The Product Challenge
Accessory dwelling units are typically treated as one-off construction projects, making them expensive, slow, and inconsistent. At Abodu, we productized housing—treating each unit as a manufactured SKU with repeatable design, manufacturing, and delivery processes. As Head of Product, I managed the complete product lifecycle: what we built, how we built it, and how we brought it to market.
Portfolio & Design
I designed and launched two flagship products from the ground up: the Abodu Two+ (800 sq ft, 2 bed/2 bath) and the Dwell House (540 sq ft luxury unit in partnership with Dwell Magazine and Norm Architects). This required rigorous user research—surveys, testing, and geometric analysis of thousands of parcels to understand yard constraints and customer needs. The goal was clear: create premium, architect-quality homes that could be manufactured at scale.
Scaling Through Permitting
The biggest barrier to ADU adoption isn't demand—it's regulatory complexity. I developed a permitting and product strategy that allowed us to deliver standardized units across 90 cities in two states with minimal factory-level variance. This required mapping jurisdiction-specific code requirements and designing flexible product configurations that could pass inspection anywhere.
Supply Chain & Manufacturing
I managed a cross-border supply chain spanning 5 factories across 3 countries (U.S., Canada, Mexico). When COVID disrupted global logistics, I led the strategy to diversify suppliers and redesign components for domestic sourcing. Through process optimization and strategic vendor partnerships, we reduced unit costs by over 30% and cut construction time by 100%—doubling our throughput without sacrificing quality.
GTM & Market Expansion
Beyond product design, I owned go-to-market strategy: pricing, positioning, and launch execution. The Dwell House partnership was a deliberate brand play—leveraging Dwell's design authority to position Abodu as the premium player in a commoditized market. This helped us secure Series A funding and expand from the Bay Area to Southern California and Seattle.
Product as System
Managing a physical product portfolio required thinking like a systems engineer. Every design decision rippled through manufacturing, delivery, and installation. The Abodu Two+ wasn't just a floor plan—it was a logistics challenge, a factory workflow, and a margin calculation. Success meant balancing design fidelity with constructability, customer demand with supply chain reality, and premium aesthetics with unit economics.