About

Benjamin S Powell — technical product manager, founder and builder. Bio, work history and where to find me.

I’m a home-lab and self-hosting enthusiast with a goal of being as off-grid high-tech as it’s possible to be. I hate subscriptions — yet sometimes have to pay them — so I build and run my own tools wherever I can.

I’ve spent 15+ years across tech, web development and product management, and these days I focus on AI tooling, automation, and open-source alternatives to big-tech platforms. I make educational how-to guides on home-labbing and on staying high-tech without being under the thumb of big tech.

I do a lot of different stuff — AI, product management, development, homelabbing and content creation — and this site is where it all comes together: the apps and extensions I actively build and support, the case studies behind the work, and the tools I actually recommend.

Find me

// CV

Work History

Oct 2024 — Present
Technical Product Manager
Growth Kinetics
Global · Remote

I lead complex data and product delivery for enterprise clients including McDonald's, DKSH and Anytime Fitness. The work ranges from shaping GCP and AWS pipelines and data models to building dashboards, internal tools and delivery systems that turn huge datasets into decisions people can actually use. I also design automation for our remote team and help turn promising client prototypes into products.

Feb 2024 — Sep 2024
AI Advisor
Playfix.io
Remote

I advised the team on practical uses of AI, with a focus on prompt engineering and turning model interactions into useful, reliable product experiences.

May 2021 — Dec 2023
Technical Advisor
Almond Finance
Remote

I advised the leadership team on product strategy for inclusive, crypto-enabled financial tools. I helped ground the roadmap in real emerging-market constraints — particularly Southeast Asian regulation, infrastructure and customer behaviour — while supporting partnerships and go-to-market planning.

Sep 2020 — Jun 2023
Founder (Exited)
Bettercast
Bangkok, Thailand

I founded and led a hybrid-events platform from idea through launch and growth. I owned the product direction while building the team, customer experience and go-to-market engine, then exited the company in 2023.

Dec 2020 — Dec 2022
Technical Advisor
Shed 14
Melbourne, Australia

I helped take a DJ live-streaming platform into the Australian market, advising the digital product, launch strategy and technology partnerships needed to create a distinctive live-music experience.

Jan 2020 — Oct 2020
Technical Product Manager
UpViral

I led product development between customer needs, business goals and the engineering roadmap. I translated feedback into user stories, worked with UX and development through release, and helped internal teams and customers understand what we shipped.

2017 — Jan 2020
Founder (Sunsetted)
Adsoup

I founded a sales tool that brought messaging, email and CRM together for Asian markets before Western CRMs treated chat as a serious channel. I led the product from concept to release and ran the team, fundraising, marketing, budgets and customer operations until the product was sunset.

Dec 2018 — Oct 2019
Head of Product
DeeMoney
Bangkok, Thailand

I joined Thailand's licensed non-bank remittance provider in marketing, then also took on product leadership. I built the roadmap and internal product team, led eKYC and interface work, introduced clearer performance measurement, and helped move the company away from licensed platforms towards technology it controlled.

Apr 2014 — Sep 2017
CEO (Exited)
DSA Global
Bangkok, Thailand

I founded and grew a digital agency to two offices, more than 30 staff and roughly US$1M ARR within its first year. I led sales, strategy, finance and client delivery while building an internal development team and raising private investment.

Mar 2012 — Jul 2013
Co-Founder (Exited)
IRL Shooter
Melbourne, Australia

I co-created a real-world multiplayer first-person shooter experience that generated more than AUD 300K in pre-sales and AUD 1M across its 11-month run. I led much of the product, marketing, ticketing, community and partnership work, and worked with engineers building the custom laser-tag hardware.