Elijah J. Adé

Product architecture, under real conditions.

Three companies, three different starting points: a stalled MVP, an agency relationship that had run its course, a platform outgrowing its own architecture. In each, the work was the same: turn complexity into a system the team could build on.

Principal PM, Learning Platform · Apr 2025 – Present

Magpie Literacy

A gamified literacy platform for Black and brown youth, moving from a content-centric application into an AI-ready, adaptive learning platform, while preparing for acquisition by Great Minds.

Before
  • Core team of 5, unclear where to invest for the next version of the platform
  • No shared model of what personalization or an AI roadmap would require
  • Content-centric application with no learner data model underneath it
→
After
  • Platform supporting 50,000+ learners, team scaled to 40 full-time employees
  • First learner model and knowledge graph architecture in place: the foundation for adaptive learning and generative AI capability
  • Roadmap governance and cross-functional operating process spanning Product, Engineering, Learning Science, and Content

"Elijah helped us become an equity-focused product company. He expertly built relationships, internalized our vision, and helped us find a concrete path to real product development. He did this with care, expertise, and a commitment to quality. By bringing clarity to messy days, he helped lay a foundation not only for our actual tool, but how we build it in a way that truly embraced our values."

Rebecca Kockler, Founder & CEO, Magpie Literacy

Fractional Head of Product · Reconstruction

Reconstruction

Partnering with co-founders Kaya Henderson and Roland Fryer to build one of the first culturally responsive digital learning platforms serving K–12 students nationwide.

Before
  • MVP live with early users, built and maintained entirely through an outsourced software agency
  • No in-house technical talent to own or evolve the product
  • Platform architecture too rigid for where the vision needed to go
→
After
  • Transitioned from outsourced development to an in-house product, design, and engineering organization, recruiting key leadership
  • Directed a $1M investment to deliver the next-generation platform: strategy, roadmap, and delivery process built from scratch
  • Platform serving districts, schools, and families nationwide, generating eight-figure annual revenue

AI Product Consultant & Venture Architect · Jul 2023 – Apr 2024

KnowMeQ

Workforce upskilling and reskilling for the age of AI, taking an AI-powered skills assessment and credentialing platform from 0→1.

Before
  • Single-client revenue risk, burning through cash on an unclear product vision
  • Design and engineering stalled with no shared direction
→
After
  • Product architecture defined for AI-enabled skills assessment and credentialing, mapping individuals' skills to university credentials and workforce opportunities, with partnerships in Canada and New Zealand
  • Two products in-market and scaling, dozens of clients on the AI PLAR tool
  • Serious talks underway for company acquisition

"Elijah played a central role in refining the business focus and voice for our venture. His work validated our business and prioritized key activities that put us in a tremendous position for re-branding, new website, customer interviews, and new product launch. His work was core for successful fundraising."

Matt Foran, Founder & CEO, KnowMeQ

Work together

Let's collab

I take on a small number of new clients each year. If what you're building fits, I'd love to hear about it.

Let's collab