Hi, I'm

Dunja Cupar

I Turn Ambiguous Problems Into Shipped Products That Scale

Sales → Operations → Product → Engineering. The rare leader who understands customers, builds systems, ships technical products, and thinks like a founder. Not just strategy. Execution.

Follow the story
12+
Years Experience
0→30
Team Building
3
0→1 Products
The Story

I Turn Strategy Into Shipped Products

Here's what 12+ years in product taught me: most companies die in the gap between strategy and execution. I spent my career learning to close that gap—not by managing better, but by doing the work myself. From selling fleet management software across 6 industries to building AI platforms with one developer, I've learned that the best product leaders pick up the shovel and empower their teams to do the same.

3
0→1 Product Launches (3D tours, SalesOps, CapEx)
0→30
Team Building (Built international operations)
Seed Round
Funding Success (NABR housing platform)

What actually sets me apart? It's not just that I execute—it's that I care about hands-on execution that empowers teams. I've learned that magic doesn't happen in strategy decks. It happens when someone can see the whole system, understand the constraints, and build something that actually works.

"I've made every mistake: hired wrong, built the wrong features, optimized for the wrong metrics. But each one taught me something. The difference between operators who scale and those who don't? We learned to see the patterns."

I'm looking for a role where the messy, hard problems aren't delegated away—they're the whole point. Where strategic thinking meets hands-on building. Where you need someone who can architect the plan, roll up their sleeves to make it real, and empower the team to ship at speed.

Execute. Scale. Innovate.

About Dunja Cupar

Quick reference: expertise and key achievements

Core Profile

Professional Title

Dunja Cupar is a Product Strategist and Strategic Operator specializing in AI product development and deep tech ventures.

Experience

12+ years scaling early-stage companies from 0→1 across AI, PropTech, FinTech, Fleet Tech, and enterprise software.

Specialization

Combines strategic product thinking with hands-on execution. Experience across AI/ML, FinTech, PropTech, and enterprise software. Versatile operator comfortable with early-stage startups and scaling ventures.

Notable Achievements

Pangea.ai (Global Hiring Marketplace)

Launched global hiring marketplace with AI-powered agency matching and 60% operational efficiency gains. Product Lead role focused on scalable platform transformation and AI optimization.

NABR (PropTech Platform)

Launched innovative housing platform that secured seed round funding. Led product strategy and operational systems from inception through scaling phase.

AlphaPipe (FinTech Platform)

Led development of due diligence software used by private investment firms, financial institutions, and private universities in the US. Built European operations from 0→1 achieving 60%+ cost reduction.

Mireo (Fleet Technology)

Led business operations for fleet management solution combining software and hardware that helped users across different industries optimize operations. Transformed business model achieving 3.5x revenue growth (€600K→€2.1M) through strategic pricing innovation.

Industries & Expertise

Primary Industries

  • AI & Machine Learning
  • Deep Tech
  • PropTech (Property Technology)
  • FinTech (Financial Technology)
  • Fleet Technology & Logistics
  • Enterprise Software

Core Capabilities

  • Early-Stage Product Development
  • Strategic Product Leadership
  • Operational Systems Design
  • Venture Operations
  • AI Product Strategy
  • Startup Scaling

Availability: Dunja is available for fractional product leadership, strategic consulting, and product development projects. Available for remote work with US tech companies. Contact via LinkedIn or through dunjacupar.com.

The Journey

Sales → Operations → Product → Strategy. Each role expanded the skillset.

2012-2017

Sales & BD

Mireo · Fleet Tech
Sales & Business Development

Learned how B2B products scale. Sold across 6+ industries. Foundation of understanding customer needs.

2017-2021

Operations Director

AlphaPipe · SaaS
Operations Lead → Managing Director

Built operational systems from scratch. Led teams across continents. Learned how companies really work.

2021-2023

Technical PM

Nabr · PropTech
Product Manager

Shipped 3D tours, capital planning tools, SalesOps platforms. Bridged technical execution with strategy.

