Kevin Thakkar

Principal Product Manager | AdTech & AI | Builder

Product leader with 13 years building AI-driven advertising platforms and 0→1 products. Now exploring technology, investing, and building new things.

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Kevin Thakkar
$0M+
Annual Revenue Generated
$0M+
Revenue Scaled
$200M → $600M
0
Years Product Leadership
0
Successful Exits
0
PMs Managed

About

I'm a product leader specializing in AI-driven advertising and marketing technology. Over the past 13 years, I've built products at scale for companies like Cash App, Adobe/TubeMogul, and Liftoff/Vungle.

I've launched 0→1 products generating $60M+ in annual revenue, scaled ad platforms from $200M to $600M, and held leadership roles across the adtech ecosystem—from DSPs and SSPs to retail media networks.

These days, I'm thinking deeply about technology, investing, and what comes next. This site is a space to share my experiences and explore new ideas through building.

Experience

Product Management Consultant

2023 - Present
KT
Self-Employed
  • Acquired first 10 customers for recruiting tech startup through payment strategy design
  • Increased conversion rate by 23% through Martech SaaS website optimization

Product Lead

2022
Cash App (Block Inc.)
  • Led team supporting $8.2B in annual revenue across Afterpay and Cash App
  • Drove 1.65M daily active user lift and $45M gross profit via BNPL retail media network
  • Established Agile methodology delivering critical strategic projects on schedule

Director of Product

2018 - 2021
Liftoff (formerly Vungle)
  • Led 8 PMs supporting $750M mobile gaming ad revenue (acquired by Blackstone)
  • Scaled ad revenue from $200M to $600M through ML-powered automation tools
  • Launched campaign management API growing to 12% of revenue, reducing management time 75%

Director of Product

2016 - 2018
Chocolate Platform Inc.
  • Led product strategy for $25M+ programmatic mobile video SSP (acquired by Silverpush)
  • Grew revenue 40% through DSP partnerships and Private Marketplace implementations
  • Reduced cloud infrastructure costs by 58%

Senior Product Manager

2013 - 2016
Adobe (formerly TubeMogul)
  • Built first ML-powered audience targeting product (acquired by Adobe for $540M)
  • Grew product lines from $0 to $1B through IPO and acquisition
  • Patent holder for real-time bidding optimization technology

Education & Credentials

  • MBA - Entrepreneurship, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
  • B.S. - Mathematics/Economics (Computing), UCLA
  • AI in Product Management - Duke University

Writing & Musings

Thoughts on technology, investing, and parenting.

Ad Tech vs Non Ad Tech Product Management

Technology

Exploring the key differences between managing products in ad tech versus other industries.

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Unleashing Potential: Continuous Learning - Part I

Leadership

How continuous learning drives product team success and individual growth.

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Unleashing Potential: Continuous Learning - Part II

Leadership

Continuing the exploration of building high-performing teams through learning culture.

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Projects

Building in public. Exploring ideas through code.

Project One

Coming Soon

An exploration of AI-powered tools for [specific use case]. Built with [tech stack].

AI/ML Python API

Project Two

In Progress

Experimenting with [concept] to solve [problem]. Focus on [key aspect].

Web JavaScript Data

Project Three

Planning

Exploring [technology/concept] and its applications in [domain].

Research Analytics

Let's Connect

Interested in product strategy, adtech, or just want to chat about technology and investing?

Email me LinkedIn