Your product working harder.
Onboarding that sticks. Workflows that don't leak. Retention that compounds. Built for startups and small teams who need a senior PM's eye — without the overhead.
AI & Automation
AI that does the work,
not just the talking.
I build with the current stack — RAG pipelines, LLM workflows, n8n automations, agentic tooling. Not as a demo. As the actual product. The goal is always the same: less manual work, more signal.
RAG & LLM
Built a retrieval-augmented chatbot for Tech for Campaigns giving 200+ volunteers instant access to historical playbooks — replaced a Slack scavenger hunt that was costing hours per project.
AI-Driven Results
Drove a 43% lift in campaign contributions via AI-written fundraising email, A/B tested against human-written baselines with real-time optimization layered on historical performance data.
Workflow Automation
n8n-based volunteer scheduling automation for Meals on Wheels West LA reclaimed ~10 hrs/week of staff time from manual coordination. Built to run without an engineer to maintain it.
Vibe Coding
Hands-on with Lovable, Cursor, Claude Code, and the current AI-assisted PM toolchain. I use these to ship faster — and to help teams understand where AI actually moves the needle.
Mission-Driven Work
Built different for orgs
that run lean.
Nonprofits and civic teams operate under constraints most consultants have never seen. I've shipped real work for real organizations — not pilots that need a full-time engineer to maintain.
Tech for Campaigns
State Director & Digital Product Strategist
Ran the program connecting 200+ progressive campaigns with hundreds of technical volunteers across multiple cycles. Direct contributor to the Michigan House and Senate flips and the Minnesota Senate flip in 2022.
Meals on Wheels West LA
~10 hrs/week recovered from manual scheduling
Designed and built an n8n automation that replaced pencil-and-clipboard volunteer scheduling. Freed the team to focus on delivery, not coordination. No engineer required to maintain it.
Climatebase · CropCircle
Fellow (Cohort 6) · ML Crop Suitability MVP
Selected for an intensive climate-tech fellowship. Co-led discovery and shaped the MVP for an ML-driven crop-suitability tool helping farmers and ag businesses adapt to a changing climate.
Service & Community
U.S. Air Force · Reading Partners
Air Force veteran (Intelligence). Reading Partners tutor since 2017, focused on early literacy for K–3 students in under-resourced schools. Service is the baseline, not the highlight.
Who this is for
You've built something real.
Now it needs to run better.
I work best with teams that already have traction but are losing ground to friction — confusing onboarding, manual ops that don't scale, or users who sign up and disappear.
Early-stage startups (Seed–Series A)
You have PMF signals but your product experience is rough. New users don't understand what to do first, and your team is too close to see it.
Small teams without a dedicated PM
You're running Airtable, Notion, spreadsheets, and a CRM — but none of it talks to each other. Ops work that should take an hour takes a day.
Silicon Beach alumni & founders
Started at LowerMyBills.com in the early days, built through Demand Media, Spot Runner, and Machinima. I know what the LA startup ecosystem looks and feels like from the inside.
Services
Three focused engagements
Each package is scoped to a specific problem. No retainer lock-in, no vague deliverables. You know what you're getting before we start.
Package 01
Onboarding Audit & Sprint
A clear-eyed review of your new-user flow from first touch to first value. I map where users drop, why they drop, and what to change — then help you build it.
- Full onboarding flow map with drop-off annotations
- Prioritized fix list (quick wins + structural)
- Revised copy & UX recommendations
- Activation metric definition (if missing)
- Optional: 1 sprint of hands-on implementation support
$3,500 – $6,000
Flat project fee · 1–2 week delivery
Inquire about this packagePackage 02
Workflow Automation & Ops Cleanup
I map your manual ops, find the highest-leverage automation opportunities, and build them — primarily in Airtable, n8n, or similar no-code/low-code tools.