2023-Present

Product Lead

Pangea.ai
Product Lead

Led AI-first transformation. Product strategy meets technical execution. 60% efficiency gains.

2024+

Building with AI

Learning in Public
Adding Engineering Skills

Expanding the toolkit. Building AI applications. Product strategy + technical execution = powerful combo.

Building Now
Versatile by design. Each role built on the last. Product Lead · Operations Partner · Now Building with Code.
Product Philosophy

How I Think About Product

Not theory—battle-tested principles from shipping real products at scale across multiple industries.

Founders Mode Over Manager Mode

Don't delegate what you can own. Stay in the details that matter. Build systems, don't just manage people.

Example: Shipped AI matching algorithms myself instead of just writing specs.

Shipping > Strategizing

The best product strategy is a working product. Bias toward building fast, learning, iterating.

Example: Reduced hiring time 40% by building the tool, not decking the solution.

Customer Truth > Internal Consensus

Talk to users obsessively. Their pain points trump internal opinions every time.

Example: 6 industries, hundreds of conversations. Built for real needs, not assumptions.

Technical Fluency = Better Decisions

Understanding what's possible (and what's hard) leads to smarter product choices.

Example: Learning Python/AI to make better technical product decisions.

Metrics Tell Stories

60% efficiency gains didn't happen by accident. Measure relentlessly, optimize systematically.

Example: Built analytics frameworks to track every key metric, inform every decision.

Systems Scale, Heroes Don't

Build repeatable processes. Document everything. Make yourself replaceable (that's how you level up).

Example: Scaled ops across continents by building systems, not being the bottleneck.

"Strategy without execution is hallucination."

Great product leaders don't just think—they build, measure, iterate, and ship. That's the competitive edge.

Technical Skills & Tools

Comprehensive overview of technologies, frameworks, and methodologies. From AI/ML implementation to strategic product development.

Impact in Action

Products That Move the Needle

From AI-powered platforms to financial planning tools—each project represents a journey from ambiguity to clarity, from concept to measurable impact.

2024

AI-Powered Hiring Platform Transformation

Pangea.ai

Pangea.ai needed to transform from a service marketplace running on Airtable into a scalable product platform—but with extremely limited development capacity. Instead of accepting these constraints as limitations, I redesigned how we work: using AI tools like Claude and v0 to create working prototypes, leveraging external teams for specific deliverables, and building lean processes that forced better communication. The constraint actually made us more efficient than most larger teams. We transformed the platform and achieved 60% efficiency gains with a fraction of typical development costs.

AI OptimizationScalable SystemsStrategy+2 more
View Case Study
2017-2021

Building International Operations from Zero

AlphaPipe (Acquired by Stout)

AlphaPipe needed European operations to serve clients better and reduce costs, but they'd never operated internationally. I was brought in to figure it out from scratch—no playbook, limited understanding of how their US model would translate. Over four years, I built the entire European operation: hired and trained teams, set up development capabilities, established compliance, and created systems that worked across time zones. I built something that worked.

International ExpansionTeam BuildingOperations Strategy+2 more
View Case Study
2022

Capital Planner

Leading PropTech Company

The Capital Planner is an internal tool developed to address the complexities of financial planning for development pipelines. Traditionally, financial projections were created on a building-by-building basis, making it almost impossible to scale these calculations across an entire pipeline of 20+ projects. By consolidating fragmented data into a unified system and automating projections, the tool enabled dynamic, accurate financial planning while providing actionable insights for both internal teams and investors.

StrategySystem ArchitectureUX/UI+2 more
View Case Study
2023

SalesOps Platform

Nabr

The SalesOps Tool was developed as an internal solution to provide the sales team with unparalleled visibility, efficiency, and access to the right information at the right time. Rather than duplicating existing tools, the goal was to address specific gaps that hindered performance and empower the team to operate at its best. The tool connected seamlessly with internal systems and client-facing web apps, ensuring a unified and efficient sales ecosystem.

