Founding Product Lead at Aida · San Francisco

Ian Johnson

Building 0→1 AI products that hold up at scale.

10+ years shipping AI products that drive revenue: ML systems (matching, ranking, identity) and GenAI workflows (agents, automation).

Work behind Shopify Markets, Yeezy, and Paramount Pictures.

2 Acquisitions (Founder + Team)

$250M/week Processed Volume at Scale

26 Countries Scaled To

Products used by teams at

Blonded

Founding Product Lead · Current

Aida

GenAI system of action for revenue teams, turning conversations and inbox signals into next steps, follow-ups, and deal insight.

Founder & CEO · Bootstrapped to Acquisition

Lasso → Yard

Built an ML matching engine processing 1M+ creator profiles/week with 97% match accuracy, supported by a YouTube data partnership.

Principal PM · $500M Acquisition

Flow → Global-e

Built the world's fastest cross-border checkout, 12× faster than industry standard. Scaled to $250M/week processed; +52% incremental revenue uplift for new market growth and +94% conversion improvement.

VP of Product · Alibaba Pictures JV

Showtime Analytics

Scaled from 2 cinemas to 80+ chains across 26 countries. First team outside China to build on Alibaba's ecosystem; improved customer identification 3% → 78%.

Writing

Practical notes on 0→1, monetization, and AI product craft.

Extracting Willingness to Pay Pre-product sales sprint methodology Finding Your First 10 Users Customer research for early-stage Lasso AI: The Problem We Solved Building in the creator economy Guide to Shortlisting Ideas Frameworks for startup ideation Frameworks for Ideation Product thinking methodologies Understanding the Creator Economy Market analysis and opportunities AI User Interview Parsing Automating qualitative research Customer Success and Support Building retention systems

About

10+ years building products at the intersection of AI and revenue, across startups and scaled platforms.

I've shipped ML systems (matching / identity) and GenAI workflows (agents + automation), with a bias toward measurable outcomes and fast iteration.

I've led research with executives at Nike, Disney, Under Armour, and Estée Lauder, spoken at Mind the Product, and led a JV with Alibaba Pictures.

Where I get energy from

Simplifying complexity and aligning teams: turning messy domains into clear decisions, crisp roadmaps, and strong cross-functional execution.
Deep customer + data truth: combining qualitative insight with metrics to validate fast, ship confidently, and iterate toward adoption and revenue.
Systems that scale: building operating cadence, instrumentation, and processes that let teams deliver reliably as complexity and stakes increase.

How I stay ahead

I build small side products to test new ideas and tools: Artifax (AI ghostwriter), Syncd (AI UX cross-interview analysis), Wildfire (creator analytics), BiG Deal (dynamic couponing), and Venice: Micro Journaling for Relationships.

Me outside of work

I co-founded THIQUE (grilled cheese + natural wine bar) and One.Six1 (specialty coffee). Huge movie buff. Here's what I'm listening to. I like making lists: Dublin · SF · Japan · Paris · Barcelona · Lisbon · NYC · Florence · Madrid