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

Lev Markelov

Humber College

Teaching the next generation of students how to succeed as creative professionals.

Professor

Rethoric

“How do I share my story?”
“What if it gets no views?”
“Why should anyone care?”

These are legitimate concerns for any personal brand.

Whether you're an established brand or just getting started.

How you show up in your content is everything.

- You attract VC attention
- You build your credibility within your niche
- You onboard new customers to your business

These are only some of the many benefits that great copy and a well-thought-out organic content strategy help accomplish. 

I work with Startup to Fortune 500 founders to amplify their personal brands.

SaaS | Web3 | D2C | Fintech | AI 

Many of these founders have high net worths, and they trust me with their cookies. Will you?

Need to grow on LinkedIn or X?
Need to secure more funding? 
Need to build an attractive website?
Need to (re)position your brand?

Say "Hey Lev" in a message, and let's chat.

Co-Founder

Social INK Ltd

"Can you explain that again please?" was the question I most frequently asked my clients when interviewing them for content ideas. 

The blockchain/Web3 space is a black box; no one really understands what's going on within it. 

I was tasked with the impossible: demystifying the complexity of such topics into engaging, digestible content for others to read and enjoy. 

To paint a picture, one of my clients worked on encoding an NFT with human-verifiable DNA sequencing to act as 'proof of humanity' once the machines inevitably take over. 

It was my first time speaking with the founders...

"Now turn that into a Tweet, please." They told me after discussing the company for 20 minutes.

"No problem," I replied, but first, "What do you mean by that?"

(You can see how valuable being the dumbest person in the room is; you get to ask all the simple questions.)

But that's the secret to success in Blockchain, Web3, Crypto, AI, etc.

K.I.S.S = Keep it simple, stupid.

That's the way to get attention.
Educate your audience. 
Attract new customers. 

Make it easy and enjoyable to understand the problems you're solving, and the people will follow. Speak to them as you would with a colleague, and your messaging will go over their heads.

Educate first, sell later.

taplio

The Battle

Manuel Saez

Lev Markelov

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