Travis Knepper

At Legacy South, I designed and launched a conversational AI tool to improve visibility into construction project timelines. The system proactively calls project managers when scheduled delivery items are at risk of delay, gathers real-time status updates, and writes them directly into Smartsheet to update the master schedule. Built using Smartsheet, Google Cloud Services, n8n, and Retell.AI, the solution integrates automation with human-in-the-loop verification, ensuring data accuracy while reducing manual follow-up. I managed a data scientist on this engagement, guiding model logic, integration workflows, and API connections to create a scalable, low-latency system. The implementation has improved operational awareness, reduced scheduling blind spots, and provided a repeatable framework for applying AI to other construction management workflows.

• 100% — On-time Delivery Against Aggressive Project Timeline
• 0 — Critical Launch Issues at Go-live Due to Risk Management

• 5 — Workstreams Aligned

  Marketing, UX, Analytics, Engineering, Partner Teams

• 3X — Increase in CVR

  Funnel Optimization Impact Across Pirelli + SimpleTire

The project carried a tight delivery timeline and required careful coordination across international teams. Pirelli’s digital presence originated in Italy, while the development team was based in India, all targeting customers in the U.S. market. This introduced complexity in aligning requirements, market context, and execution. In addition, the development team was not initially structured for Agile delivery, creating risk to speed and adaptability. To ensure the contracted scope was delivered on time and positioned for ROI, a new approach to collaboration and process was required.

After launch, the challenge shifted to performance optimization. While the platform was live, funnel metrics such as conversion and basket completion were below expectations. Achieving ROI required continuous iteration and optimization to bring the digital experience in line with U.S. market standards and customer expectations.

Phase 1: Delivery & program management
To meet the aggressive timeline, I established program governance and introduced Agile/Scrum practices to the development team, creating clear sprints, backlogs, and ceremonies to drive focus and accountability. He aligned stakeholders across Pirelli (Italy), SimpleTire (U.S.), and the offshore development team (India), ensuring U.S. market requirements were fully captured and prioritized. Regular reporting, risk tracking, and milestone reviews kept the program on schedule and within scope, while fostering collaboration across international teams.

Phase 2: Funnel optimization
Following the successful launch, I shifted focus to ROI by analyzing funnel performance and customer behavior. I partnered with marketing, UX, analytics, and engineering teams to identify friction points in the purchase journey and implement iterative improvements. Through A/B testing, design enhancements, and performance monitoring, the team delivered a 3X increase in conversion rate (CVR) and a 9X improvement in basket completion rate (BCR).

Phase 1: On-time delivery
The project launched on schedule and within scope, meeting contractual commitments and establishing a repeatable governance model for managing complex, multi-stakeholder programs. By introducing Agile and aligning global teams, I ensured smooth collaboration between Pirelli, SimpleTire, and offshore development resources while preserving U.S. market context.

Phase 2: Performance & ROI
Post-launch funnel optimization delivered measurable business results, including a 3X increase in conversion rate (CVR) and a 9X improvement in basket completion rate (BCR). These enhancements unlocked $1.3 million in new ARR and demonstrated the long-term value of continuous iteration after delivery.

Strategic outcome
The initiative strengthened Pirelli’s digital presence in the U.S. market, expanded SimpleTire’s role as a trusted eCommerce partner for global manufacturers, and created a playbook for future direct-to-consumer (DTC) partnerships.

At 7-Eleven, I conceptualized and led the vision and strategy for an AI-powered agent designed to optimize customer support operations. The initiative consolidated support processes across three customer support teams and two CRMs (Zendesk and ServiceNow), streamlining workflows and improving operational efficiency.

To evaluate vendor and technology capabilities, I conducted vendor selection and POC demonstrations, leveraging rapid prototyping to assess alignment with organizational goals and technical feasibility. The solution was designed to automate real-time resolution of late and missing orders while enhancing multilingual support capabilities, achieving a projected ROI of 361%.

This project highlights my ability to design transformative customer support solutions, lead cross-functional teams, and integrate advanced AI technologies to align with strategic business objectives.

I led the end-to-end development and launch of the RISC Incident Management Tool, a SaaS product designed to streamline safety reporting for transit agencies and empower the public to report incidents directly. As Director of New Product Initiatives at Trapeze Group, I conducted in-depth user research across agencies, safety officers, and front-line staff to uncover key pain points and compliance needs. I facilitated design workshops to define feature sets, prioritized MVP scope based on user value and implementation complexity, and partnered with cross-functional teams to prototype, test, and refine the platform. The final product included role-based access, manual content moderation, and a public submission portal—addressing both internal workflows and external trust. I also led the go-to-market strategy and secured Denver RTD as the first customer, establishing a referenceable account and demonstrating early ROI. The launch positioned Trapeze as a leader in transit safety innovation.

Led the creation of a scalable innovation program that fostered ideation and market validation for the first-mile/last-mile transportation industry. I conducted user research, competitor analysis, and beta testing to ensure product-market fit. Also, I managed cross-functional teams to develop go-to-market strategies and deliver new SaaS solutions. Further, I partnered with the Senior Leadership team to align innovation initiatives with organizational goals. Additionally, I oversaw the successful launch of products that generated measurable ROI, positioning the company as a leader in safety and incident management.

