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HeySynth — Designing autonomous AI supply chain agents: from 0 to 18 paying CPG brands in under 14 months, reaching ~$100K ARR

HeySynth is an AI-native operating system for CPG brands. It acts as an autonomous supply-chain brain that replaces legacy ERPs and actively runs core business operations. Founded in 2024 by Lloyd (2× founder; ex-CEO at MVX; Stanford Graduate School of Business) and Lindsay Cardoso (Vice President of Growth at Einride; University of South Florida). HeySynth is backed by Techstars (W24).

Websiteheysynth.com
Timeframe2023 - Present
My roleFounding Designer
IndustrySaaS, B2B, AI
Funding$700k+
PlatformsWeb
Problem

Retail and CPG brands struggle with fragmented data across tools like QuickBooks, Shopify, Amazon, emails, and spreadsheets, leading to poor inventory visibility and weak demand forecasting. This disconnect drives costly stockouts and overstocking, with global lost sales from inventory distortion estimated in the trillions annually.

Retail and CPG brands struggle with fragmented data across tools like QuickBooks, Shopify, Amazon, emails, and spreadsheets, leading to poor inventory visibility and weak demand forecasting. This disconnect drives costly stockouts and overstocking, with global lost sales from inventory distortion estimated in the trillions annually.

Solution

HeySynth is a fully autonomous, AI-native operating system that serves as the command center for supply chain operations at fast-growing consumer brands—helping teams plan, execute, and scale with smarter decisions and fewer manual workflows.

It unifies demand forecasting, inventory planning, and execution into a single intelligent platform, turning fragmented data into coordinated action. By proactively preventing stock-outs and overstocking, HeySynth helps teams reduce waste, protect cash flow, improve margins, and scale without adding operational overhead. AI Agents work alongside cross-functional teams to automate routine tasks, surface risks early, and keep the business aligned as it grows.

Impact

How I shaped the product: Design decisions that led to real outcomes

I joined HeySynth as a founding product designer, over the last 2 years, I’ve played a foundational role in shaping HeySynth from an early concept into a commercially validated AI operations platform used by mid-market and enterprise consumer brands. I led the design and evolution of nearly every core product surface while also building entirely new systems from the ground up.

Product & platform impact

Designed and shipped core product areas including Ask Synth AI, Sales, Demand forecast, Inventory management, Purchase orders, Production planning, WorkforceIQ (AI Agents) Tasks manager and more
Designed and launched Ask Synth, an AI-powered operations assistant now responsible for 7,215 AI-driven tasks, up from 147 in Q1, 2026 and became a key driver in moving the product upmarket.
Supported the platform’s move upmarket, with customers ranging from $5M to $100M+ in annual revenue
Helped drive growth to ~$100K ARR, with $24K net new revenue in Q4 2025 and a 115% ACV increase (Q2–Q4)
20+ hours per week eliminated per brand through automation and streamlined workflows

Business & revenue impact

Contributed to raising $700K+ in funding, including a $220K seed round from Techstars, influenced by product vision, demos, and design quality
Delivered the company’s first customer revenue: Built inventory and production management workflows entirely in Figma (no engineering), demoed them to customers, and closed $4,160 in contracted revenue from 4 brands, funding the company’s first payroll
Designed an AI workforce that helps retail brands increase profits by 40% by handling their day-to-day ops.
Enabled commercial traction with 21+ live brands, a pipeline of 30+ brands, and partnerships with Batch, Clearco, Fly By Jing, Range Beauty, Black Bee Honey, and other leading consumer brands
Helped brands on the platform manage $72M+ in order value, saving $250K+ operationally through improved forecasting and execution

Design leadership & systems

Led the full website design for the launch, along with sales decks, marketing materials and conference booths
Created and evolved HeySynth’s design system, visual language, and component library, enabling rapid iteration without sacrificing quality
Established design standards and processes that balanced speed, clarity, and scalability
Partnered closely with Product and Engineering to ship thoughtful, high-impact features grounded in real operator workflows

WorkforceIQ

As operations grow more complex, WorkforceIQ introduces an AI workforce that operates alongside human teams. Users can find, create, and customize AI Agents designed specifically for back-office operations. These agents continuously monitor the system, execute tasks, and surface insights—reducing manual work and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Demand forecasting

Every planning cycle begins with a baseline forecast. HeySynth generates an AI-powered demand forecast using historical sales, seasonality, promotions, and recent performance across channels. This forecast isn’t static—it adapts as new data comes in, giving teams a living view of expected demand rather than a snapshot frozen in time. The goal at this stage is clarity: What do we expect to sell, and where are the risks?

Ask Synth AI

Forecast is our core feature and the most used tool on our platform. So I designed an AI-powered predictions that adapt to market dynamics in real-time from your sales history and, coupled with insights from your team, forecasts demand in real time. With full visibility of your inventory across all locations, while suggesting corrective actions to prevent stockouts, so you can maximize your revenue, and accelerate your growth.

Version history

Forecast is our core feature and the most used tool on our platform. So I designed an AI-powered predictions that adapt to market dynamics in real-time from your sales history and, coupled with insights from your team, forecasts demand in real time. With full visibility of your inventory across all locations, while suggesting corrective actions to prevent stockouts, so you can maximize your revenue, and accelerate your growth.

Share forecast

Forecast is our core feature and the most used tool on our platform. So I designed an AI-powered predictions that adapt to market dynamics in real-time from your sales history and, coupled with insights from your team, forecasts demand in real time. With full visibility of your inventory across all locations, while suggesting corrective actions to prevent stockouts, so you can maximize your revenue, and accelerate your growth.

Importing forecast

Forecast is our core feature and the most used tool on our platform. So I designed an AI-powered predictions that adapt to market dynamics in real-time from your sales history and, coupled with insights from your team, forecasts demand in real time. With full visibility of your inventory across all locations, while suggesting corrective actions to prevent stockouts, so you can maximize your revenue, and accelerate your growth.