Building an AI Ads Operating Layer from Zero

I built an AI-powered platform to help advertisers orchestrate, observe, and optimize campaigns across channels.

The hardest part wasn’t the AI—it was the real world:

• messy data (different APIs, different schemas),
• missing instrumentation,
• brittle workflows that lived in spreadsheets,
• and no single source of truth for performance monitoring.

What I shipped

• A unified dashboard for cross-channel analytics and workflow creation
• Observability: KPI tracking and lifecycle metrics to guide iteration
• Monetization experiments (freemium + usage-based)
• Measurement: activation, engagement, retention, revenue signals

Lessons learned

• Observability is a product feature, not an afterthought.
• Pricing is a hypothesis—treat it like an experiment.
• Velocity comes from alignment and scope management, not heroics.