Benjamin South Lee
FounderCo-founder, CEO (Acq. by Avara Labs) at Sonar Β· Co-Founder, CEO at Variant
San Francisco, California, United States
FoundedSonar Β· YCVariant Β· YC
About
Benjamin South Lee founded two companies that were acquired by Postmates, where he served as VP of Product Design, and later held the role of SVP of Product and Design at Avara before building Variant.
Ben South @bnj
Absolutely move to NYC if you want a life outside of tech SF is where you go because tech is life https://t.co/rKzfZ0rerw
Aug 2, 2026 Β· β₯ 28
Ben South @bnj
Wild how quickly I went from "Fable is AGI" to "Fable is stupid"
Aug 2, 2026 Β· β₯ 22 Β· β 1
Ben South @bnj
In NYC for the week Anyone have a cool space two others and I can work out of?
Jul 26, 2026 Β· β₯ 25
Co-founder, CEO (Acq. by Avara Labs) at SonarYC S20
Intro paths
Benjamin went through Y Combinator (Summer 2020) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
In turn, Benjamin can intro founders to Sonar's investors below.
Sonar's investors Β· 1
Co-founders at Sonar
Co-Founder, CEO at VariantYC F24
Intro paths
Benjamin went through Y Combinator (Fall 2024) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
Their group partner at YC was Garry Tan, President & CEO of Y Combinator β the partner who ran Variant's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile β
In turn, Benjamin can intro founders to Variant's investors below.
Variant's investors Β· 1
Co-founders at Variant
Experience
- VariantCo-Founder, CEO (YC F24)current2024 β presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- Aave LabsSr. Vice President, Product & Design2022 β 2024
- SonarCo-founder, CEO (YC S20, Acquired by Aave)2020 β 2022San Francisco, CA
- Postmates Inc.Vice President, Product Design2018 β 2020San Francisco Bay Area
- Postmates Inc.Director of Design, Consumer2017 β 2018San Francisco Bay Area
- Bold.co (Acquired by Postmates)Co-founder, CPO (Acquired by Postmates)2015 β 2017San Francisco Bay Area
- MediumProduct Designer2015San Francisco Bay Area
- Secret, Inc.Principal Product Designer, Founding Designer2014 β 2015San Francisco Bay Area
- CrunchyrollProduct Design Lead2013 β 2014San Francisco Bay Area
- CrunchyrollProduct Designer / Frontend Engineer2012 β 2013
Education
- UC San DiegoComputer Science/Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts
Skills & more
+12 more
User-centered DesignSocial MediaUser InterfaceInteraction DesignStart-upsWeb DevelopmentMobile ApplicationsWireframesAdobe Creative SuiteSketch 2PhotoshopSEOFrom Benjamin's professional profile.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,668
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 8,661 more
UC San Diego mafia92
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 85 more
Same school
Also attended UC San Diego283
+ 277 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Variant1
Also worked at Aave Labs3
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Also worked at Postmates Inc.21
+ 15 more
