Ken Seals

Hi, I’m Ken Seals.

I’ve been the first or second hire at three startups: Abound, Draft, and SquareFoot. I led product and design at each.

These days I publish The Ultra Minute. I’m in Austin, a dad of three boys, and a trail runner, and was last seen taking pictures of the sunrise.

An orange sunrise above silhouetted rooftops and trees.
Sunrise from our back patio. We’re up early these days to get our oldest to kindergarten. Photos

Three startups

AboundVP Product & Design, employee #2 · 2017–2023 Walked into seed funding, a hypothesis, and no product.Left behind a wholesale marketplace with 40,000+ retailers, a Series B, and 100+ people. Acquired by Carro. DraftHead of Product & Design, first hire · 2015–2017 Walked into an early version of a consumer investing app, and a founder.Left behind an institutional product that analyzed millions of portfolios. Acquired by TIAA. SquareFootHead of Product & Design, employee #2 · 2013–2015 Walked into an early startup with one idea: finding an office should be as easy as booking a trip.Left behind a complete product for finding and touring office space, and the logo and brand.

Now

The Ultra MinuteA trail and ultrarunning publication I write, design, and build. More than 125 issues so far.Publisher2024–now

On the side

The Ultra Minute CrosswordA crossword built from recent issues. Six days, one recordAn interactive look at Megan Eckert’s six-day run. Inside the TorA race preview you can explore. RosterAn early product that helps sports marketing teams understand athletes. MaybelAn experiment in asynchronous user research. LettuceShared company context for people and their AI agents. ClawBellAn experiment in giving a private agent a small public interface.

kenseals@gmail.comLinkedInThe Ultra Minute