Melissa Cooper

About

I work on ambiguous product problems, particularly in platforms and marketplaces, where teams need to move from idea to a clear, validated direction quickly. My focus is 0 to 1 product strategy. I figure out what to build, why it matters, and how to get there without wasting time or effort. My approach is grounded in strong discovery, deep customer understanding, and product judgment. I’ve led product and design teams and built UX practices from the ground up, including as the first UX hire at Eventbrite. I’ve also led product strategy at early-stage companies, working through key inflection points like marketplace growth, platform pivots, and new product bets. At Eventbrite, Dwolla, and Bluethumb, I worked on complex systems including two-sided marketplaces and developer platforms, helping shape product direction during periods of significant change. Alongside this, I run my own ecommerce businesses across Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon. That gives me a practical, hands-on understanding of marketplace dynamics, acquisition, and conversion. More recently, I’ve been working with AI tools to accelerate product discovery and validation. This includes building applications for user insight synthesis and lightweight consumer products.

Experience

• Founder · NoteSynth04-01-2026

  • Building NoteSynth, a live observation tool for usability testing that structures researcher notes in real time using AI • Developing Goodnight Mind, a consumer app for offloading racing thoughts at night on Android • Using AI-native development workflows across the full stack, from discovery and research synthesis to shipping product

• Founder & Ecommerce Operator · Independent Ecommerce Brands09-01-2019

  ● Built and operated multi-channel ecommerce business (Shopify, Etsy, Amazon), developing deep expertise in marketplace dynamics, paid acquisition, and conversion optimization ● Ran growth experiments using Meta Ads and marketplace paid search and SEO ● Managed full product lifecycle from customer experience to sourcing and fulfilment ● Built and iterated on a second ecommerce brand targeting B2B buyers, focusing on bulk orders, customer acquisition, and brand development.

• Product Experience Manager · New Level Work07-01-2023 – 04-01-2025

  ● Oversaw product designers through discovery and launch of Leora, an AI-powered coaching product for enterprise clients ● Upleveled PM and design through mentorship and discovery process improvements, strengthening product thinking, decision-making, and autonomous execution ● Validated enterprise AI Product opportunity across 10K+ employee organizations informing product direction and expansion strategy. ● Defi ned and implemented enrollment and CRM strategy balancing enterprise stakeholder needs (HR, coaches, managers)

• Product Experience Manager - Contract · HappyCo08-01-2022 – 02-01-2023

  ● Joined Happy Force as UX Strategist to build and validate new property maintenance product from 0 to $1M ARR in fi rst year ● Defi ned product strategy: proposed tiered triage approach (low-cost DIY solutions → escalating support) that became core product diff erentiation ● Led discovery validating resident demand and quantifying massive cost savings and increased resident satisfaction through 24/7 remote maintenance assistance ● Provided sales team with validated customer insights and cost-benefi t evidence that drove early contract wins

• Head of Product Management and User Experience · Bluethumb06-01-2017 – 03-01-2019

  ● Led end-to-end product for Australia's leading online art marketplace—from strategy and discovery through delivery ● Defi ned product vision and managed ruthless prioritization across competing stakeholder needs in a resource-constrained environment ● Applying machine learning and AI to product direction, including recommendation systems, automation, and AI-assisted discovery. ● Rebuilt core buyer and seller experiences (product pages, artist profi les, dashboards) driving measurable improvements in conversion and revenue ● Managed cross-functional teams (engineering, design, data science), leveraging ML to identify sales trends and optimize marketplace performance

• Head of UX and Design · Dwolla2015 – 02-01-2017

  ● Led UX discovery through a complete customer pivot — redefi ning user research, mental models, and product assumptions from the ground up for an entirely new B2B audience. ● Established core product foundations: developer portal, merchant center, and enterprise workfl ows from the ground up ● Managed cross-functional design team (UX, visual design, copywriting, front-end development) ● Built responsive design system and drove continuous discovery and validation practices

• Director of User Experience · Eventbrite04-01-2012 – 12-01-2014

  ● Built and led the UX practice from fi rst hire to a team of 7 (5 designers, 2 researchers) through rapid growth, business transformation and vertical expansion ● Established design principles, product vision frameworks, and empowered product teams working in triad format ● Championed discovery-driven development, introducing validation cycles and ideation practices across cross-functional teams ● Hired, developed, and managed team while setting strategic direction for feature development and research

• Senior Interaction Designer · Eventbrite2011 – 04-01-2012

  ● First UX hire, establishing user research, validation and UX led solution design practices ● Led research and redesign of event creation fl ow, winning 2012 Nielsen Norman Group Best Application Design award ● Established foundational UX artifacts including personas and customer lifecycle frameworks ● Successfully advocated for multi-disciplinary development process and continuous improvement practices

• Senior Mobile Experience Architect · News Digital Media02-01-2009 – 01-01-2011

  News Digital Media (NDM) is Australia’s digital arm of News Limited. http://www.newsdigitalmedia.com.au/ Led UX on the digital publications mobile team, establishing the first iPad app for Australia’s leading tabloid newspapers.

• Information Architect · Australian Broadcasting Corporation03-01-2009 – 12-01-2009

  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is Australia’s public network for television, radio and online news, information and entertainment. http://www.abc.net.au Designed music discovery, voting, and UCG experiences for national radio, and recipe and video experiences for national TV.

Education

• MIT Professional EducationCertification, No Code AI and Machine Learning: Building Data Science Solutions
• University of Technology SydneyMasters of Interactive Multimedia, Interaction Design
• University of South AustraliaBachelor, Communications

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