Two-time founder & award-winning designer. I talk about founders' mental health and the mindset to live a joyful life. I love fixing old motorcycles 🛵

I’m a two-time founder and award-winning design director with a proven track record of leading teams to successfully bring over 50 innovative physical and digital products to market.

With 20+ years of experience across startups, consultancies, and corporate settings, I’ve developed a holistic approach that combines creative design thinking, operational and manufacturing expertise, and emotional intelligence to drive innovation and team success.

Today, I serve as Director of Products at Grizzly Industrial, where I lead three brands: Grizzly, Shop Fox, and South Bend, overseeing product strategy, design, merchandising, pricing, logistics, and development.

In parallel, I continue to coach a select group of founders and leaders, placing emotional intelligence at the core of my work to empower better decision-making, stronger collaboration, and sustainable growth. 

I also write regularly:

Advise Myself → essays on emotional intelligence and personal growth

The Design Practice → essays on product management, design, and leadership


Originally from Argentina 🇦🇷 and now based in Bellingham, WA, I enjoy life as a dad, exploring the outdoors, and restoring old motorcycles 🛵 🏍️.

Career Highlights include:

 ➜ Founded and led two startups, including one exit in 2022.
 ➜ Directed the design and launch of 50+ products across industries.
 ➜ Earned 35 patents for innovative product designs.
 ➜ Exhibited twice at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), with one design in its permanent collection.
 ➜ Created products that won more than 75 major design awards.
 ➜ Founded and built a design consultancy serving global brands such as Crate & Barrel, CB2, Club Quarters Hotels, and Herman Miller.
 ➜ Established overseas manufacturing operations for multiple clients.

Manuel Saez

Convert.AI

Growth for AI-powered B2B SaaS companies. A few record-breaking wins for our industry: 
•731 Sales meetings Set for SEMRush, requiring an expansion of their AE Team 
•834 Appointments set for AI SaaS targeting CRO's & CHROs 
•417 Meetings & 119 Clients for B2B SaaS — a 28% conversion rate to sales 
•461 Appointments with CMOs and multiple $100K+ engagements closed 
•538 Demos set for AllEars.ai & closed deals with WeWork, Kroger, StockX, Purdue 

Get the playbook we used to make it happen: https://convert.ai/book

Founder

Grow.fm

Breaking down the hidden strategies, tactics, and AI-driven playbooks behind today's fastest-growing companies. Featuring John Barrows, Morgan Ingram, Trish Bertuzzi, and other industry veterans.

Host

Member

WithMe, Inc.

Ran lead generation for WithMe, a venture-backed B2B SaaS with $70m in fundraising.

Director of Growth

JobHive

Ran outbound lead generation for JobHive, an enterprise SaaS to source, screen, and track talent in one place. Backed by Brad Feld's Foundry Group.

Head of Marketing

Desert Angels

Due diligence for a 90 member angel group. Left to join one of their portfolio companies as Head of Marketing.

Analyst

Mural

Web development and marketing campaigns for SMB's.

Engineer

Nicefind

Built a solution that saved employers and job seekers hours in their respective searches. Placed full stack engineering and technical marketing positions.

Cofounder

Sunquest Information Systems

Product Development Consultant

The University of Arizona

Taught Statistics 276 and discovered that one cannot fully internalize a subject until they teach it.

Teaching Assistant

I’m a first-generation American whose parents escaped communist Romania with forged passports. 

They risked their freedom to improve their lives and give me the opportunity they never had. 

They also showed me that with awareness, we can create a better life for ourselves. 

Early in my career, I ran Growth for a couple VC backed companies. One of them ended up raising $70m in fundraising. 

Testing every channel I could, I discovered outbound lead generation was the one of the most reliable levers for consistent growth. 

This is how Convert.AI was born. 

Today, we run outbound campaigns for companies like Microsoft, Adecco, and BitGo to generate thousands of leads each year. 

Interested to learn more? Book a consult with us at https://convert.ai/schedule

Just for fun - a few past stints of mine: 

Playing pool one-handed, grinding high & mid stakes poker tables while living in Vegas, and being part of the US Nationals winning chess team for three years.

taplio

The Battle

Manuel Saez

Chris Marin

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