About / Neville Ko

My journey as an AI builder and a practitioner of product management, design, and business.

Hi, I'm Nev. This isn't a standard (design) portfolio because I've worn many hats through my career from building startups, adding value to PE-backed companies, to running agile processes, (etc.) - none of which are core to design.

The goal is to explain the roles I've played so you can understand where and how I can bring value.

Why? Because careers evolve and job/client interviews are restrictive. I hope this window will let you know me better.

Distinct AI, Self

01 / AI Builds

Building AI Products & Automation

Techno-pragmatist: I firmly believe humans have a vital role to play in the age of AI.
Hands-on technical experience: My perspective is grounded in workflow automation (official n8n creator), building agents, comparing token efficiency across local and cloud models, and optimizing context windows and memory management.
Human & AI co-creation: I believe keeping human taste and decision-making at the center of the process is what elevates AI outcomes into a true, high-quality extension of your unique work.

Distinct AI, Corel,
Alludo, business ventures

02 / Product

Building Products (ie. "Product Management")

Hands-on background: My product management acumen comes from operational survival, startups, and years of experimentation.
The Corel/Alludo years: Spent ~15 years wearing "hats" as a product owner, co-SCRUM master, and UX/UI designer, doing whatever it took to "ship" on lean budgets (SAFe and CSPO certified).
The strategic "glue": As Head of Product & Experience at Distinct AI, I translate messy, abstract leadership visions into actionable plans using a practical 'VSR' (Vision, Strategy, Roadmap) framework.

Distinct AI, CorelDRAW, Alludo, WinZip, PaintShop Pro, AfterShot, etc.

03 / Design

Designing Products (ie. UX & UI)

~20 years of experience: My career spans multi-million dollar, PE portfolios (CorelDRAW, WinZip, PaintShop Pro) to ambitious startups (Distinct AI, À pois).
No single playbook: I bring adaptable techniques (design systems, prototypes, heuristic evaluations) tailored to budget and goals.
Pragmatic approach: As a trained Industrial Designer (BID, MDes) from an engineering faculty, my focus is on practicality, operational efficiency, and bringing abstractions to market.

Distinct AI, À pois, Jream Studio, Substance Magazine, CIMA

04 / Business & Ops

Building Businesses & Operations

Early start: My entrepreneurial path began in university, co-founding a modelling agency (CIMA) and expanding into a digital fashion editorial magazine (Substance Magazine).
20+ years of business building: I’ve since operated across diverse ventures ranging from e-commerce clothing rentals (À pois) to AI-powered software (Distinct AI).
Business acumen: I’ve learned to write business plans, understand financial reports, build VC investment decks; all of which have impacted my approach to design and operations.