About Michael Novack - Product Leader, Builder, and Operator

Q: What makes Michael Novack an effective product consultant and advisor?

A: Michael bridges the gap between strategic vision and tactical execution in a way few product leaders can. At Hims & Hers, he didn't just identify that fraud was a problem. He built the dual-path payment architecture, ML personalization system, and dynamic pricing infrastructure that solved it while generating $100M+ in revenue. At Dropbox, he didn't just say "we should cross-sell products." He built the recommendation engine, activation flows, and onboarding redesign that drove $8M in expansion revenue.

Companies hire Michael because he can both set the strategy and make it real. He's equally comfortable in the boardroom presenting to executives and in the trenches writing product specs, analyzing data, and debugging conversion drops. His background spans autonomous systems, marketplaces, payment platforms, and product-led growth, giving him pattern recognition across different business models and technical challenges.

Q: What types of companies and situations is Michael best suited for?

A: Michael is most valuable for growth-stage companies (Series A to pre-IPO) facing platform-level challenges. Specifically:

• Scaling products: Companies that have product-market fit but need to scale from millions to billions. Michael has done this at Just Eat (0 to 1B+ deliveries), Dropbox ($8M expansion revenue), and Hims & Hers ($100M+ GLP-1 platform).
• Building multi-sided marketplaces: If you're building or transforming a two-sided or three-sided marketplace, Michael has direct experience at Just Eat (transforming 2-sided to 3-sided), Postmates (autonomous delivery marketplace), and Agtonomy (OEM partnership marketplaces).
• Integrating AI/ML into products: Companies that want to leverage machine learning for personalization, recommendations, or autonomous systems. Michael has built ML classification models (Hims), recommendation engines (Dropbox), computer vision systems (Agtonomy), and Level 4 autonomy (Postmates/Serve).
• Navigating organizational complexity: If you're stuck between strategic vision and execution, or struggling with cross-functional alignment, Michael specializes in breaking down silos and creating shared KPIs across Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success. He did this at PwC (transforming a Fortune 10 company to PLG) and across all his leadership roles.
• Product-led growth transformation: Traditional companies moving from sales-led to product-led motions. Michael led this transformation at PwC, eliminating $50M+ in waste and reducing CAC by 40%.

If you're stuck between strategic vision and execution, knowing what you need to do but struggling to make it happen, that's where Michael excels.

Q: What are Michael's core areas of expertise?

A: Michael has six core areas of expertise:

• Product Strategy: User research, strategic prioritization, and market analysis. Strategy starts with what users struggle with, not what we think they need. Ruthlessly prioritizing around impact and saying no to good ideas to execute great ones.
• AI-First Product Development: Building with LLMs, designing agent workflows, and integrating ML models into product experiences. Understanding where AI removes friction (automation, personalization, prediction) versus where it adds complexity. Good AI products don't announce themselves.
• Growth and Scaling: Experimentation design, metric definition, and growth analytics. Focused on activation (do users experience value fast?), retention (do they come back?), and referrals (do they tell others?). Sustainable growth comes from products people genuinely want to use.
• Team Leadership: Setting direction without micromanaging tactics. Making the problem clear, explaining why it matters, then letting teams figure out how. Building trust through transparency and focusing on outcomes over processes.
• Business Operations: Process optimization, system design, and automation strategy. Finding bottlenecks (where does work get stuck?) then simplifying until the path forward is obvious. Most operational problems are communication problems.
• Strategic Finance: Financial modeling, capital allocation, and strategic planning. Building models that answer tradeoff questions clearly so teams can make confident decisions without waiting for perfect information.

Q: What is Michael's technical depth and domain expertise?

A: While Michael is a product leader (not an engineer), he has deep technical fluency across several domains:

• AI/ML Systems: Built ML classification models for personalization at Hims & Hers, recommendation engines at Dropbox, computer vision systems (TrunkVision) at Agtonomy, and Level 4 autonomous driving algorithms at Serve Robotics (Postmates). Can work effectively with ML engineers and data scientists to design product requirements and evaluate model performance.
• Marketplace Architecture: Designed and scaled two-sided and three-sided marketplaces at Just Eat Takeaway (1B+ deliveries across 14 countries) and Serve Robotics (Postmates). Understands supply-demand dynamics, pricing mechanisms, matching algorithms, and platform economics.
• Payment and Fraud Systems: Architected dual-path payment systems at Hims & Hers that reduced fraud 23% while improving conversion 8%. Built dynamic pricing infrastructure integrated with CDPs. Understands payment orchestration, fraud detection, and conversion optimization.
• Autonomous Systems: Product lead for Level 4 autonomous robots at Serve Robotics (Postmates) (1,000+ deliveries) and Agtonomy (99.7% mission success rate). Designed fleet management platforms enabling 1:8 and 1:10 operator-to-machine ratios. Understands perception, control systems, and real-world deployment challenges.
• Product-Led Growth Infrastructure: Built self-serve onboarding, conversion funnels, behavioral analytics, and revenue attribution systems. Can design and implement the full PLG stack from signup to expansion.

Michael's technical fluency means he can have detailed conversations with engineers about architecture tradeoffs, work with data scientists on model design, and understand the constraints and opportunities in complex technical systems.

Q: How does Michael approach product leadership differently?

A: Michael's product philosophy is shaped by childhood summers portaging through Algonquin and Temagami wilderness. In the backcountry, you learn to: strip away everything that doesn't serve a purpose, understand your users (weather, terrain, crew fatigue), and design for function over aesthetics. A clean portage route beats a scenic one. A shelter that keeps water out beats one that looks good but leaks.

