Context

JABA AI is a NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) marketplace connecting NCAA institutions with athletes and brands. As fractional product lead on the founding team, Guillermo owned product strategy, team structure, and delivery from day one.

Challenge

Building a brand-new marketplace in a rapidly evolving regulatory space with no existing product, no users, and a tight timeline to prove value to institutional partners. The team needed to go from concept to production while navigating NCAA compliance requirements.

Approach

• 1.Defined the product vision and roadmap for the NIL marketplace, aligning institutional needs with athlete and brand incentives.
• 2.Built and led a cross-functional team of 17 — 3 PMs, 12 engineers, and 2 designers — establishing processes for discovery and delivery.
• 3.Designed the core marketplace loop: institution onboarding, athlete profiles, brand matching, and deal flow management.
• 4.Shipped the platform from zero to production, iterating rapidly based on feedback from early institutional partners.

Takeaways

• •Regulated marketplaces require deep domain understanding before building — compliance shapes the product, not just the legal layer.
• •Founding-stage product leadership is about making decisions with incomplete information and iterating fast.
• •A strong team structure is the product leader's most important deliverable in a 0→1 environment.