aran
aran
aran
aran
aran
aran
aransari

I am a
working on projects that expand access and have real impact on real lives.

Figma
Notion
GitHub
Excel
Slack
Canva
Linear
Hubspot
ChatGPT
CustomerIO
Django
Javascript
Drive
MORTY
MORTY Mortgage Broker Platform
Operations Manager
2024 – 2025
  • Streamlined mortgage onboarding workflows, slashing steps by 80% and cutting time-to-onboard by over 30%
  • Built and owned automated compliance reporting across 1,500+ loan files with zero audit flags
  • Launched Morty’s outbound sales engine from scratch using HubSpot workflows and custom lead gen systems
  • Revamped internal dashboards and resource models to drive data-backed staffing decisions across teams
MAINVEST
MAINVEST Small Business Investment Marketplace
Product Manager
2021 – 2024
  • Rebuilt 90%+ of user-facing screens, scaling platform from 2K to 75K users
  • Tripled repeat user revenue via investor wallets and reinvestment tools
  • Helped scale AUM from $800K to $26M by launching high-impact product features
  • Audited and corrected 200K+ financial transactions across $3M in payment volume
  • Designed a new onboarding flow with 54% conversion — up 20% from prior
Growth Strategy Associate
2019 – 2021
  • Drove market expansion across 10+ metros, doubling active business pipeline
  • Ran hundreds of outreach experiments to crack local traction strategies
  • Built GTM strategy and investor pitch materials alongside exec team
  • Owned core growth metrics, combining SQL insights with user interviews
SKILLS
SKILLS

Product & Operations

  • Product management (feature spec, roadmap planning)
  • Marketplace strategy & seeding
  • Workflow automation
  • Process optimization
  • Cross-functional collaboration (eng w/ sales, ops, design)
  • Onboarding flow design (users and internal teams)

Data & Analysis

  • Data cleaning & transformation (SQL, Sheets, Excel)
  • Metrics tracking & KPI dashboards
  • Time-to-event analysis & SLA tracking
  • Funnel & conversion rate analysis
  • Customer segmentation

Strategy & Execution

  • Go-to-market planning
  • Growth strategy & experimentation
  • Cold outreach and sales enablement
  • B2B2C ecosystem thinking
  • Resource prioritization

Communication & Leadership

  • Technical writing (product specs, workflows)
  • Asynchronous documentation
  • Team management (pods, assignment logic)
  • Stakeholder alignment
  • Mentorship and cross-department collaboration

Startup Core Skills

  • Wearing multiple hats
  • Fast iteration under constraints
  • MVP development mindset
  • Legal/structural research (LLCs, 401k, background checks)
TOOLS
TOOLS

Product & Design

  • Figma
  • Softr
  • Typeform

Data & Reporting

  • SQL (Mode, Postgres, BigQuery)
  • Google Sheets (advanced formulas, dashboards)
  • Tableau
  • Excel (PivotTables, formulas)

Automation & Integration

  • Zapier (loops, filters, code steps)
  • Webhooks
  • REST APIs (basic auth, JSON payload structuring)

CRM & Outreach

  • HubSpot
  • Close.com
  • Apollo.io
  • Customer.io
  • Front (shared inbox mgmt)
  • Monday.com

Marketing / Comms

  • Slack (workflow integrations)
  • LinkedIn
  • Notion
  • Google Workspace (Docs, Slides, Gmail templates)

Development / Technical

  • HTML/CSS (basic site edits, portfolio structuring)
  • JavaScript (light edits)
  • GitHub (repo browsing & editing)
  • Stripe (marketplace payouts, product sync)
Figma
Notion
GitHub
Javascript
Slack
Spotify
ChatGPT
Airtable
AWS
Node

Side Projects

These are a collection of my independently built products and concepts.

ANYWHERE +
MIXTAPE +
COZE +
EDGARINSIGHTS +
RECLAIM +
NOOK +
SOUNDMAP +

ANYWHERE

Directory of Best Places to Work Remotely


Launched a curated, interactive directory for digital nomads and remote professionals to discover the best cafes, coworking spaces, and public spots to work from.

  • Ideated a niche directory product informed by user interviews and GTM strategy.
  • Integrated Airtable as a CMS, powering real-time map content.
  • Developed interactive Google Maps functionality for location discovery.
  • Shipped a responsive front-end built with custom JavaScript and CSS.

MIXTAPE

Slack App for Collaborative Spotify Playlists


Shipped a serverless Slack app that prompts teams with weekly themes, collects responses, and auto-generates Spotify playlists — blending creativity, technical complexity, and pure vibes.

  • Built backend using AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and Node.js.
  • Integrated both Slack and Spotify APIs for message handling and playlist creation.
  • Automated weekly prompts and response parsing using custom logic and time triggers.
  • Used ChatGPT to co-create playlist themes and debug edge cases.

