Sam
Schellenberg
Marketing & Growth

I'm a marketer who builds the systems behind the marketing. I co-founded Beni, an AI company for schools, and built its brand and a sales CRM covering every public school district in the US. I branded and sold a Malibu grief retreat, and grew a therapy brand to 170K followers. UC San Diego, 3.95 GPA, based in Santa Monica.

Beni

Brand, product and go-to-market for AI in schools

Beni gives school districts control over how AI works in their classrooms. As co-founder I own brand and go-to-market and build across the product: the website, the student chat, the animated mark, and integrations with Google Classroom, Clever and ClassLink.

On the data side I built our sales CRM, a pipeline over public education data covering all 17,444 US public districts and 19,913 verified decision-makers, and led security hardening ahead of district pilots. I also wrote the sales and investor decks.

Role
Co-founder, 2025 to now
Results
17,444 districts · 19,913 verified contacts · 67% of US students covered
Stack
Python, FastAPI, Postgres, SQL, Claude API, SSO (SAML, LTI 1.3)
The Beni mark, thinking: three contours that breathe, collapse and bloom while it works.
The student chat, switching from light to dark. Guardrails on, steps only, teacher can see the transcript.
The Beni characters: the mark redrawn as Pip, Ember and Mica, each with a school prop. Animated in code.
benieducation.com, the site I built.
The palette in motion: navy, teal, orange, white. Built in code.
Laptop in a school library showing the Beni homepage
The execution layer for AI in schools. Concept render, AI, with the real homepage.
Beni assignment builder
Assignment builder: Beni drafts, the teacher stays in control.
VideoDistrict map and lead queueScreen recording, blur every name and email
Every public district in the US, ranked by fit.

Healing with Horses

Branding and selling a Malibu grief retreat

A somatic grief retreat for women: three nights at a Malibu hilltop estate, mornings with horses, and a program featured by National Geographic. I built the path from first look to booked bed: landing pages, a page for every room with live bed inventory, and per-bed Stripe checkout.

After booking, guests sign in to a private portal: their room and dates, a payment-plan tracker, seven agreements they e-sign in place, PDF receipts and travel notes. Around it: a 40-second ad made with AI video tools, "last bed" story campaigns, and emails that follow up when someone looks at a room or leaves checkout.

Role
Marketing & web for Angela Schellenberg
Results
8 rooms sold by the bed with live inventory · guest portal with 7 e-signed agreements · 6,522 contacts on triggered email
Stack
Node.js, SQLite, Stripe API & webhooks, Resend, field-level encryption, Vercel
The retreat palette as an aura: forest, sage, peach and cream. Built in code.
From the 40-second retreat ad, made with AI video tools.
Step inside the Malibu Dream House: the venue section, with the property on video.
The rooms, presented like a boutique hotel: eight rooms sold by the bed, with live availability.
The retreat page, with live bed count and booking.
The guest portal: branded sign-in, your stay, e-signed agreements, receipts and travel notes. Shown with a test guest.
Instagram story: One bed just opened
"Last bed" story campaign.
Instagram story: The Master Suite king
One story per room, each with its own reason to book.
Instagram story: Wake up to this
Selling the view before the program.
A white horse at the ranch
Mornings with the horses at the ranch.
Aerial view of the Malibu estate
The estate, three nights in the Malibu hills.

Content Engine & DM Agent

AI that makes the posts and answers the DMs

Built for a therapy brand I grew from 1K to 170K Instagram followers. Every morning the engine scans 16 competitor accounts, picks the post worth making, designs the carousel and emails a one-tap approve link. Approved posts publish to Instagram and Pinterest.

In the DMs, a Claude agent answers questions, recommends the right offer and hands crisis messages to a person. I rebuilt it to cut reply time from 15 seconds to under 5. I later turned the engine into Warmly, a product for other coaches.

Role
Designer & builder
Results
170K+ followers · 16 accounts scanned daily · DM replies 15s to 5s
Stack
Python, Postgres, Supabase, Claude API, Instagram Graph API, Render
VideoThe engine making a carouselScreen recording, idea to finished slides
From competitor scan to finished carousel.
Warmly (getwarmly.io): the engine as a product.
VideoScroll through the Instagram gridPhone screen recording, slow scroll
170K followers, built on reels and carousels.
ImageFollower growth chartInstagram Insights screenshot
Growth from 1K since 2022.
VideoDM agent replyingTest account only, no real clients
The DM agent recommends the right offer.
The brand's site, rebuilt off Squarespace.

Equine Therapy Malibu

Rebrand and website in 8 days

An equine therapy practice in Malibu was leaving its old name and Squarespace. I rebuilt the brand and site, moved its #1-ranking old domain over with 19 redirects, and set up checkout for memberships and a $5,355 certification.

Before handover I found and fixed four silent problems, including a payment plan that would have billed forever.

Role
Freelance brand & web, 2026
Results
$3,000 fee · 8 days to handover · 27+ automated emails
Stack
Next.js, TypeScript, Stripe, Resend, Vercel
equinetherapymalibu.com
ImageBefore and afterOld Shakti Ranch site next to the new one
From Squarespace to a site the business owns.
ImageThe new logoFrom the brand book
Logo, brand book and social kit.
VideoCheckout on a phoneStripe test mode recording
Memberships and a payment plan for the certification.

Bear Pickle

A pickle brand, in development

My own brand. The idea: you can't own a bear, but you can own the newsroom. Bear Pickle talks like a local news channel ("Bears make pickles now, says news host"), so the brand explains its culture without a sales pitch. The first ad is a Super 8 spot of a bear introducing his pickle.

The research behind it: refrigerated pickles are trending for crunch and a "less processed" feel, pickles are turning into snacks, and shoppers avoid sweet or neon ones. That pointed to a game-day pickle, with in-store demos Friday 4 to 7 and weekends 11 to 3. The product is designed to be shelf-stable, with brine at pH 4.6 or lower.

Role
Founder
Stage
Brand and product development
Work
Positioning, market research, ad concept, label spec, food-safety rules
Grainy Super 8 still of a bear at a news desk with a jar of pickles
The first ad: a bear at the news desk, on Super 8. Concept frame, AI.
Bear Pickle jar on a game-day snack table
The game-day pickle. Concept render, AI.
Vintage cartoon bear anchor holding a pickle under the words Bear Pickle
Mascot exploration: the anchor bear, in a 1970s print style. Concept, AI.
Bear Pickle 24oz full-wrap label template with front, info and brand panels
Label spec first: front, info and brand panels, sized for a 24oz jar.
ImageResearch one-pagerYour findings as a clean graphic
What sells, what shoppers avoid, and when to demo.

Experience

Grief, Trauma & Your Mama, Marketing & Growth Lead2022
Beni, Co-founder2025
Equine Therapy Malibu, Freelance2026
Jonathan Club, Banquet Lead2024

Education

UC San Diego, B.A. Media Industries & Communication2026
Santa Barbara City College, A.A.
Bellevue College, A.A. Marketing

Marketing

Lifecycle & email automation
AI marketing agents
CRMs & marketing ops
Short-form video & social
Analytics, attribution, SEO & AI search

Technical

Python, SQL, Postgres, Snowflake
AWS, Vercel, Render, Supabase
APIs & webhooks: Stripe, Meta, Claude, Resend
Next.js, Node.js, FastAPI

Hiring for marketing or growth? Send an inquiry below, email sammschellenberg@gmail.com, download my resume, or find me on LinkedIn.

Draft view: dashed boxes are media still to record.