As the founder and CEO of RideHop, a SaaS passenger transportation/fleet tracking startup, I utilized Lean/Agile methodologies to lead the company from ideation to product launch and iterative growth. We developed and launched multiple mobile apps, hardware integrations, and web applications, leading cross-functional teams of developers, designers, and QA throughout the product lifecycle. We achieved profitability in 24 months.

At 7-Eleven, I led the development of a rules-based engine to resolve late and missing orders, improving fulfillment accuracy and customer satisfaction. I partnered with the data team to analyze customer behavior and order fulfillment patterns using SQL, Mixpanel, and Power BI. Based on this analysis, I designed a set of predefined business rules that automated the resolution of common order issues without requiring manual intervention. I worked with engineering and customer support teams to integrate the rules engine into existing workflows, ensuring seamless order resolution. This project reduced customer complaints, lowered cost per ticket, and improved order accuracy by streamlining the fulfillment process. My ability to translate business challenges into technical solutions resulted in significant operational improvements and enhanced customer experience.

At Quicken Loans, I led a major redesign of the mortgage fulfillment process focused on post-sale logistics. Once mortgages were printed, I identified inefficiencies in the pick, pack, and ship process, which was slowing down order fulfillment and increasing errors. I conducted discovery sessions with fulfillment teams and mapped out the entire post-sale workflow. After identifying bottlenecks, I introduced process automation and restructured the packaging workflow to increase accuracy and reduce processing time. I worked closely with UPS to implement an optimized shipping strategy that improved delivery times and reduced costs. These changes led to a 76% increase in productivity, faster loan completion, and improved customer satisfaction. The project demonstrated my ability to optimize fulfillment processes and align operational teams for improved efficiency.

I led a project that significantly reduced chargebacks and refunds by creating real-time transaction screening rules and partnering with Stripe for fraud detection analytics. I then aggregated data from logistics partners and payment processors to create automated API integrations with a chargeback dispute service. This culminated in a streamlined chargeback process and an automated customer appeasement protocol, combining mobile app workflows, back-end verification, and refund processing.

Led a personal safety-related IoT initiative involving IoT-connected safety vests for rail workers. This wearable technology alerted workers of oncoming trains and tracked the wearer’s position in GPS-denied areas. The project required the integration of IoT sensors into the safety vests and the development of a mobile app that fed data into and out of the physical products. This experience demonstrates my expertise in designing wearables and IoT apps and my ability to collaborate effectively with hardware engineers.

Bandalytics is an AI-powered platform that analyzes band set lists and generates tailored venue recommendations, artist descriptions, and marketing content.

I led the project end-to-end, designing and deploying the MVP using no-code tools (Bolt.new and Supabase) combined with OpenAI’s GPT API for real-time musical analysis. I architected the back-end relational schema, built user authentication flows, created edge functions for AI integration, and refined prompt engineering to ensure actionable outputs. UI/UX improvements focused on a clean, card-based display of results, scalability for future user growth, and seamless onboarding. Throughout development, I troubleshot serverless deployment challenges, structured JSON outputs for database insertion, and validated functionality against real-world user scenarios.

Bandalytics demonstrates my ability to take a complex product from concept to working platform while balancing technical architecture, product strategy, and user experience.

Partnered with the data science team to develop and implement AI-generated product review summaries aimed at improving the decision-making process for online shoppers. Initially deployed on the flagship site, this innovative solution synthesized reviews from multiple online sources into concise, actionable summaries, directly addressing customer needs during the consideration phase.

Led the discovery, validation, and strategic planning phases of an ongoing project aimed at integrating HeyGen’s AI Avatar platform with Unreal Media Server and RTMP-based video distribution technologies. I conducted extensive market research to define user needs and validate the business model. I also designed a phased roadmap prioritizing an MVP to test market demand and gather early user feedback, de-risking future automation investments in phase 2. Additionally, I delivered a comprehensive go-to-market strategy emphasizing scalability and iterative development. The solution is poised to address privacy and engagement challenges, enabling innovative use of AI in live streaming for the education and coaching industries.

The RideHop platform displayed context-relevant advertisements to transportation users. These ads were targeted by rider type, time of day, geofence, and transit route. Examples include promoting a discount on coffee to morning commuters or promoting the destinations like the Florida Keys to skiers in Colorado.

I served as product manager and project manager for a 0-to-1 initiative to develop a training management system for transit workers, including bus drivers and fleet mechanics. Starting with discovery, I conducted user workshops and stakeholder interviews to define requirements and collaborated with cross-functional teams to create and refine prototypes.

I managed the product roadmap and backlog, translating business needs into actionable technical specifications while prioritizing development efforts. The system streamlined scheduling, tracked certifications and renewals, recommended learning paths, and automated resource reservations such as buses and classrooms.

I also oversaw integrations with learning management systems (LMS) and Microsoft Calendar, enabling seamless content management and coordination for trainers. Additionally, I facilitated business acceptance testing (BAT) to ensure the product met user expectations and aligned with organizational goals.

My leadership and hands-on involvement delivered a scalable, efficient solution that improved training workflows and operational readiness, providing significant value to the client and its users.