Robert Waddell

About Robert Waddell

I am a strategic Product leader with an owner’s mindset, forged through 20+ years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive. I specialize in \"threading the needle\" between aggressive growth and operational excellence, a discipline I first mastered while building, scaling, and selling my own business in the competitive automotive aftermarket.Today, I\'m applying AI and Agentic workflows to refine Product and operational frameworks that achieve this at exciting new levels of efficiency and impact.​Impact at SignUpGenius:Applying a founder’s perspective to a high-scale platform, I architected a period of transformative growth characterized by- Scale & Efficiency: Orchestrated a 14x+ increase in revenue while simultaneously driving a ~50% EBITDA margin growth- ​Profitable Growth: Consistently exceeded the Rule of 40 by balancing high-impact product innovation with disciplined scoping, team optimization, and zero-headcount revenue channel optimization- ​Portfolio Diversification: Evolved the platform into a multi-vertical community ecosystem, launching Auctions, Donations, and Tickets within a single year to increase ARPU potential and reduce seasonality.Entrepreneurial & Technical Foundation:As a multi-time Founder/CEO, I\'ve built across a varied landscape of web and mobile applications spanning SaaS, enterprise, and ecommerce. Now I\'m deep-diving into the practical application of AI agents to reimagine and develop platforms from the ground up. This hands-on experience allows me to bridge the gap between deep technical architecture, including AI integration and prompt orchestration, and high-level business strategy.​My Leadership Philosophy:I believe in refining precision from complexity. This requires building high-agency, high-impact organizations where product, people, and processes are in constant alignment to drive intentional business outcomes and ensure long-term platform success. I believe AI is an impact-multiplying factor across each of those fronts.​Core Competencies:AI Product Strategy & Agentic Workflow Design | Multi-Product Strategy | Revenue Optimization (SaaS, AdTech, FinTech)| Rule of 40 Execution | Strategic Product Prioritization | M&A Integration

Experience

1. Chief Product Officer

   Signupgenius

   Jan 2021 — Present · Charlotte, NC, US

   As the Product leader at SignUpGenius, I scaled product, people, and process to 14x+ revenue growth while simultaneously expanding EBITDA margins 50%+(20-point increase) over ~5 years. Partnering closely with the CEO, I navigated multiple investor stages and the M&A of 10+ products to significantly expand our product offering. I achieved this efficient growth while consistently exceeding the Rule of 40, optimizing across advertising, SaaS, and payments channels through a strategic and thoughtful focus on high-impact scoping and the development of a high-agency, Agile product organization capable of managing a complex multi-product portfolio.

Education

• Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina

  Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Entrepreneurial Management, Marketing, Retail Management

  2004 — 2007

• Westminster Catawba Christian School

  High School Diploma

  1989 — 2004

Skills

• Google Analytics
• Microsoft Sql Server
• Angularjs
• Html
• Oracle
• Adobe Sitecatalyst
• Jquery
• Web Applications
• Quickbooks
• Apis
• Wordpress
• Bigcommerce
• Coldfusion
• Phantomjs
• Bootstrap
• Omniture
• Automotive Aftermarket
• Sql Server
• Ajax
• Google Adwords
• Oauth
• E-Commerce Consulting
• Web Development
• SEO
• Api Development
• Windows Server
• E-Commerce
• Qbxml
• Android
• Iis
• Soap
• Shopify
• Aspdotnetstorefront
• Oracle Sql
• Website Development
• Web Analytics
• Ionic Framework
• Json
• Css
• Volusion