About me

I live in Roswell, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. By day, I'm a product leader at Istari Digital, where what drew me was the chance to use AI to build highly complex physical systems—from hypersonic drones to race cars. Before Istari, I co-founded and scaled Macro Oceans, a company that makes high-performance biomaterials from kelp.

By night, I'm building HeyRecap into a high-quality, AI-driven news source for Roswell and Georgia, supported by an Emergent Ventures grant. I'm also podcasting at --dangerously-skip-permissions with Matt Holden, where we dig into AI, software, and building things.

One of the things that makes me unique is that I've lived a lot of lives on the way to this one. I've worked in non-profits, Big 3 consulting, and product management at YouTube and Stripe. I've also lived in Pittsburgh, North Carolina, San Francisco, and Switzerland. Perhaps because of this, I'm a passionate believer in the ability of generalists to solve problems in ambiguous environments.

• Building things that matter. "The world is a museum of passion projects." We have incredible power to shape our future. Courage and tenacity are required for the job.
• Trust. An invisible power that allows people, teams, and societies to flourish.
• Ecosystems and communities. My friend Alex has created (or revealed?) in me an obsession with how ecosystems catalyze, grow, and sustain themselves.

• AI for creative work. The tools for doing great creative work are changing faster than at any point since the internet. I want to be in the middle of it.
• Building tools for agents. Agents are going to need infrastructure, interfaces, and guardrails. The tooling layer is wide open and fascinating.
• Using AI to make a more dynamic America. What inspires me is the possibility of using AI to make us more prosperous in the fullest sense of the word—whether that's local news, defense tech, or civic life.
• Novel materials and the ecosystems required to bring them to market. This one is dormant but never far from my mind. I love a great "how [material x] became ubiquitous" story—here's what I learned launching one. Send those my way!

If you have thoughts about these or just think we'd have a good conversation, put some time on my calendar or send me an email: hello@jdilla.xyz. One of the main reasons I keep this site is to inspire some serendipity.

Current

• Istari Digital: Using AI to design high-performance systems — rockets, fighter jets, race cars.
• Recap: AI-powered summaries of local government meetings, supported by an Emergent Ventures grant.
• Dangerously Skip Permissions: A show with Matt Holden exploring how AI is changing our work.

Past

• Macro Oceans: Co-founded the company and led launch and early commercialization of seaweed-based biomaterials.
• Stripe Apps Ecosystem: Launching and scaling the app ecosystem for Stripe users worldwide.
• YouTube Search and Creator Studio: Lots of different features for Creators of all types and sizes. By far the most fun product I've ever worked on. My product portfolio has specifics.
• Space Fox: A simple app for YouTube creators who want to collaborate with an editor securely. A side project with a dear friend.
• NextRoll (née AdRoll): Product lead for the social integrations and video.
• Climate Corporation: Product manager for Weather and Scouting Features for Climate Fieldview
• GoodBrackets: A failed attempt to create a March Madness for Charity tournament
• Nourish: A student movement for social entrepreneurship. I scaled the organization from a regional one to a national one. Sadly, after 19 years, the organization is no longer active.

My domain is a homage to the producer J Dilla, whose work I love and whose moniker sounds like my name.