated knowledge sharing across disparate bases. The same insight that solved a logistics problem at one base surfaces to the Airman facing it at another — in days, not years.
Node 3
Ecosystem Positioning
Every design exercise failed until we defined Productable’s lane. You can’t build a feature set for a platform whose role in the ecosystem you haven’t answered.
Evidence
30–40%
Rework eliminated
Per release
2×
Review throughput
Quality signal
Pillar 4
Compliance as Architecture
Compliance as Architecture
The State Machine
Every compliance requirement — KYC, MFA, address verification — is a state transition problem. Resolve it at the feature level and you generate rework. Resolve it at the architecture level and you eliminate an entire class of errors.
“Compliance is a state problem, not a feature problem.”
Node 1
The Static Flow Trap
When compliance is resolved at the feature level, every new requirement generates rework. Tend’s cross-border KYC produced 30–40% rework per release. iPROMOTEu’s address errors cost $250K/yr in downstream corrections. Same root cause: state treated as a feature.
Node 2
The State Machine Fix
Centralize the identity signals — auth state, KYC status, role, account status, risk score — into a single real-time model. Surface only what’s relevant to the user’s current state. The system knows where the user is; it never asks them to re-prove what they’ve already proven.
Node 3
The Compounding Return
+27% activation (Tend KYC), 100% MFA adoption without friction (iPROMOTEu), $250K/yr address verification savings (iPROMOTEu iSuite). All from the same architectural decision: compliance as state, not feature.
Evidence
+27%
Activation
Tend KYC
100%
MFA adoption
Zero friction
The Distinction
The Red Napkin captures and retains the user through psychology of first impressions and habit formation. The Supply Chain Triad moves the data and delivers the value through tier orchestration and operational automation. The Productable Model builds the innovation culture that sustains the ecosystem. The Identity & Compliance Framework makes the architecture trustworthy at scale — compliance as state, not feature. Together, they are the complete system.
The System in Practice
Four frameworks.
One system of systems.
Every engagement I've led applies the same four-layer architecture: capture and retain the user, move the data reliably, build the culture that sustains the platform, and make the compliance layer invisible. The role changes — operator, innovator, executive, compliance officer — but the system underneath is always the same. That's what I mean by a system of systems.
The Psychology of First Impressions
Based on Jon Taffer's three-visit model: a high-value first offering draws the user in (40% return), a thoughtful follow-up deepens the relationship (42% return), and a transformative third experience locks in the habit (70%+). Applied to SaaS onboarding, this is the architecture of activation.
The Mechanics of Data Delivery
Three tiers — Blank Goods Vendor, Decorator, Affiliate — orchestrated through a normalized data lake. When the pipeline is automated, vendor onboarding compresses from 3-6 months to 3-4 weeks. The platform stops being a tool and becomes the industry's default operating system.
The Culture of Innovation
Innovation programs fail when leadership drowns in volume, contributors lack field tools, and the platform operates in a vacuum. The Productable Model fixes all three: Graduate/Remediate gives every idea a verdict, the Echo System gives contributors a voice from the field, and Ecosystem Positioning answers the elephant in the room.
The Architecture of Trust
Compliance is a state problem, not a feature problem. KYC, MFA, and address verification all fail when resolved at the feature level — they generate rework, interrupt users, and erode trust. Resolved at the architecture level through an identity state model, they become invisible and compounding.
The Compounding Effect
Each framework reinforces the others. The Red Napkin brings the user in. The Supply Chain Triad delivers the value. The Productable Model builds the culture that sustains it. The Identity & Compliance Framework makes the architecture trustworthy enough to scale. Remove any one layer and the system degrades. Keep all four and the platform becomes a moat.
+27%
Activation lift
90%
Email reduction
$250K
YoY savings
100%
MFA adoption
Experience
Career Timeline
USAA
Producer to Product Manager
The problem I inherited: USAA's onboarding workflow was a disconnected series of touchpoints with no unified logic for driving primacy (direct deposit acquisition). I built a 90-day trigger-based onboarding system with daisy-chained life event signals, reducing drop-off and measurably improving direct deposit conversion. I transferred to Car Buying, ran the first Human Centered Design session in the division, and launched a template-driven Learning Center covering auto loan, insurance, and maintenance. I owned OEM Discounts and built Tableau dashboards that powered roadmaps for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and other OEM partners.
iPROMOTEu
Product Manager: Platform Modernization
The problem I walked into: a fragmented vendor integration ecosystem where manual onboarding had plateaued at ~90 suppliers despite the PromoStandards consortium establishing 8 API standards. I identified the architectural gap and began designing a data lake approach to normalize supplier data at scale, replacing one-off integrations with a reusable ingestion pipeline. I laid the foundation for what would become the NexusStream architecture.
Tend
Product Manager
The problem: cross-border fund transfers between the US and Mexico lacked a reliable, compliant digital rail. I implemented an enhanced onboarding workflow modeled on the USAA trigger-based approach, adapted for a dual-regulatory environment (US bank + Bank of Mexico City). I identified structural risk in a user-generated content strategy and redirected toward a controlled data model, navigating complex multi-stakeholder alignment across two banking systems.
Productable
Product Manager
The problem: the US Air Force had an innovation funnel generating volume but no visibility. Leadership couldn't measure quality or prioritize submissions. I built a scoring and decision layer on top of the funnel: structured exercises (TAM/SAM/SOM, ICP, MMR) that forced submissions through a qualification framework, plus a review portal for leadership to grade, pass, or fail innovations with documented rationale. I converted a noise-generating intake system into a signal-producing decision engine. The org was later acquired.
iPROMOTEu
Senior Product Manager
The problem: a post-acquisition integration crisis. The AiA acquisition created two parallel user bases on incompatible platforms, and the underlying ERP was a home-grown system with no scalability path. I led the full migration of AiA users to iSUITE, consolidating workflows, rationalizing data models, and preserving continuity for distributors. I simultaneously spearheaded the ERP upgrade from the legacy platform to NetSuite, leading discovery, requirements, and vendor alignment through March 2026.
Independent
Builder & Founder
I'm building decision systems in the open. Five prototypes shipped so far: NatureFirst (AI-powered flora/fauna identification), Anertia (authentic self-expression platform), C-4 Command (dealer intelligence engine with LEME scoring), NexusStream (data lake architecture case study), and Talox (SaaS for heavy equipment shops). Each explores a different application of the signal to context to decision framework.
Capabilities
Skills & Expertise
Decision System Design
Data & Platform
Platform Consolidation
AI & Emerging Systems
See It Applied
See how I apply these frameworks
in my first 180 days.
The Day 1-180 Optimization Playbook maps my four frameworks to a concrete three-phase engagement structure — Audit, Automate, Moat — with evidence from the case studies at every phase.
Let's build something.
I'm currently open to new product opportunities. If you're building something interesting, I'd love to talk.
The Operating System
A System of Systems
ibuildsystems.io
Four frameworks. One repeatable system. Applied across banking, fintech, government, and B2B SaaS to turn broken workflows into scalable revenue engines.