Founder
Tentaplex · Sep 2026 – Present
Building Tentanote, a Mac app where everything you save stays findable, and Tentabase, the graph database under it.
Alex Zapadenko
Product Design Leader
Product design leader with 15+ years across enterprise platforms, B2B SaaS, and 0→1 products. At Banyan Software I direct AI-driven design for a portfolio of 50+ vertical SaaS products: I built the design system the modernized apps run on, and I shape the AI-assisted pipeline that rebuilds them. I also design and build my own products: Tentanote, a native Mac app, and YumLog, a voice-first calorie tracker on the App Store. Before Banyan, I designed the unification of Intuit Mailchimp Transactional into the core Mailchimp product, scaled TheoremOne's design team from 10 to 50+, and integrated a 200-person global design practice at Monks. I do my best work where I can set strategy, ship complex products, and build the teams behind them.
By the numbers
- 15+
- Years of experience
- 5+
- In design leadership
- 100+
- Largest team led
- 30+
- Designers hired
- 50+
- Projects delivered
- 10+
- Industries served
Career
Principal Architect, AI Product Design
Banyan Software · May 2026 – Present
Direct AI-driven design for Banyan's internal Software Modernization Factory, which is retooling a portfolio of 50+ vertical SaaS products across the group. Built the design system that powers the applications going through the modernization, and shape both the AI-assisted pipeline that does the work and the product experiences it ships, with AI-assisted workflows where legacy interfaces stood.
Principal Product Designer
product.inc · Dec 2022 – Present
Run a fractional design practice for early-stage founders, from product strategy through launch. Anchor ongoing engagements at EarthWonders (e-commerce) and Edvo (B2C SaaS), and ship 0→1 concepts, marketing sites, and investor materials for Cracken AGI, Journify, UnboxAI, and other emerging startups.
Principal Product Designer (Contract)
Intuit Mailchimp · Apr 2026
Designed the unification of Mailchimp Transactional (formerly Mandrill) into the core Mailchimp product: two separately built apps, often used by the same customer. Made the case for a full re-platform over an incremental Mandrill refresh.
Senior Director of Product Design
Monks Technology Services · May 2022 – May 2024
Following the acquisition of TheoremOne, co-led the integration of the TheoremOne and Zemoga design teams into a unified 200-person global practice. Stood up leveling, career paths, and hiring ops that closed the merger in under 9 months — faster than any other function. Built and ran a 100-person product design org through a network of leads, managers, and directors I hired, coached, and grew, and represented design in enterprise sales that contributed to multimillion-dollar wins. Provided strategic IC leadership on engagements with Apple, GitHub, Wells Fargo, PNC, and BCG.
Director of Product Design
TheoremOne · Nov 2020 – May 2022
Scaled the design team from 20 to 50+ during the company's growth to 500 people and eventual acquisition. Put organizational structure, hiring operations, and performance frameworks in place, and lifted overall design maturity and delivery quality across client engagements.
Manager of Product Design
TheoremOne · Jun 2017 – Nov 2020
Grew the design team from 10 to 20 and introduced lead roles to give the org structure for scale. Stood up design operations, career frameworks, and client engagement models — the foundation that let the team take on larger, more complex enterprise engagements.
Product Designer
TheoremOne · Dec 2015 – Jun 2017
Delivered UX and visual design from concept to production across retail, telecom, logistics, and B2B SaaS — embedded in cross-functional teams alongside engineering and product. Clients included Apple, First American, Infor, AT&T, Maersk, and Caterpillar.
UX/UI Designer
Early Career (Rokitt, Star, Ciklum) · Aug 2007 – Nov 2015
Eight years of UX and visual design across travel, tech, gaming, and agency environments — formative product work that shaped everything that followed.
Products
YumLogproduct.inc
A voice-first calorie tracker for Apple Watch and iPhone. Say what you ate and it logs the calories, protein, carbs and fat.
DemoPalproduct.inc
Make demo videos from a script of clicks and words, and use the same script to update them when your app changes. A Mac app in development.
TentanoteTentaplex
A Mac app that reads what your Mac already holds, mail, calendar, notes, files and tabs, and sorts it into the projects of your life.
TentabaseTentaplex
The database under Tentanote. Records go in, it works out what relates to what from what they say, and it can tell you why.
Plan concerts, club nights and festivals with friends. See who's coming, who has tickets and who owes what.
Rates
Fractional design leadFrom $12k per month
Owns the design direction and the system everyone builds against. A standing weekly working session, async availability for decisions, and hands-on work where it matters most.
AdvisoryFrom $5k per month
Standing access without delivery ownership — a weekly session, design review, and help with hiring and org design.
UX audit or sprintFrom $6k fixed scope · 2–3 weeks
A UX audit, a strategy sprint, or a design-system assessment. Fixed scope, fixed price, a written result.
Ad-hoc$350 per hour
For one-off reviews and questions that don't warrant a retainer. No minimum.
Equity considered alongside a reduced retainer for early-stage teams.
Get in touch
Reach him at hello@product.inc or on LinkedIn.