# Mike Strasser > Product Innovation and Development Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/mikestrasser Mike has over 27 years experience in product design and development and has worked at a variety of companies including Apple, IDEO, NASA, and BMW. Mike founded and led Think2Build LLC, a product design and engineering consultancy located in San Francisco. Mike was the co-founder and CEO of Motiv, a company that developed the smallest "wearable" fitness and health-tracking device in the form of a ring. Mike is on 87+ patents for various products ranging from medical devices to consumer electronics. He has worked on products such as the the first digital book, the BACtrack blood alcohol tester, the first Apple optical mouse, printer technology for HP, the Tracker avalanche beacon, implantable medical devices and surgical tools, the new FedEx smart drop box, and innovative packaging for Miller-Coors beer. Mike is a regular guest lecturer at Stanford’s d.school and UC Berkeley Bioengineering program for over 15 years. Mike earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a M.S. degree in Engineering (Product Design) from Stanford University. Strengths: innovation, design thinking, user centered design, user research, user experience, product design strategy, development process, manufacturing strategy, design for manufacturability, prototyping methods, digital health, physiological signals and sensors, wearable technology, and technical problem solving all while building the operations of a productive team/company. ## Work Experience ### Product Strategy and Development @ Think2Build LLC Jan 2022 – Present Help companies with product innovation, design thinking, user centered design methodologies, user research, user experience, product design strategy, development process, manufacturing strategy, design for manufacturability, prototyping methods, digital health, physiological signals and sensors, wearable technology, patents and IP. Clients include: StimScience, Adaptyx Biosciences, Overture Life, AlphaStudio, Prodeon Medical, Tangible, Flow Neuroscience, Jones Day, Gerson Lehrman Group, Quantum Applied Science & Research (Quasar), Fabricant LLP, Akura Medical (Shifamed), and Bio-Techne (ProteinSimple). ### Vice President, Advanced Exploration & General Manager, Stroke Detection @ Imperative Care Jan 2018 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area Led the company's digital health initiatives including research and development of a stoke detector. Invented a novel wearable device to collect data to build algorithms capable of detecting the neurological disruption caused by a stroke. Developed multi-variate, physiological & neurological patient monitoring devices to perform clinical research. Oversaw the collaboration with clinical partners including hospitals and mobile stroke units. Led user research and interviewed stroke survivors which led to the development of a clinician-patient platform (app) to support stroke survivors and their families. The cumulation of my efforts led to the creation of a spinoff company called Kandu Health. ### Co-founder, CEO, Chief Product Officer, and Board Member @ Motiv Inc Jan 2013 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco, CA Motiv developed and commercialized the world’s first activity and sleep tracking wearable in the form of a ring. As the CEO, lead the company through all phases of development from proof of concept, seed and Series-A financing (raised nearly $30M), built the team to over 40 employees in two locations, developed the product (both hardware and software), secured a top-tier manufacturing partner, and launched our first product to market with rave reviews. Acquired by Proxy. ### Founder and President @ Think2Build LLC Jan 2005 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco, CA Founded and lead a product design consultancy offering services from concept to production ("thinking" to "building"). Working in a wide range of industries including medical devices (implantable, surgical tools, procedures), furniture, consumer products, industrial equipment, baby products, and service industries. Worked with start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. ### Founder @ ReactorSF Jan 2007 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco, CA Founded and managed one of San Francisco's first co-working spaces - a creative work space which housed Think2Build LLC and about 10 other startups and consultancies. ### Co-Founder and Managing Member @ Gomite LLC Jan 2011 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco, CA Founded a consumer products company that developed camera accessories for digital photography. Patented a novel virtual ball-and-socket pivot joint. ### Lead Consultant at Coalesse @ Steelcase Jan 2007 – Jan 2011 | San Francisco, CA Engineering team lead for the Denizen high-end Small-office Home-office (SOHO) furniture line consisting of about 35 different pieces of furniture including tables, desks, storage systems, and accessories. Also, led engineering efforts and design for manufacturability of the FreeStand folding table. ### Product Design Lead @ IDEO Jan 1996 – Jan 2004 | Palo Alto, CA and Boulder, CO Worked on a wide range of projects for clients such as HP, 3Com, Palm Computing, Logitech, Steelcase, Softbook Press, P&G, Gerber, and Dial Corporation. Managed both small and large teams from proposal stage to first article inspection before mass production. Developed the first digital book, one of the first force-feedback steering wheel game controllers, and some of the products were produced in the 10's of millions. ### Product Design Engineer @ Apple Jan 2000 – Jan 2001 | Cupertino, CA Product Design Engineer working in the peripherals group on the optical mouse mechanical design details. This was the first generation optical mouse that followed the round iMac mouse. ### Innovation Manager @ BMW Group Jan 1999 – Jan 1999 | Munich, Germany As part of the Rover Group, coordinated across the various departments to identify opportunities for the unique selling propositions of the Rover R30 hatchback which went on to become the BMW 1 Series. ### Design Engineer @ Kestrel Bicycles Jan 1995 – Jan 1996 | Watsonville, CA Designed and fabricated a new line of aerodynamic composite bicycle forks. Forks were then tested in a wind tunnel for optimization. Won awards for best in class in both performance (strength/weight/stability) and aerodynamics. ### R&D Engineer @ Microflow Analytical Jan 1994 – Jan 1994 | Dublin, CA As an engineer at a MEMS development consultancy, developed processes and procedures for silicon micro-machining of microscopic sensors (ie accelerometers) and actuators (proportional micro valves). ### Engineer @ NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jan 1992 – Jan 1993 | Moffet Field, CA Worked within a team to develop computer and scaled models of the High Speed Civil Transport and worked in the 80’x120' wind tunnel developing empirical aerodynamic correlations to the theoretical data. ## Education ### Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design Stanford University ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Mechanical Engineering California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mstrasser - Website: http://www.think2build.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/mikestrasser JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/mikestrasser/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-07