Jared Scheib

Jared Scheib
· MANHATTAN, NYC· FOUNDING PRODUCT ENG· AI × PRODUCT × SYSTEMS

Build systems for product-market fit.

Product engineering leader. Ex-founder. A decade-plus building VC-backed, Y Combinator-grad startups in NYC and SF across AI, enterprise SaaS, and consumer platforms — seed to acquisition. And more as a film & theater director and creative entrepreneur.

Ex-Founder2× YC$111M Exit
001About
Jared Scheib

Build and ship what matters.

Startups, products, film, theater, art — focused on user impact.

Most engineers can't think in business outcomes. Most product leaders can't build. Most founders don't think in systems. Most builders don't have creative leadership experience. I have all four — and that combination makes the difference between shipping features and shipping outcomes.

I own the full surface: customer conversations to activation & retention metrics, hypothesis design to deploy pipelines. The goal is never just to build — it's to learn what matters, earn not just any place in the user's workflow — a critical place — and grow from there.

Technical Depth
Full-stack, AI/ML infra, platform engineering, agentic systems, data pipelines
Product Mind
Hypothesis-driven experimentation, activation & retention systems, onboarding design
Business Sense
Founded a company, raised capital, managed P&L, customer-facing, GTM-aware
Creative Leadership
Directed film & theater professionally — storytelling, production management, team direction
002Journey

Origins → Creative → Technology → Founder → Leader

OriginsAge 13

Builder and entrepreneur from the start

Sold burned music CDs and built a multiplayer Tron game — both before high school. The CD margins were unbeatable until every kid on the block got their own burner.

EducationCinematic Arts · Neuroscience

Built a business, premiered at the DGA

Co-founded the Trojan Men a cappella group — sold-out shows, an album, and tours. Premiered a documentary at the Directors Guild of America Theater. Studied film production and neuroscience at USC.

Creative EntrepreneurFilm · Theater · Art

Founded, directed, and sold

Founded 2x businesses. Directed a 70-min documentary, one-man shows including an Off-Broadway debut, and managed a viral art business worldwide.

Technology~6 Years of Startups

Software engineer, Series A to D

~6 years of software engineering across VC-backed, YC startups — from observability infrastructure powering Tesla and PayPal to an AI platform acquired by DigitalOcean for $111M.

Founder3.5 Years

Social filmmaking startup

Founded a ridiculously serious social filmmaking startup. Raised capital, shipped to the App Store, got 1M+ views in a pineapple onesie. Spent the final year on GTM and building a profitable events business in NYC. Wound down deliberately.

NowCurrent

Founding Product Engineer

First product eng hire at an AI-native consumer intelligence platform. Took it from prototype to traction — built reusable DevEx, DevOps, and codegen tooling to create compounding systems. Owns activation, retention, and product experimentation.

003Work

Selected work & ventures

A decade-plus of building — from founding to operating to leading.

AI-Native Consumer Intelligence · Founding Product EngineerRole

Merciv

01

AI-native consumer intelligence for retail and CPG. Took it from prototype to traction, pre-seed through $14M seed.

AI/MLConsumer IntelligencePMFPre-Seed → Seed
Multiplayer Browser Game · Personal ProjectPlayable

Tron

02

The spiritual successor to the first program I shipped before high school. Real-time multiplayer, built for the web.

Game DevCanvasReal-TimeWebSocket
Social Filmmaking Platform · Founder & CEOFounded

Pineapple AF

03

A ridiculously serious social filmmaking startup. Raised capital, shipped to the App Store, got 1M+ views in a pineapple onesie. Wound down deliberately.

ConsumerFounderCommunityPre-Seed
AI Infrastructure Platform · Product EngineerRole

Paperspace → DigitalOcean

04

YC-backed AI model training platform. Shipped key products, accepted the Deep Learning Technology award. Later acquired for $111M.

AI InfraYC$111M AcquisitionSeries A
Open-Source Observability · Software EngineerRole

InfluxData

05

YC-backed open-source time-series database. Powering monitoring for Tesla Powerwall, PayPal, and thousands of DevOps teams.

