Fresh startup
When Kevin Boyd joined Signifyd as a consultant in 2017, he was struck not only by the company’s unusual business model but also by its open, optimistic, and collaborative culture. Signifyd’s team embodied a refreshing blend of transparency, creativity, and drive—qualities that made tackling the complex field of ecommerce fraud protection both engaging and rewarding. As the first mover in this space, Signifyd was addressing a critical but often overlooked issue: protecting online merchants from the significant financial burden of fraud, a global problem costing billions each year.
At the time, Signifyd was a small but ambitious team of about 150, having recently closed Series C funding and gearing up for a period of intense growth. Boyd reported to Senior Director of Brand Design & Strategy Sarah Kinkade, who in turn reported to Signifyd’s inspirational Senior Director of Marketing Stefan Nandzik. Boyd’s initial focus was bringing Signifyd’s primary WordPress marketing site in-house, transitioning it from an external agency, rebuilding it with a fresh design, and setting up an infrastructure for in-house web marketing management. Additionally, he developed custom HTML email templates and began documenting a new design system.
During his first year as a consultant, Boyd helped build and test Signifyd’s brand framework and took the lead in hiring and managing freelance web developers to support the company’s growing marketing systems. After a successful year driving these initiatives, Signifyd brought him on full-time in 2018 as Lead Frontend Developer, where he oversaw website operations, email strategy, and freelance development teams.
Activating growth mode
From 2018 to 2021, Boyd managed freelance developers Matt Ryan, Tim Moreton and Jonah Lam while developing and optimizing Signifyd’s digital marketing ecosystem. Leveraging a builder plugin suite, Boyd and his team created a flexible drag-and-drop framework that streamlined web development for the marketing team. Over time, Boyd and his team built upon this foundation with custom post types and plugins, integrated two different digital asset management platforms, and adopted the content marketing tool PathFactory, all of which helped Signifyd scale its campaigns.
Boyd also led web and email implementation of a significant rebranding effort, updating the logo, designing new brand colors and implementing a comprehensive design system across all marketing websites. As Signifyd grew, its brand evolved, supporting substantial increases in revenue over the next few years.
Innovation in the bones
Throughout his journey at Signifyd, Boyd’s work has been defined by innovation and a commitment to exceeding expectations. Early in his role, he was asked to style HTML email signatures for the sales team, but he saw an opportunity to build a small JavaScript application that enabled sales team members to generate, edit, and deploy custom email signatures on their own. That tool has now morphed and grown into a WordPress website of its own and an important company marketing tool.
As Boyd learned more about the vast amounts of ecommerce data available to Signifyd, he launched a project to bring data visualizations onto the website under the sub-brand Signifyd Pulse, creating a unique resource for industry insights. He also led an initiative to bring customer reviews from G2 and other sources onto the website as a custom post type, developing an API-driven reviews page and custom widgets that allowed these reviews to be displayed across the site.
Developer and project manager
In 2021, Boyd was promoted to Web Development Manager, bringing on new talent like Belfast-based web developer Dessie Owens. He led a team that included three freelance developers—Jonah Lam, Sara Bourg, and Roman Iglin—as well as two consultants, SEO expert Carlos Hartley and CRO specialist Mike V. As projects became increasingly complex, Boyd’s focus shifted toward managing multiple development and optimization efforts to support Signifyd’s growing marketing objectives.
Optimization
Boyd’s attention to optimization had a significant impact on Signifyd’s marketing performance. Noticing that a Shopify campaign landing page with high traffic was generating few conversions, Boyd collaborated with the demand marketing team to enhance the page’s design and functionality. Through A/B testing and strategic updates, they significantly improved conversion rates. This success inspired a larger optimization focus across the marketing team, leading to new resources and the hire of SEO and CRO expert Brittany Cole.
Experiences with AI
As large language models entered the market, Boyd helped lead Signifyd’s adoption of AI tools, working closely with Legal to establish responsible use cases. He incorporated AI models like GPT, Claude, and Gemini to create SEO-friendly content, enhancing both content production and reach. Boyd has also been developing a fine-tuned AI chatbot in Azure. See the chatbot on this very page for an AI agent guided by Boyd to answer questions about him, his career and his suitability for any work opportunity.
Sample blog posts
How to write a Shopify return policy that prevents fraud and abuse
Understanding the difference between fraud and non-fraud chargebacks
A nuanced approach to digital marketing
Through his work at Signifyd, Boyd has developed a deep understanding of modern digital marketing. He recognizes the shifting landscape, especially as AI transforms traditional marketing channels, and advocates for a more nuanced, value-driven approach. Boyd believes today’s marketers should focus on delivering content that is genuinely valuable and relevant to prospects rather than relying on overt sales tactics. This strategy aligns with Signifyd’s brand vision while adapting to the rapid changes in digital marketing.