Curaleaf · Jun 2023 – Jan 2026
Mobile App Growth & Experience
Led mobile product strategy across iOS and Android — focused on app quality, funnel conversion, and sustainable growth. Took the iOS product from a 2.7-star experience (129 reviews) to 4.8 stars (5,000+ reviews), and shipped the Android app from zero to 35% download growth.
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Context
The situation
A 2.7-star App Store rating isn't just a vanity metric problem. It creates a compounding negative loop: fewer organic downloads, lower conversion on the install base, and negative brand perception in a market where trust is critical. The product team had no mobile-specific roadmap, no experimentation framework, and no Android presence. The task was to fix a broken foundation and build a growth loop on top of it.
Strategy
How I approached it
Mobile is a distinct product surface — not a feature extension of web. I built a mobile-specific roadmap that separated two phases: (1) close the reliability and UX gaps that were driving negative reviews, and (2) establish the infrastructure (analytics, experimentation, component standards) needed to grow systematically after the foundation was stable.
Execution
What I did
Directed full redesign of native iOS app, improving App Store rating from 2.7 (129 reviews) to 4.8 (5,000+ reviews) through UX, performance, and trust improvements.
Led 0→1 development and launch of native Android app, driving 35% growth in app downloads.
Launched high-impact growth features (Special Deals Tray) — 8% conversion increase, 10.5% revenue per session lift.
Built and implemented structured product intake and prioritization framework, increasing engineering velocity by 150%.
Established mobile-specific analytics instrumentation — defined the event taxonomy, built mobile funnels, and created dashboards used weekly by the team.
Ran experimentation on key mobile conversion moments — home screen merchandising, search, and the cart-to-checkout flow using Optimizely and Monetate.
Led cross-functional team of 7 engineers and 1 designer to achieve mobile and web feature parity, stabilizing the platform and improving user retention.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Worked with iOS engineers, Android engineers, UX designers, QA, the analytics team, and marketing. The most critical relationship was with engineering — building genuine technical trust enabled faster decisions without sacrificing quality. Used JIRA/Confluence, Azure DevOps, Figma, and HEAP Analytics throughout.
Outcomes
Impact
- →
iOS App Store rating: 2.7 (129 reviews) → 4.8 (5,000+ reviews)
- →
35% growth in app downloads post-Android launch
- →
8% conversion increase and 10.5% revenue per session from feature launches
- →
150% increase in engineering velocity through process improvements
- →
Mobile and web feature parity achieved, stabilizing the platform
Key Learnings
Ratings are a lagging indicator of accumulated product debt. The path from 2.7 to 4.8 wasn't a single feature launch — it was fixing dozens of small friction points users had been complaining about for months. Don't launch new features on a broken foundation. And never underestimate how much process improvements (clear specs, structured intake, fast decisions) can move a team's output without adding headcount.
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Digital Commerce Platform — Curaleaf