Chad Newell
I'm a three-time founder with two exits and 25 years of P&L ownership, now shipping AI-native software myself. I run companies the way I recently built RadiusOS: AI inside the operating model, cost engineered in from the first decision, margin as the scoreboard. I work two ways: full-time inside one company, or as an advisor across a PE portfolio.
Plenty of executives can talk about AI. I built a live, paying AI-native SaaS myself, from idea to paying customers in 28 days, with AI spend engineered down 97% before launch. I treat AI as a P&L line, not a demo. And while RadiusOS was a solo build, the rest of my career wasn't: every marketplace, SaaS, media, and creator platform I've run through growth, acquisition, and exit had a strong team behind it.
What I do inside a company
Find the AI operating leverage
Where AI actually cuts cost, compresses cycle time, and lifts margin, prioritized by EBITDA impact rather than novelty.
Modernize the product and stack
AI-assisted development that rebuilds in weeks what used to take quarters, with cost engineered in from the first call.
Redesign workflows for leverage
Your team executing at higher capacity without proportional headcount, because the operating model changed, not just the tooling.
Track record
The one thing on this page I built alone. A live, paying AI-native CRM for trades and field-service businesses, shipped with an AI coding agent from idea to paying customers in 28 days, with AI cost engineered down 97% before launch and a 43-tool MCP server that runs the whole platform in natural language.
With a cross-functional team of 30, I owned strategy, monetization, and P&L for the professional and B2B portfolio inside a 350M-user platform. We took the company's first B2B revenue stream from zero to an $11M projected run rate in a year, launched an AI creator marketplace, drove 3x trial acquisition, and relaunched an acquired CRM to a 250% lift in customer sentiment.
Ran company-wide operations for a $20M-GMV enterprise video business and led the post-acquisition integration of Snapwire with no disruption to existing revenue. Together we improved gross margin by 10 points through supply-side optimization and pricing, and installed a company-wide OKR framework.
We built a global creator marketplace past 1M creators in 50+ countries, served 50+ enterprise clients including Amazon Ads, Google, and Airbnb, raised a Series A at $4M ARR and scaled to $8M, expanded gross margin from 41% to 70%, and exited to StudioNow in 2022.
My co-founder and I grew a global content licensing business to $32M in revenue on a 10-person team, expanded margins from 40% to 60%, and became North America's largest independent aggregator in our category before exiting via acquisition.
Two ways to work together
As a full-time operator
GM, COO, or P&L owner at a software, marketplace, or media company that wants AI built into how the business runs. I take the number, own it with the team, and apply the same operating model I used to build RadiusOS.
Resume (PDF)As an advisor to PE firms
Select engagements with investors and their portfolio companies: we find the AI margin opportunities together, modernize the product and stack, and I leave your team running faster than before.
How an engagement worksThe operating model, written down
I don't keep the method a secret. The full operating model behind the RadiusOS build is published as a field guide. It is the clearest picture of how I work, and how I'd work with your team.