Jared Scheib

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.

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.
Origins → Creative → Technology → Founder → Leader
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Selected work & ventures
A decade-plus of building — from founding to operating to leading.
Merciv ↗
AI-native consumer intelligence for retail and CPG. Took it from prototype to traction, pre-seed through $14M seed.
Tron ↗
The spiritual successor to the first program I shipped before high school. Real-time multiplayer, built for the web.
Pineapple AF ↗
A ridiculously serious social filmmaking startup. Raised capital, shipped to the App Store, got 1M+ views in a pineapple onesie. Wound down deliberately.
Paperspace → DigitalOcean
YC-backed AI model training platform. Shipped key products, accepted the Deep Learning Technology award. Later acquired for $111M.
InfluxData
YC-backed open-source time-series database. Powering monitoring for Tesla Powerwall, PayPal, and thousands of DevOps teams.
The Mayor ↗
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.
Cecelia Webber Art ↗
Spotted the viral potential of Cecelia's art, put it online, and managed her business worldwide.
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
What people say
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Let's build something that matters.
I'm always interested in hard problems and ideas worth building.