AlanTollefson.com – Camping, Skating, Services

By the numbers

Results I can point to.

95%+

Customer retention, year over year. Earned by tracking account health, catching problems early, and partnering with Sales to reach customers before they decided to leave.

1,500+

Customer repair portals configured and managed in Adobe Commerce (Magento): onboarding, configuration changes and daily access issues.

600+

Lesson plans in TRAILS, a searchable library I designed and built for K-12 teachers, organized by grade level and subject.

500+

Active learners administered in LearnUpon, with engagement monitored to flag at-risk accounts.

100

Professional development courses built in Articulate Rise 360 for self-paced teacher training.

200+

Users administered across systems with zero access incidents.

+40%

Web traffic growth from the second of two website redesigns I led from planning through launch.

~5 min

Unassisted setup for non-technical business owners using CommsUp, the SaaS product I designed and launched.

About

Technical problem-solver. Relationship builder.

I don’t just fix things. I help customers understand, adopt, and get the most value from the products they rely on, whether that means managing access for hundreds of users, building a training library, or tracking down a root cause with Engineering.

Customer success and platform operations professional with 20 years supporting the SaaS, LMS and e-commerce platforms of a K-12 technology company, plus an AI product of my own.
A hands-on platform administrator, not just a manager of administrators: LearnUpon, Articulate Rise 360 and Adobe Commerce, covering provisioning, course architecture and customer-facing portal operations.
I build AI and LLM workflows that run in production and turn recurring technical issues into documented, self-serve resolutions that reduce escalations.

01

Technical fluency, plain-language delivery

I speak the language of developers and engineers, and I translate that complexity into simple, actionable steps for customers and stakeholders.

02

A trusted bridge across teams

A reliable liaison between Sales, IT, Software Development, Support and customers, reducing technical friction and supporting retention.

03

Teaching users to self-serve

Live walkthroughs, knowledge bases and self-paced courses that turn confused users into confident ones, and cut repeat tickets.

04

The veteran’s steady hand

U.S. Air Force veteran with a disciplined, high-accountability work ethic: calm under pressure, and I follow through on every commitment.

Experience

Two decades of hands-on work.

Al Tollefson Studio

Founder, Product & Operations

Maple Grove, MN

Jan 2025 – Present

An independent product studio building AI-powered applications for small businesses, from first concept through launch and ongoing operation.

CommsUp

A subscription SaaS that generates Google Business Profile content for home service contractors in roofing, plumbing, HVAC and electrical. I owned it from concept to launch.

Workflow 1Profile descriptions & service copy

Workflow 2Review responses matched to rating & tone

Workflow 3Weekly posts tied to seasonal services

AlwaysOwner approves before anything publishes

LLM-powered workflows Marketing website Web application Mobile companion app $49/month subscription

Built the LLM content engine behind all three customer workflows.
Designed a mandatory owner-approval step so nothing is ever published automatically, addressing the main trust objection from owners handing marketing to software.
Wrote all customer-facing positioning, onboarding and support content for a non-technical audience, producing a setup flow owners complete in about five minutes without help.
Work directly with business owners across AI application development, product positioning, marketing site delivery and ongoing product operations, with no account handoffs.

Trafera

Senior Technical Customer Success & Product Operations Lead

St. Paul, MN · Formerly Trinity3 Technology (2014–2021) and Focus Technology (2005–2014)

2005 – Jan 2025

Trafera sells and services technology, primarily Chromebooks and devices, to K-12 school districts nationwide. Over 20 years I was the technical backbone for three connected areas: helping customers solve problems and stay on the platform, running the company’s online training library, and managing the web portals where schools track their device repairs.

Customer Success & Technical Support

Retention · Escalations

Sustained 95%+ customer retention year over year by tracking account health and partnering with Sales on proactive outreach.
Escalation point for problems front-line support couldn’t solve: diagnosed root causes, worked with Engineering on fixes, and documented solutions.
Built an internal knowledge base and customer-facing help library that cut escalations.
Administered accounts and access for 200+ people with zero access incidents.

Online Training Platform

LearnUpon · Articulate Rise 360

Designed and built TRAILS: 600+ downloadable lesson plans organized by grade level and subject, with keyword search.
Developed 100 professional development courses in Rise 360, driving higher completion rates.
Administered LearnUpon for 500+ active learners: setup, groups, reporting and access, flagging at-risk customers early.
Brought engagement data into renewal conversations with Sales to show value and support retention.

Customer Portals & Web

Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Set up and managed 1,500+ customer repair portals, handling onboarding, configuration updates and daily access issues.
Led two full website redesigns from planning through launch; the second drove a 40% increase in web traffic.
Maintained the e-commerce site, including product catalog, page content and permissions for internal teams and external customers.

Marketing & Events

Focus Technology

Sole marketing resource for several years: built the website from scratch, ran email campaigns, and produced 600+ downloadable lesson plan assets.
Coordinated 75+ trade shows a year, from booth logistics and shipping to sales travel and on-site staffing.
Managed an eBay store for refurbished and surplus devices.

Earlier experience

Where the technical and customer-service foundations started

Tollefson Design

Owner, Web Developer & Graphic Designer · Maple Grove, MN

Ran a web development and graphic design business for small businesses across the Twin Cities, managing sites, domains and email hosting, and retaining most clients through responsiveness and reliability.
Designed logos, brochures, business cards and print materials, including print production for The Ruffed Grouse Society and Trout Unlimited.

United States Air Force

Special Purpose Vehicle Mechanic & Heavy Equipment Specialist

Biloxi, MS & Wiesbaden, Germany · Honorable Discharge

Maintained and repaired mission-critical vehicles and equipment in high-pressure environments in the U.S. and Germany.
Competed as an Alpine skier for USAFE in Europe, placing 3rd overall across U.S. Air Force and Army teams.

Skills & platforms

The toolkit, in practice.

Customer Success & Onboarding

Customer onboarding & implementationAccount health monitoringCustomer retentionEscalation managementCustomer communicationRenewal support

Technical Support & Documentation

Technical triageRoot cause analysisKnowledge base developmentSelf-service support contentUser provisioningPermissions & access management

Platform & Product Operations

SaaS administrationLMS administrationCustomer portal configurationCourse developmentEngagement reportingWebsite redesign & site operationsSEO & local search contentCross-functional collaboration

AI & Automation

LLM prompt designWorkflow automationAI-assisted content developmentAI-augmented customer communicationProduct prototyping with AI development tools

Platforms & tools

LearnUpon LMSArticulate Rise 360Adobe Commerce / MagentoHubSpotAsanaInfor CSIGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365Google Business Profile

Beyond the resume

Outdoors isn’t a hobby. It’s the lifestyle.

I’ve lived the outdoor lifestyle my entire life. I understand the customer because I am the customer. Lifelong outdoorsman, waterfowl and big game hunter, and an endurance athlete.

25

inline skating marathons completed

3rd

overall, USAFE Alpine skiing, across Air Force and Army teams

Hunter

waterfowl and big game

Print

for Ruffed Grouse Society & Trout Unlimited

What’s next

Looking for a team to grow with.

What I’m looking for

A long-term role in technical customer success, onboarding or platform operations, or as an outdoor industry product specialist, with a team that values maturity, reliability and a deep commitment to the customer experience.

Technical Customer SuccessCustomer Onboarding & ImplementationLMS / Platform OperationsOutdoor Industry Product Specialist

Preferred setupRemote or hybridTwin Cities / Maple Grove area

AvailabilityImmediate

Ongoing development

AI Prompt Engineering for BusinessCustomer Success Management frameworksAdobe Commerce & LMS platform training