- Current-state ops map & time-cost audit
- Automation build in Airtable, n8n, or equivalent
- Loom walkthrough + handoff documentation
- 1 round of revisions after live testing
- Async support for 2 weeks post-delivery
$4,500 – $8,500
Flat project fee · 2–3 week delivery
Inquire about this packagePackage 03
Retention & Re-engagement Strategy
Churn diagnosis, lifecycle mapping, and a concrete retention playbook. Goes beyond analytics — I help you understand the behavioral story your data is telling.
- Retention cohort review & churn pattern analysis
- User lifecycle map (activation → habit → advocate)
- Re-engagement campaign strategy & trigger logic
- Gamification or engagement hook recommendations
- Metrics dashboard setup (Airtable or your BI tool)
$6,000 – $12,000
Flat project fee · 2–4 week delivery
Inquire about this packageNot sure which fits? Send a quick note and we'll figure it out together.
Past work
Results, not just resumé lines
A sample of outcomes from real engagements across startups, civic tech, and consumer platforms.
43%
Lift in campaign contributions via AI-written email
A/B tested AI-generated fundraising copy against human-written baselines, with real-time subject line optimization on top of historical campaign performance data. The machines won — and then we optimized further.
AI · Civic tech · Tech for Campaigns10 hrs/wk
Reclaimed from manual scheduling at Meals on Wheels
Designed and built an n8n automation replacing pencil-and-clipboard volunteer coordination. Built to be maintainable without an engineer — and still running.
Automation · Civic tech · n8n500K+
Weekly active users on Magic Receipts (Prodege)
Led the emerging product that turned receipt scanning into a household-level data play — BlinkReceipt OCR for full-basket capture, ML-driven personalized offer engine on top. Scaled from 0 to 500K+ WAU.
Consumer product · ML · Retention$90M
Revenue driven across Machinima's 10,000-channel network
Yield management, monetization optimization, and a rebuilt talent-network platform. Increased talent applications 24%, cut churn 11%. Closed $47M+ in strategic deals with Google/YouTube, Meta, and Sony PlayStation.
Monetization · Marketplace · MediaHow it works
Simple, fast, no surprises
Quick intake call (30 min)
You describe the problem. I ask clarifying questions. We confirm the right package and scope together — no pitch, no upsell.
Proposal + alignment
You get a written brief: scope, deliverables, timeline, and flat fee. One revision round is included. We start when you're ready.
Build, review, hand off
I deliver work in stages with async check-ins. Final delivery includes documentation so your team can own it going forward.
About
15+ years in the product trenches. Now available for focused engagements.
I grew up professionally on Silicon Beach — Spot Runner, Demand Media, Machinima — before it had a name. Built product at the intersection of consumer tech, media, and marketplaces through acquisitions, pivots, and a few legendary side quests.
What I bring to consulting that most PMs don't: I actually build the thing. The Airtable base, the n8n workflow, the RAG pipeline. I don't hand off a spec and disappear. UCLA grad. Air Force vet. Climatebase fellow. Still learning.
Based in Long Beach, CA. Available remotely worldwide.
15+ years in digital product
Silicon Beach origins (Spot Runner, Demand Media, Machinima). Consumer tech, marketplaces, SaaS, media, civic tech. UCLA grad.
AI & automation specialist
RAG, LLM workflows, n8n, vibe coding. IBM AI Fundamentals, Anthropic Claude 101. Actively building — not just strategizing.
Mission-driven & civic tech
Tech for Campaigns (Michigan + Minnesota flips), Meals on Wheels WLA, Climatebase Fellow. Air Force vet. Reading Partners tutor since 2017.
I build, not just advise
Every engagement ends with something you can run. Not a deck. The Airtable base is live. The workflow fires. The doc exists.
Ready to start?
Let's talk about your product.
A 30-minute conversation is usually enough to know if we're a fit. No obligation, no deck — just the problem and how we'd approach it.
robharol@gmail.com Typical response within one business day.