About Me
I'm James. I spent fifteen years helping companies operate: strategy at BCG, then product, finance, and operations at SpareFoot, Numerator, and Placer.ai. I loved cracking hard problems and driving growth in scaling businesses.
In April 2026 I left and started kya labs. Why? Because the world is changing and I wanted to change with it. Rather than react to the AI wave, I wanted to dive into it. Full immersion so I could change how I operate and how I think, all centered on a core belief that AI agents are becoming central participants in the economy.
I've built before but, like many, I'm feeling how different this moment is: the speed is different, the operating model is different, the consumer is different.
Agents are entering the economy on two sides at once. They build: writing code, running research, doing real work inside companies. And they buy: shopping, comparing, transacting. The building side gets most of the attention today. kya labs works the buying side, helping merchants understand how AI agents actually shop.
Where I think this goes
My bet is simple: within a couple of years, running a company and understanding what AI can actually do will stop being two different jobs. Everything on this site is me acting on that bet in public, and writing down what I learn.
The arc
kya labs — Founder
Building the platform for merchants to understand how AI agents actually shop. An e2e harness, 2,000+ controlled agent trips, two production partner integrations. Built with agents, for an agentic future.
Placer.ai — VP New Products Strategy → VP Deal Desk, Pricing & Strategy
New-product strategy, then the deal desk: costs down 20%, 500+ monthly cases moving 30% faster, and a pricing transformation pointed at usage-based, AI-first products.
Numerator — Chief of Staff to the CEO → Sr. Director of Product (DaaS) → VP Strategic Finance & Corp Dev
Chief of Staff through a $1.5B exit, then a new data product line past $5M ARR, then strategic finance and corp dev. Board-level reporting the whole way.
KPMG Advisory — Strategy Manager
Transformation programs for Fortune 500 clients, fresh out of Booth.
HayStack ABI — Co-founder · Chicago Booth — MBA (Honors, Finance)
The first build: led product and a team of six from nothing to a working product and first revenue, while finishing the MBA.
SpareFoot — Strategy Manager
First operating seat: launched a new product line inside a PE-backed marketplace.
BCG — Consultant
Where the craft started: M&A, turnarounds, process redesign.
University of Pennsylvania — BA, International Relations
Magna cum laude.