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Mike Costanzo

Experienced Product & Design Leader

About Me

Great products are built by great teams. For over a decade, I've driven growth by helping startups find product/market fit and scale-ups unify experiences that win. Through experienced leadership and a future-focused vision of design, product management, and digital strategy I’ve proven my ability to create a positive impact on organizations of all sizes.

I thrive on tackling tough problems, rapidly learning new domains, and leading teams to create exceptional products guided by clear communication, coaching, and hands-on work.

Portfolio:

https://thefaintsignal.com/⁠

⁠

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-costanzo⁠

Mike is an amazing person with a truly unique and diverse skill set. He cared tremendously about the product and completely took the burden of the “product” off my shoulders and onto his. He commands respect from all team members through thoughtfulness, execution, and compassion. Simply put, he is a rockstar. — Brad Kotansky, CEO Onist Technologies

Specialized Skills

Product Management & Design Leadership

B2C & B2B SaaS Experience

Early-stage Startup & New Product Development

Marketplace Design & Development

Headless Platforms (CMS and Commerce)

Stakeholder Management & Consulting Experience

Gen-AI products

Digital Product Strategy

Expert in Figma & Design Systems

Service Design & Blueprinting

Lean & Agile Software Delivery

Branding & Visual Design

Performance Management & Team Development

Work Experience

Rangle.io (Software Consulting)

⁠

Rangle⁠

is an industry-leading front-end consultancy focused on designing and building digital customer experiences for global enterprises and fast-growing startups. I returned to Rangle in November 2021 as a Principal Digital Strategist to hone my skills in developing winning digital strategies for pre-sales and post-sales product development. I worked extensively on complex strategy development for large-scale Design Systems, Headless CMS and Commerce platforms, Digital Marketplace Development, and New Product Development.

In 2023, I was promoted to SVP of Product & Design to lead and grow a team of five product managers and ten designers, with the goal of improving our product design and delivery practice. Another key aspect of this position is leading some of the more challenging client projects to ensure success.

SVP of Product & Design: Nov. 2023 - Present

⁠

Figma Service Partner Certification⁠

I have always pushed to experiment with new tools that help improve the design and development process. I was proud to lead the certification of Rangle as one of six official Figma Service Partners. This helped elevate Rangle’s status in the design community and brought in new leads for business development.

I created thought leadership pieces including:

⁠

Avoiding the Design System Death Spiral⁠

⁠

Lean Discovery: Shifting from Outputs to Outcomes by Finding & Fixing Customer Pain⁠

Led the strategy, design, and development of a Gen-AI focused proof-of-concept for Nike called Nike Kit. The concept was centered on the idea that Gen-AI could be used to give highly personalized shopping experiences at scale and give every athlete the same level of support afforded to professional athletes, who have a full team of people managing their clothing, equipment, food and training.

We were able to go from idea to client demo in less than a month

Case Study: Nike Kit

https://thefaintsignal.com/nikekit⁠

Principal, Digital Strategy: Nov. 2021 - Nov. 2023

⁠

Movebuddy.com⁠

I led the strategy, design, and development of a matching marketplace that simplifies the moving process for users while connecting them with trusted service providers. Our goal was to address the pain points that people typically face during a move—stress, complexity, and lack of trust and transparency. With a mobile-first approach, we ensured that the marketplace was accessible and easy to use, providing a frictionless experience that ultimately empowers people to move with confidence.

Over the first 30-days, the site had a conversion rate of 12%

Case Study: Movebuddy

https://thefaintsignal.com/movebuddy⁠

⁠

worked with sales and marketing to create winning pitches and strategy for clients including winning deals for Storage Vault, Honda, Pvolve, and Abercrombie & Fitch and more. I’m comfortable working in multiple industries promoting modern product, design and development practices including, Headless Platforms (CMS and Commerce), Design Systems, and Online Marketplaces.

Mike's thought leadership on product and design cross-cuts user experience and interface with the software delivery process to achieve the best results. He was always able to communicate clearly and in an engaging manner whether presenting his concepts to high-level project stakeholders or simply having a one-on-one conversation. It would be a fantastic opportunity to work with him again. — Igor Kamenetsky, Group Technical Director Rangle

THE LNK (Global Marketplace & E-commerce)

Advisor, Product Strategy & Design: Oct. 2021 - Present

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THE LNK⁠

is a global e-commerce platform built to help emerging brands from around the world find, sell, and deliver to a worldwide customer base without the hassles of international taxes, duties, and logistics. I have helped advise on strategy, brand, and product/platform design to go from idea, to MVP launch and now scaling the platform with seeding funding secured in 2023.