Open SourceDev ToolsYCSeries B–D
70-Min Documentary · Director, Producer, EditorCreative

The Mayor

06

A documentary about seniors living life to the fullest — especially an 88-year-old back on the dating scene. Distinguished by the Gerontological Society of America.

FilmDocumentaryDistribution
Fine Art Business · Co-Founder & ManagerCreative

Cecelia Webber Art

07

Spotted the viral potential of Cecelia's art, put it online, and managed her business worldwide.

ArtViralBusiness
005How I Work

Principles

Systems over features

Features ship once. Systems compound. I build the machine that builds the product.

Hypotheses over intuition

Every bet is an experiment with a measurable outcome. Conviction earns its keep through data.

Build the learning engine

The product is a byproduct of the learning loop. Ship fast, measure honestly, adapt structurally.

Own the full surface

Architecture to activation metrics. Customer conversations to deploy pipelines. No gaps between vision and execution.

Sustainable intensity

High output without burnout culture. Build teams and systems that perform over years, not just sprints.

Outcomes over output

Ship to learn, not to ship. The real measure is whether users found real value. The relief of pain. The magic moments. Listen deeply, iterate, earn your place in their workflow.

Current Focus

01PMF methodology for AI-native products
02Experimentation systems that compound learning
03AI-native product development patterns
04Activation and retention as engineering problems
006Testimonials

What people say

Advisor

Jared helped me save and rebuild a company after a co-founder split on bad terms. He understood both the technical and emotional challenges we faced. He helped me find an approach to engaging with my co-founder productively, and we created a clean legal foundation from which to rebuild. He then stayed on as an advisor as we rebuilt the team and business — hiring, team-building, strategy, go-to-market. He's got a rare combination of skill in the human psyche, software, and business. I grew tremendously as a leader in my time with Jared.

Founder, Cheeseburger Therapy · SF
Advisor

I leaned on Jared as a sounding board and source of perspective for over a year during the most challenging period of building my company. Jared brought compassion and a clarifying spirit to every conversation and I would absolutely trust him with key decision-making and advising in the future.

Founder, BoundaryCare · NYC
Engineer

Jared was engaged to build a digital game prototype and over-delivered on building the product on deadline. He added his own creativity to the process, which helped enhance the finished product. His technical expertise mixed with his incredibly high EQ allowed us to collaborate effectively. His thorough and transparent communication meant that we always knew where we stood on budget and timing. I would wholeheartedly recommend Jared.

Founder & Creative Producer, Neuhaus Ideas · NYC
Mentor

I met Jared by chance at a job fair. He provided practical advice that immediately shifted my perspective. I felt understood, and more than ever, light at the end of the tunnel. He helped me successfully land a job as a Product Manager at an established startup. His support has been invaluable towards my professional and personal growth. I couldn't dream up a better mentor.

David
Product Manager · SF
Mentor

Jared is able to grasp the unique challenge the student is facing, and to offer insight. As important — he is patient and friendly. Excellent mentor.

Ben
Software Engineer · Israel
Engineer

Jared is a product developer who understands the intersection of technology and storytelling. He approaches product development holistically, considering not just the technical aspects but also user experience and market fit. He doesn't just build features; he considers the narrative they create for the user. His combination of technical skill, creative thinking, and focus on user narrative is rare and valuable.

Founder, Equall AI · NYC
Mentor

The experience was overwhelmingly positive — so much so that my company reached out to Jared to set up an official contract for code mentorship on my behalf. Jared was knowledgeable, honest and, most importantly, patient. He's very quick to understand code and can break down a complex issue, even when it is being explained sub-optimally by a beginner.

Seth
Senior Fullstack Engineer · NYC
Advisor

Jared was able to hone in on what was and what was not working with my pitch in a nuanced way that was still very practical. He was the very helpful thought partner that I didn't even realize I needed.

Colin Pugh
Executive Director, Brooklyn Psychedelic Society · NYC
007Contact

Let's build something that matters.

I'm always interested in hard problems and ideas worth building.

© 2026 JARED SCHEIBBUILT FOR PMF