Hi, I'm Travis McElfresh.
I've spent 25 years building products — from Microsoft's enterprise platforms to Nordstrom's digital experiences to Mindbloom's mental health revolution (raised $160M+, acquired).
I've seen the pattern: technology that replaces people destroys culture. But technology that empowers people transforms organizations.
That's why I spent the last year building The Collective — not to replace developers, but to prove teams can work alongside AI agents instead of being replaced by them.
The result: 4 production apps in 6 months. 2.1x velocity gains. Zero jobs lost.
Now I'm helping select companies make the same transition — from manual execution to strategic orchestration. From "doing the work" to "producing the outcomes."
"I believe the future isn't AI vs. Humans. It's Humans + AI working together in ways we're only beginning to understand. My job is to show organizations how to make that transition with dignity, purpose, and massive results."
Career Highlights
Learned to build products at scale. Enterprise platform development, cross-functional team leadership, shipping to millions of users.
Led digital transformation initiatives. Built e-commerce and customer experience platforms. Learned to balance innovation with operational excellence.
Mental health platform transforming lives. Led product from early stage through scale. Raised significant capital, achieved acquisition. Impact that mattered.
AI development platform proving human-AI collaboration works. 9 specialized agents, governed autonomy, Advanced memory architecture. Built 4 production apps in 6 months including ProductLove.ai, Ignite Leadership, and Campwatch.
Leadership Philosophy
Outcomes Over Output
Don't measure lines of code or features shipped. Measure problems solved and value created. Teams should be judged by impact, not activity.
People Before Process
The best frameworks fail without the right people. Invest in growth, trust your team's judgment, and create environments where people do their best work.
Experimentation Culture
Build, measure, learn — but do it with discipline. Validate assumptions early, fail fast when needed, and scale what works. Data informs, judgment decides.
Governed Autonomy
Whether leading humans or AI agents: give decision-making authority within clear boundaries. Autonomy with accountability. Freedom with responsibility.
Product Management Approach
After 25 years, I've distilled product leadership into 4 core principles:
Start with Why (Not What)
Most product failures happen because teams solve the wrong problem. Spend 80% of your time validating the problem, 20% building the solution. ProductLove.ai was built on this principle.
Build for 10x, Not 10%
Incremental improvements rarely justify the effort. Chase transformative change. That's why The Collective targets 2-10x velocity gains, not 20% efficiency improvements.
Ship to Learn, Not to Finish
Products are never "done" — they evolve based on user feedback. Ship early, gather data, iterate fast. This is how I built 4 apps in 6 months with The Collective.
Systems Thinking Over Features
Great products aren't feature lists — they're coherent systems. Think architecture, not inventory. This is why The Collective has Advanced memory, not just "9 agents."
What I'm Passionate About
🌟 AI for Good
I don't build AI to replace people. I build AI to amplify what makes us human: creativity, judgment, empathy, strategic thinking. The Collective is designed with governed autonomy — AI agents make decisions, but humans stay in control. This isn't just ethics; it's better engineering.
📚 Continuous Learning
The best product leaders are perpetual students. I read voraciously (product, psychology, systems thinking), experiment constantly (hence 4 apps in 6 months), and stay humble about what I don't know. The moment you think you've "figured it out" is the moment you become irrelevant.
🚀 Building in Public
Transparency builds trust. That's why I'm open about The Collective's architecture, our challenges, and what we're learning. I'd rather have 5 design partners who understand our journey than 500 clients who think we have all the answers.
Beyond Work
Camping Enthusiast
Built Campwatch for my wife who loves finding those last-minute campsite openings
Family First
Everything I build is ultimately about creating a better future for the next generation
Mental Health Advocate
My time at Mindbloom showed me how technology can transform lives when built with purpose
Want to Work Together?
I'm accepting 5 design partners for 2025. If you're looking to transform your team with AI (not replace them), let's talk.
