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

Dreamside Financial

Provides comprehensive CFO + Controller-Led services for profitable small to medium sized businesses ready to scale and expand.

Fractional CFO

RPM Living

Led the monthly close process and prepared financial statements for a private company with revenues over $150 million.

Handled various accounting tasks, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, financial reporting, payroll, budgeting, forecasting, ACH and wire transfers, and much more.

Proven proficiency in intercompany transactions and construction/project accounting.

Corporate Controller

MLG Capital

• Worked with regional property managers on the oversight and compilation of financial statements for several residential + commercial properties.
• Monitors, reconciles, or enters general ledger entries, supporting schedules to account balances, and accounts payable and receivable activity.

Property Accountant

Vogel Consulting

• Prepared personal/business monthly financial statements and investment reports. Provided quarterly market updates, monitored and analyzed stocks, mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity managers.
• Performed planning, budgeting, forecasting, modeling, cash flow projections, performance reports, asset allocations, j-curves, cash/stock transfers, bill payments, and bank + trust accounting reconciliations.
• Prepared tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, tax-exempt entities, trusts, gifts, and estates.
• Combined accounting, tax and investment knowledge to help families navigate the new financial environment.
• Worked with Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Microsoft Teams, Quickbooks, ProSystems FX Suite, DOP, Project Management, Black Diamond, Adobe PDF, T-Value5, Morningstar Direct, Number Cruncher, and more.

Staff Accountant

Schlossmann Auto Group

• Generated, developed and closed new business walk-ins, incoming phone calls, outbound phone calls, cold calls, internet leads, direct mail and several other marketing channels.
• Worked with and maintained relationships with over 2,000 customer accounts.
• Determined customer needs, built value, followed up, handled objections and closed new business.

Sales

Carrabba's Italian Grill

•  Placed Top 30 (0.5%) in company-wide wine bottle % of sales during the 2019 4th quarter Wine Harvest Contest at Carrabbas with over 6,000 servers in 204 stores.
•  Won 2017 store wine sales contest.
•  Anticipated, identified and fulfilled guest needs.
•  Stayed up to date on the knowledge of menu offerings, including gourmet food, spirits, and wine pairings.

Waiter

Business owners often struggle with cash flow, profit clarity, and scaling confidently.

Most can't afford a Chief Financial Officer. That's where I step in. I help businesses making $20k-$1.25M in monthly revenues:

1. Save 100s of hours each year with a strategic partnership that delivers CFO-level support (or scaleable accounting services) at a fraction of the cost.
2. Make informed financial decisions with clear, data-driven insights guiding every move.
3. And generate an additional $4k to $250k in monthly profit.

With my proven 6-step system, you’ll get predictable cash flows, financial clarity, and the freedom to scale—without burnout.

Why spend years figuring it out alone? Skip the costly mistakes, avoid overthinking, and hit your goals faster with a guide.

No fluff—just real results: more profit, steady cash flow, and bigger take-home pay.

Let’s see if I can help your business achieve the same results. DM me or visit my link above for free advice on tweaking your systems.

No fee—just clarity. Let’s fix your finances.

taplio

The Battle

Manuel Saez

Jake J. Erickson, MBA

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