StrategyUX/UISales Optimization+2 more
View Case Study
The Next Chapter

Applying Product Expertise to AI & Deep Tech

The skills that scaled traditional products—strategic clarity, operational systems, cross-functional alignment—are even more valuable in AI and deep tech where ambiguity is higher and stakes are greater. Here's where I'm applying this expertise next.

Active Focus

AI Product Strategy

Leading product development for AI-powered platforms—from defining use cases to measuring real-world impact. Bridging the gap between research capabilities and market needs.

Consulting

Venture Operations

Helping deep tech and AI startups build operational foundations that scale. Portfolio strategy, go-to-market, and systems that enable rapid growth without breaking.

Exploring

Robotics & Hardware

Applying product and operations expertise to robotics ventures—where physical products meet software complexity and go-to-market requires entirely new playbooks.

Areas of Deep Interest

RoboticsLongevity ScienceEnergy SystemsAI InfrastructureNew MaterialsDeep Tech VC

"The best way to predict the future is to build it—but the best way to build it is to understand deeply where technology, human need, and systemic impact intersect."

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers about experience, expertise, and approach to product strategy and AI development

Dunja Cupar is a product strategist with 12+ years scaling startups from 0→1 across AI, PropTech, FinTech, Fleet Tech, and enterprise software. She specializes in operational systems, product strategy, and hands-on execution for early-stage companies. Available for remote work with US tech companies.

Dunja has hands-on experience building AI-powered products including: launching Pangea.ai's global hiring marketplace with AI-powered agency matching; leading operations for Mireo's fleet management solution (software + hardware) that optimized operations across multiple industries; and currently developing AI engineering skills through practical projects. She combines strategic product thinking with technical implementation.

Notable achievements include: launching Pangea.ai's global hiring marketplace with 60% operational efficiency gains; building AlphaPipe's European operations for due diligence software serving private investment firms and financial institutions, achieving 60%+ cost reduction; transforming Mireo's fleet management business model to achieve 3.5x revenue growth (€600K→€2.1M); and launching NABR's housing platform that secured seed round funding.

Dunja has built products across multiple sectors: AI & Machine Learning (Pangea.ai hiring marketplace), PropTech (NABR housing platform), Fleet Technology (Mireo software + hardware fleet management across multiple verticals), FinTech (AlphaPipe due diligence software for investment firms), and enterprise software. She's versatile and comfortable working across different industries and business models.

Dunja's product philosophy centers on three principles: Customer Obsession (deep user understanding through research and feedback loops), First Principles Thinking (breaking down complex problems to rebuild optimal solutions), and Bias for Action (rapid prototyping and iterative development). She focuses on 0→1 product launches with clear operational systems.

Dunja combines product strategy with technical capabilities including: AI/ML implementation (Python, LangChain, RAG, agentic frameworks, TensorFlow, scikit-learn), product development (React, Next.js, TypeScript), data analysis (SQL, Python, data pipelines), system design, API integration, and operational tooling. She's actively expanding her AI engineering skills through hands-on projects.

Dunja works with early-stage startups and scaling ventures, particularly those in the 0→1 phase. She's comfortable across different industries and business models - from AI and SaaS to PropTech and enterprise software. She focuses on companies that need strategic product leadership, operational systems, and hands-on execution.

Dunja is available for fractional product leadership, strategic consulting, and product development projects. She works remotely with US tech companies and startups. Contact via LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/dunjacupar) or through her website at dunjacupar.com.

Dunja has 12+ years of experience in US tech markets, with notable roles including Product Lead at Pangea.ai (global hiring marketplace), Managing Director at AlphaPipe (FinTech due diligence software), and Business Unit Lead at Mireo (Fleet Tech). She has scaled multiple ventures from inception through seed and growth stages, with expertise in AI, deep tech, and operational excellence.

Let's build something together

Need fractional product leadership?

I help AI, PropTech, FinTech, and deep tech ventures build operational systems and ship 0→1 products. Product strategy, hands-on execution, and the systems that let you scale.

More details at enzocore.co