COZE

Real Estate Co-Buying Platform


Prototyped a platform that simplifies group home buying through shared ownership. Designed to make fractional real estate ownership more accessible and frictionless.

  • Built a fully responsive landing page MVP to test core value proposition.
  • Designed user flow and UX wireframes in Figma.
  • Positioned the platform within PropTech and home affordability trends.

EDGAR INSIGHTS

SEC Filing Data Subscription Platform


Launched a searchable data platform for SEC Regulation CF, A, and D filings — unlocking hard-to-access regulatory data and transforming it into structured, monetizable products.

  • Scraped and normalized complex filings from EDGAR.gov.
  • Built a self-serve site with subscription products and paywalled data.
  • Generated recurring revenue from investor lead lists and quarterly reports.
  • Positioned the platform as a go-to source for private market intelligence.

RECLAIM

Reclaimed Wood and Material Marketplace


Designed and launched the MVP for a two-sided marketplace connecting builders, DIYers, and architects to affordable reclaimed materials — helping divert waste from landfills.

  • Researched user needs across both supply and demand sides.
  • Built the marketplace architecture using low-code tools (Softr + Airtable).
  • Integrated Stripe for payments and quantity-based product listings.
  • Created seller outreach workflows and initial supply pipeline.

NOOK

Pop-up Booking & Payment Platform


Prototyped a streamlined tool for landlords to rent out unused storefront space to small business pop-ups — simplifying short-term commercial leasing and space monetization.

  • Designed and launched an MVP booking flow for storefront rentals.
  • Enabled payments and availability logic with no-code tools.
  • Validated demand by working with early retail landlords and pop-up vendors.

SOUNDMAP

Spotify Artist Visualization App


Built a beautiful, interactive music discovery tool that visualizes your favorite artists and connects them via shared genres and fans — like a social graph, but for sound.

  • Used Spotify API to fetch and organize user listening data.
  • Built a custom graph visualization with interactive UI.
  • Designed the entire UX with user delight as a core principle.
  • Launched as a solo developer project — functional and visually unique.

About Me

Hey, I’m Aran Ansari — currently and calling Somerville, MA home (for now). I was born and raised in Belmont, MA, the youngest of three, with a family that taught me how to think both creatively and critically.

My dad, an Iranian-born psychiatrist, is a master of reason and logic. My mom, a Venezuelan-born translator and artist, sees the world through color and intuition. Growing up in a home shaped by two distinct cultures and perspectives, I learned how to balance both sides of the brain — analytical and imaginative — and I bring that same mindset to everything I do.

Outside of work, you’ll find me throwing a frisbee, cooking with friends, digging into a new playlist, or dreaming up my next side project. Most recently, I’ve been planning to build a tiny home in the woods of Vermont 🌲 — a long-time dream and a new kind of project to design from the ground up.

My Career

I studied Finance at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, minoring in Economics and Information Technology. There, I started to chart my own path — opting out of the Big 4 pipeline and diving into the startup world instead.

My first break was at Gigzolo (acquired by Glia), a scrappy NYC startup where I worked on onboarding talent for their event booking marketplace. From there, I joined YearUp, helping the grants team research foundations for funding — and getting my first taste of mission-driven work.

After graduation, I was set on joining a small, fast-moving company. I started building a product idea to help people support local businesses — sort of like GoFundMe for Main Street — and during research, I stumbled upon Mainvest, which turned that concept into investable revenue-share offerings for SMBs. Their team had deep UMass ties, so I reached out. A week later, I was in.

Over the next five years, I helped build Mainvest from the ground up — from a couple hundred users to tens of thousands. I touched nearly every part of the business: operations, finance, growth strategy, and eventually product management. Leading product initiatives, I worked cross-functionally to run experiments, build features, and scale the platform in tandem with our users’ needs.

In 2024, I briefly stepped away to care for a family member and took time to reflect on what I wanted to build next. During this time, I joined Morty — a Series B mortgage tech startup — as an Operations Manager. There, I focused on improving onboarding efficiency, strengthening compliance reporting, and uncovering insights through data analysis. It gave me a broader view of operations at scale and sharpened my ability to navigate highly regulated environments.

I’ve continued launching new MVPs (like Mixtape and anywhere), exploring ideas around local commerce and reclaimed materials, and searching for smart, kind people to work with on meaningful problems.

I’m currently looking for a role where I can contribute as a high-output generalist — ideally at a company that values product velocity, creativity, and impact without burning people out. Whether it's a fast-growing startup, a VC-backed venture, or my own future company, I’ll keep building. If you’re working on something exciting, I’d love to hear from you 💙.