Open Dedication

To the ICE team: Jon, Mark, Walter, & Bradford, thanks for humoring me, when the whiteboard called.

Open Table of Contents

1. People First, Always

This isn’t just a tagline. It’s my product theology.

Real people use the things we build. They bring their hopes, habits, hangups, and history with them into every tap, swipe, or scroll. If we forget that, if we reduce people to “conversion events” or “churn risks," we risk building products that may be efficient, but empty and soul-less.

I believe products should earn their place in people’s lives by making those lives measurably better. Not just faster. Not just stickier. Better.

2. Product Physiology

My background isn’t in Computer Science or Graphic Design. I studied Exercise and Sports Science. I lettered as a D1 athlete. My first serious frameworks weren’t roadmaps or sprint plans—they were training regimens and periodization charts.

That foundation shaped how I see product today.

Like the human body, great products are complex systems that require alignment, intentional stress, and recovery. A well-built product flexes. It learns. It gets stronger

Open People First Always

People First, Always

This isn’t a tagline. It’s my product theology.

Real people use the things we build. They bring their hopes, habits, hangups, and history with them into every tap, swipe, and scroll. If we forget that, if we reduce them to “conversion events” or “churn risks,” we risk building something efficient, but empty. Polished, but pointless.

My background? A little quixotic, sure.

Undergrad in Exercise and Sports Science. Minor in Psychology.MBA with a focus on Marketing and Venture Management.Master of Arts in Biblical Studies.

Yes, I’ve earned an odd collection of degrees, but to me, they’re deeply connected.

What some see as a strange mix, I see as overlapping lenses. And after going deep in three different disciplines, I started to notice that most fields of study share the same underlying ideas; they just use different words, acronyms, and uniforms.

And when you start seeing the connections, you stop trying to solve problems with complexity. You start simplifying.

Open Product Physiology: What studying Exercise Science taught me about building digital products.

Product Physiology

What studying Exercise Science taught me about building digital products.

My educational background isn’t in Computer Science or Graphic Design. I studied Exercise and Sports Science. I lettered as a D1 athlete. My first serious frameworks weren’t roadmaps or sprint plans—they were training regimens, playbooks, and route charts. A foundation in physiology and performance has shaped my perspective on product delivery. How? 

Well, like the human body, as products grow, they become more complex. As complexity is introduced to the system, there is more alignment required. When a stressor is induced, the team sees how the system performs. Their takeaway creates more tweaks and changes to the product plan to ensure they get to where they want to be, whether that is in revenue, performance, or stability. 

Maybe a quick story will connect the dots. Recently, I strained my Posterior Inferior Serratus muscle in my mid-back. This muscle connects the spine to the ribs, and though

Open Build for Belonging

Build for Belonging.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve taken on fractional product leadership roles in the fitness space. I helped launch Final Surge 2.0, which connects structured training plans with Garmin and Apple users. I’ve been partnering with Wylder to help Race Directors and Running Influencers build communities that go deeper than a like or emoji comment.

Both of these apps do something I love—they are a digital organizer for co-located physical experiences. 

Final Surge is a coaching app in which the most prolific users are coaching teams of runners in real life. The app is the conduit of information for the runner and the coach to optimize their performance both in training and on race day. 

Wylder is an app for groups, clubs, brands, and influencers who want to chat, compete, and coordinate online for offline group runs and meetups, #IRL. Examples include: the coordination of a group run in the Salt Lake City foothills with filmmaker and Ultra runner Billy Yang with a live podcast

Open Disrupt or Innovate. You can't do both.

Disrupt or Innovate. You can't do both.

One breaks the system and one builds it better. Knowing the difference will help the team succeed.

At Sonic Drive-In, we reimagined the customer experience across 3,600 locations. That meant threading innovation into something already beloved. If we moved too fast, we’d lose the soul of what made Sonic, well, Sonic. If we moved too slowly, we’d stay stuck in a 1990s loop, trying to innovate with one hand tied behind our backs. The innovation required some disruption, but mostly it required tactical innovation from each department: Marketing, IT, Delivery, Product, HR, Legal, Franchise Relations, and Operations.

That balance between disruption and innovation is where great products live.

Disruption means burning it down and starting from scratch. It’s cheaper, faster, and unconstrained by legacy systems. No integrations. No baggage.

Innovation, on the other hand, is expensive. It requires a deep understanding of what’s already there, including le

Open Acknowledgements

To all the builders I’ve had the privilege of working with—thank you. There were times I led and times I followed, but I was always learning. From you, with you, and sometimes in spite of you. The lessons came in brainstorms sessions and standup phone calls, in presentation deadlines, and milestone releases. You showed me what’s possible when curiosity outpaces ego and building trust is the priority.

Thanks for reminding me to always start with some Yik Yak, before we dig into the agenda.

To the gatekeepers—thanks for the motivation. Your stubbornness gave power to my persistence. You made things harder than they had to be, and through that resistance, I learned a great deal about myself. Your resistance gave us an opportunity to show what great teams are capable of when their motivations are aligned and their trust intact. For all the friction, I’m grateful.

To the writers, thinkers, and podcast talkers—thank you for offering perspective, humor, case studies, examples, failures and successes. Yvon