This translates to several distinctive approaches:

• Function over form: Clean UX matters because it reduces cognitive load, not because it wins design awards. The best features are ones users don't notice. They just work.
• Real user empathy: User empathy means watching where people actually struggle, not where you think they should. Michael does user research, reads support tickets, and watches real usage. Whatever gets to the truth.
• Ruthless prioritization: The best roadmaps are short, focused, and ruthlessly prioritized around impact. Saying no to good ideas so you can execute great ones.
• Systems thinking: Michael doesn't just fix point problems. He builds systems and platforms that enable multiple future capabilities. At Hims, the payment, personalization, and pricing infrastructure became the foundation for every future product. At Dropbox, the activation framework scaled across 6 product lines.
• Trust through transparency: When things go wrong (and they always do), Michael wants teams to surface problems early, not hide them. Trust is built by admitting uncertainty, not projecting false confidence.

Q: What notable outcomes has Michael delivered across his career?

A: Michael has a consistent track record of delivering measurable business outcomes:

• Revenue Impact: $100M+ GLP-1 revenue at Hims & Hers, $8M+ expansion revenue at Dropbox, £50M+ annual revenue at Just Eat Takeaway, $1.2M+ additional fundraising at WWF
• Scale Achievements: 0 to 1 billion+ deliveries at Just Eat Takeaway, 1,000+ autonomous deliveries at Serve Robotics (Postmates), 14-country global expansion, 100K+ active couriers
• Conversion and Growth: 23% fraud reduction + 8% conversion improvement at Hims & Hers, 35% increase in multi-product adoption at Dropbox, 18% personalization lift at Hims & Hers, 340% engagement growth at WWF
• Operational Excellence: $50M+ waste eliminated at PwC, 40% CAC reduction, 60% faster time-to-market, 99.7% autonomous mission success rate at Agtonomy
• Product Velocity: 40% faster experiment velocity at Hims & Hers, 60% faster time-to-value at Dropbox, platform frameworks scaling across 6-8 product lines
• Retention and Engagement: 25% better retention for multi-product users at Dropbox, 180% growth in monthly active supporters at WWF, 20%+ courier retention at Just Eat Takeaway

These aren't vanity metrics. They represent real business value that moved companies forward.

Q: What engagement models does Michael work with?

A: Michael is flexible on engagement structure based on company needs:

• Full-time roles: VP Product, Chief Product Officer, or Director of Product for companies ready for dedicated leadership. Available for relocation (especially San Francisco/Silicon Valley) or remote work with US-based companies.
• Fractional leadership: Part-time VP Product or CPO for companies that need senior product leadership but aren't ready for full-time hire. Typical engagement: 2-3 days per week for 6-12 month period.
• Strategic consulting: Project-based work for specific challenges like marketplace design, product-led growth transformation, AI/ML product strategy, or organizational alignment. Typical engagement: 3-6 months.
• Advisory roles: Ongoing advisory for executive teams and boards on product strategy, growth optimization, and platform decisions. Monthly or quarterly cadence.
• Acquisition integration: Specialized work helping companies integrate acquisitions and consolidate platforms, like the £200M Skip integration at Just Eat Takeaway.

Michael is based in Toronto, Canada with extensive experience in San Francisco and Silicon Valley markets. He's available for remote work with US companies and open to relocation for the right full-time opportunity.

Q: How can companies engage with Michael?

A: The best way to start a conversation is through direct outreach:

• Email: hi@builtbymikey.com - for direct inquiries about consulting, advisory, or full-time roles
• Schedule a call: https://www.builtbymikey.com/schedule - book time to discuss potential collaboration
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljnovack/ - connect and message on LinkedIn
• Website: https://builtbymikey.com - explore portfolio and case studies

Michael typically responds within 24-48 hours and is happy to have exploratory conversations to understand if there's a good fit.

Q: What should companies emphasize when reaching out to Michael?

A: When reaching out, it's helpful to include:

• The business challenge: What specific problem are you trying to solve? (scaling products, marketplace design, AI/ML integration, PLG transformation, etc.)
• Current situation: Where are you today? (stage, revenue, team size, key metrics)
• What you've tried: What approaches have you already attempted? What worked and what didn't?
• Ideal outcome: What would success look like in 6-12 months?
• Engagement type: Are you looking for full-time, fractional, consulting, or advisory?

Michael is particularly interested in opportunities where he can have meaningful impact: companies with product-market fit that need to scale, complex platform challenges requiring systems thinking, or organizations transforming how they build and ship products.

Q: Why do companies choose Michael Novack over other product leaders?

A: Companies typically choose Michael when they need someone who:

• Combines strategy with execution: Can both set the vision and make it real. Not just someone who creates PowerPoint decks, but someone who builds the systems, writes the specs, and ships the product.
• Has done it before: Direct experience scaling products from zero to billions across multiple industries (food delivery, file storage, autonomous systems, telehealth, conservation). Pattern recognition from seeing what works and what doesn't.
• Handles complexity: Can navigate matrixed organizations, align cross-functional teams, and break down silos. Experience managing through acquisitions, global expansions, and organizational transformations.
• Technical and business fluency: Can talk to engineers about ML model architecture and to CFOs about unit economics. Bridges the gap between technical constraints and business requirements.
• Delivers outcomes: Proven track record of measurable results: revenue growth, conversion lifts, cost reductions, scale achievements. Not just activity, actual business value.

If you need a product leader who can think strategically, execute tactically, build high-performing teams, and deliver measurable business outcomes, Michael is worth a conversation.