William Herlands
About William Herlands
William Herlands serves as the Head of Fondue Product at Postscript and is a Co-Founder and CTO of Fondue, both based in New York. With a strong academic background in Machine Learning and experience in ecommerce, he has previously held roles at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and founded the ecommerce brand Willow.
Current Role at Postscript
William Herlands serves as the Head of Fondue Product at Postscript, a position he has held since 2023. In this role, he focuses on enhancing the product offerings related to fondue, leveraging his extensive background in ecommerce and technology. His work is conducted remotely from New York, New York, where he collaborates with a team to drive product innovation and improve user experience.
Experience at Fondue
As a Co-Founder and CTO of Fondue since 2021, William Herlands has played a pivotal role in establishing the company in the ecommerce sector. His leadership has been instrumental in developing the brand's identity and product line, particularly in the niche of fondue-related products. His experience in the industry aids in navigating the complexities of product development and market positioning.
Educational Background
William Herlands has a strong academic foundation in engineering and machine learning. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University (2008-2012) and a Master's of Science in Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University (2014-2017). He further advanced his studies at Carnegie Mellon, obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Machine Learning and Public Policy (2014-2020). His research focused on automating econometric tools for causal inference in observational data.
Previous Work Experience
Before his current roles, William Herlands gained valuable experience at MIT Lincoln Laboratory as an Assistant Researcher from 2012 to 2014. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Willow from 2017 to 2019, where he led the company in creating premium incontinence products for older adults. His work at Carnegie Mellon University as a Ph.D. candidate in Machine Learning spanned from 2014 to 2020.
Contributions to Ecommerce
William Herlands has worked with a diverse range of ecommerce clients, including small direct-to-consumer brands and publicly traded companies. His contributions include the development of the CashBack feature for Shopify, which enhances ecommerce profitability by preventing discount leakage to aggregation sites. His expertise spans various industries, including electric scooters and astrology candles.