About

Architect by training. Systems thinker by practice. Builder by output.

Ten years building at the intersection of AI, spatial technology, and product — and four years running a company. The combination is the moat: technically deep enough to architect and ship, commercially operational enough to do the marketing, sales, and finance when there's nobody else to do it.

Career arc

  1. 2026—

    Founder · vencolab

    Independent · Vienna (remote)

    Productised consulting for AEC firms and spatial product teams. AI knowledge platforms, computational tools, fractional product leadership. Writing at vencolab.com.

  2. 2022—2025

    Computational Product Lead

    Bollinger Grohmann · Vienna

    Architected and shipped Knowledge Hub across 19 offices globally. 62% adoption in six months.

  3. 2021— (concurrent)

    Co-Founder, CEO & CPO

    Imersian · Sydney (remote)

    Bootstrapped B2B SaaS spatial commerce platform. Ran the whole company: product, engineering, full-funnel marketing (paid ads, Apollo, HubSpot), sales, customer success, financial modeling, investor pitching, and team management across 4–5 people in all functions. 50% sign-up acceleration post-PLG restructure. Seed round in progress.

  4. 2021

    Entrepreneur in Residence

    Antler · Sydney

    Global early-stage VC incubator. Explored and validated deep-tech and spatial startup concepts.

  5. 2020—2022

    Computational Design Consultant

    Bollinger Grohmann · Vienna / Sydney

    Generative design and computational expertise on large-scale infrastructure projects.

  6. 2018—2022

    Design Technology Lead

    Hayball Architects · Melbourne

    Built the design technology function from scratch. Developed internal tools for rapid urban massing, yield studies, and real-time radiation analysis.

  7. 2018—2023

    Sessional Lecturer / Tutor

    Swinburne · RMIT · University of Melbourne

    Architecture studio lead. Taught Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, parametric design, and digital fabrication workflows.

  8. 2016—2018

    Research Assistant

    Studio Roland Snooks × RMIT

    Robotic polymer fabrication, NGV Floe Pavilion, custom C# toolpaths for agent-based generative geometry.

  9. 2016—2018

    Master of Architecture (Distinction)

    RMIT University

    Nominated for Best Master's Student Project consecutively. Specialised in computational design and fabrication.

Skills ecosystem

AI & Cloud Architecture

  • RAG pipelines (Elasticsearch, Vector DBs)
  • Agentic workflows & LLM orchestration
  • Full-stack TypeScript (Next.js, Node)
  • Python data + backend systems
  • Azure · AWS · Docker · CI/CD

Spatial & Computational

  • Three.js · WebGL · WebXR
  • Rhino · Grasshopper · C# APIs
  • Generative design & robotic toolpaths
  • BIM automation (Revit / Dynamo)
  • LCA & Embodied Carbon analytics

Product & Operator

  • 0→1 product — roadmap, UX, build, ship
  • Financial modeling · P&L · cap table
  • Investor pitching & due diligence
  • UX research & prototyping (Figma, Framer)
  • Analytics (PostHog, Power BI, Clarity)

Commercial & Operations

  • Full-funnel marketing (paid ads, TOF→BOF)
  • Outbound & CRM automation (HubSpot, Apollo)
  • Sales — discovery to close
  • Hiring & distributed team management
  • Customer success & retention

Speaking & teaching

Talks, panels, and universities.

Available for conference keynotes, panels, podcast appearances, and university guest lectures. See the speaking strategy in the brand repo for pitch templates.

  • Sydney Build Expo (2020) — Digital workflows in architecture
  • Global XR Conference (2021) — XR in design and education
  • Strategic Partnership Lead — Unity × Hayball
  • Para Guru Conference (2018) — Parametric design in practice

Industry collaborations

Research and R&D.

Bridging the gap between academic research and commercial application across embodied carbon, advanced manufacturing, and spatial analytics.

  • Embodied Carbon Research (UNSW × Bollinger Grohmann)
  • XR for Advanced Manufacturing (HoloLens, Fologram PoC)
  • Workplace Sensor Analytics IoT (UTS × Steelcase)
  • Robotic Foam Carving & Fabrication (RMIT)
  • 3D Concrete Printing Technologies (Swinburne)

I'm also open to the right full-time role — CPO, Head of AI, or AI Systems Lead at a company deploying AI across a complex organisation. Domain doesn't have to be AEC; the production skills transfer. If that's you, email me.

Reference customers available on request. If you want to speak with someone who has been through a consulting engagement before committing, I can arrange a five-minute call.

Who is Ven Iyer?

Ven Iyer is an AI systems builder, spatial product founder, and computational design practitioner based in Vienna, Austria. He co-founded Imersian, an AI-powered 3D visualisation platform for furniture retailers, and led the Bollinger Grohmann Knowledge Hub — a RAG-based internal knowledge platform deployed across 19 offices in 9 countries, reaching 62% firm-wide adoption in six months. He has ten years of experience at the intersection of AI, spatial technology, and product, and four years running a company as CEO and CPO.

What does vencolab do?

vencolab is the consulting practice of Ven Iyer. It offers productised AI and product engagements for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms and spatial technology founders. Engagements are fixed-scope and fixed-fee, with a working artefact at the end — never a strategy deck alone. Core offerings include AI knowledge platforms (RAG systems), design technology strategy, computational tool builds, and fractional CPO leadership for pre-Series A spatial AI startups.

Work with me

Two engagements per quarter. Tell me what you're building.

Productised engagements for AEC firms and spatial AI teams. Fixed scope, fixed fee, working artefact at the end.

contact@vencolab.com