In 2023 THE LNK was able to raise a closed a

$1 million seed funding round⁠

⁠

My Pain Sensei (Healthtech/Digital Therapeutics)

Head of Product and Design Jan. 2019 – June. 2020

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My Pain Sensei⁠

was a mobile chronic pain management app and program designed to help people suffering from chronic pain, make meaningful improvements in their quality of life. I worked with the CEO to define a new product strategy, redesign the app, and create a digital chronic pain management program using a lean product development process. I also hired key design and development talent need to fill in critical gaps on the existing team.

In just over a year, we were able to redesign and pivot the product, find product/market fit, and take the company through to a

30-million dollar acquisition by The DNA Company⁠

...

Led the product and design functions while managing the engineering team for eight months until we were able to hire a dedicated head of engineering.

Led the development of an innovative virtual pain management program from zero to launch in less than two months.

We were able to decrease the pain impact experienced by chronic pain patients by 40-60% and dramatically improve other measurable aspects of their wellness and productivity.

Managed a remote customer support employee to ensure the entire service design experience maintained a high level of quality.

Redesigned the My Pain Sensei branding and rewrote all marketing copy to reflect a more contemporary look and feel that would appeal to the target audience and differentiate us in the market.

Responsible for directly sourcing and hiring key engineering talent and growing the team to three engineers all working remotely with some team members being outsourced contractors in the Ukraine.

Case Study: My Pain Sensei

https://thefaintsignal.com/mypainsensei⁠

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Onist Technologies (Fintech)

VP Product Feb. 2018 – Aug. 2018

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Onist⁠

was a Fintech startup aiming to build a solution for high-net-worth individuals by creating a collaborative platform to bring the benefits of a family office to the masses. I was hired to replace the VP of Product and help turn the company and find product/market fit after years of struggling to do so effectively.

Pivoted the product positioning and business model from a D2C subscription service to a B2B Platform focused on financial service firms looking for digital solutions to improve client interactions and retention.

Led and executed a strategy to improve the visual design and UX of the application to reflect the market needs.

Shifted the product strategy from a freemium direct-to-consumer model to a B2B model targeted at independent financial advisors, acquiring our first paying clients and growing MRR revenue.

Aggressively scaled back large team size across all functions to increase runway while improving company culture and maintaining high output.

Helped to break down the division between product, design, and engineering, which led to a more effective, enjoyable, and collaborative work environment.

⁠
`Rangle.io`⁠
(Software Consulting)

Head of UX & Product Design: Jan. 2017 - Jan. 2018

Product Design Lead: Mar 2014 – Dec 2016

I was instrumental in defining the early company culture and the role of product design within a rapidly growing agile consultancy. I grew the design team to 15 people in just over three years, led and advocated for the practice of collaborative cross-functional product teams, and was instrumental in helping the company grow to over 160 people and $25 million in annual revenue.

Directly responsible for hiring over 20 designers. Importantly developed a hiring process to remove bias from interview evaluations including a standardized evaluation rubric, ensuring job descriptions were written in a non-biased language, and maintaining a diverse evaluation panel in gender, race, and seniority level. This led to one of the only company functions that achieved and maintained a 50/50 gender split.

Led the development and implementation of the

Clarity Canvas⁠

process, which dramatically improved initial client engagement, team alignment, and project success.

Worked with software delivery directors to staff projects correctly and help unblock project teams.

Worked with sales and client services to scope, pitch, and present to clients for new business, positioning our design services as an essential resource to increase project revenue.

Provided thought leadership in the space of design and innovation through writing, mentoring, teaching, and conference talks.

Worked as part of the executive management team to define and execute company strategy as we evolved from a 13-person dev shop into a 150+ person digital transformation consultancy.

Created and implemented a complete redesign of the company’s branding and marketing collateral including advertisements, conference banners, pitch decks, and corporate identity.

Part-time Instructor

George Brown College Continuing Education - Intro to Web Design and Development: Sept. 2017 - Nov. 2018

Taught 30 students the necessary skills to design and develop a website from scratch.

Miami Ad School - UX Bootcamp - Intro to UX: April 2018

Led a full-day bootcamp for 12 students about the history of user experience design and how they could learn to apply its principles to their work.

Education

Niagara College, Post-Graduate Diploma, Interactive Multi-media 2004-2005

Brock University, Honours BA, Fine Arts 1998-2003

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