PrivacyPal
In Progress/Design & Strategy Advisor
The right product with the wrong story
PrivacyPal had built the technical answer to one of AI’s most urgent problems — employees leaking sensitive data into LLMs every single day. But having the right product wasn’t enough. The AI privacy market was crowded with governance and audit tools that work after the fact. PrivacyPal prevented the leak in real time, before data ever reached the model. The challenge wasn’t the technology — it was that nobody was framing AI privacy as a prevention problem yet.
Context
Every day, employees paste customer names, financial data, health records, and proprietary code into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools. That data becomes part of the model. The regulatory landscape — HIPAA, COPPA, GDPR, CCPA — makes this a compliance crisis, but the regulations weren’t written for the way people actually use AI. Most enterprise solutions audit exposure after the fact. Nobody had a clean answer for preventing it at the point of input.
The employees doing this aren’t careless — they’re under pressure. Companies push AI adoption without training people on what they can and can’t share. Workers are trying to keep up with the speed expectations their organizations set. PrivacyPal’s core technology — “Privacy Twins” that swap real data with synthetic equivalents in real time — solved the technical problem elegantly. But this was a small, engineering-led team. The product worked. The story around it didn’t.
Approach
Narrowed the ICP and redefined the GTM strategy. Shifted from broad “everyone needs privacy” positioning to a focused wedge: teams under compliance pressure who are already using AI daily. Built a strategic narrative around PrivacyPal’s unique position — the only tool that prevents data exposure in real time, rather than auditing it afterward. Defined the competitive frame: governance tools tell you what went wrong; PrivacyPal stops it from happening.
Reshaped the product narrative around the promise. Worked with the founder to define the product’s POV and implement a promise-and-product framework. “Use your favorite AI — privately” isn’t about restricting AI use. It’s about removing the barrier that makes people hesitate. Repositioned PrivacyPal from a security tool to an enabler — the thing that makes AI adoption safe enough to accelerate.
Directed product updates to make the protection visible. The Privacy Twins mechanism was invisible by default. Made it visible: when users can see their data being swapped in real time, trust compounds. Updated the admin panel and onboarding experience to reduce time-to-value and showcase the active nature of the product — not a background process, but a visible layer of confidence.
Launched at The LAB Miami with a live product demo. Organized and executed a launch event at The LAB Miami in Wynwood — a startup hub for founders and technical talent. Live demo of the Privacy Twins mechanism to an audience of operators and builders. Positioned PrivacyPal not as a security pitch but as an enabler: the thing that lets teams use AI faster because the risk has been removed at the source.
Tradeoffs
Early-stage honesty
No clean A/B metrics yet. Still collecting user feedback and iterating on the product experience. The engagement is ongoing — outcomes are compounding, not concluded.
Narrowed aggressively
Chose to focus the ICP tightly rather than chase the broader enterprise market. Left larger segments on the table to build momentum with a specific audience first. Right for the stage; means the big numbers come later.
Outcomes
0 → First paying
Users
From no user base to active subscribers post-repositioning
0 → Feedback loop
Research
From no user research practice to structured feedback sessions informing product iteration
Active conversations
Funding
GTM repositioning and product vision driving investor interest
Live demo → Trials
Launch event
PrivacyPal Launch at The LAB Miami (Jan 2026) — converted attendees to trials
“Ian didn’t just redesign our product — he helped us understand what we were actually selling.”
Jason Melo, Founder & CTO, PrivacyPal