About Daniel

I’ve spent my career helping teams turn ideas into real results.

I’ve led product strategy and innovation at every stage of the journey — from early-stage startups to large global enterprises.
Along the way, I’ve learned that the hardest part of building great products isn’t the technology. It’s aligning people around a shared vision, making tough trade-offs, and turning uncertainty into forward progress.

That’s the work I love most.

A little about my background

I started my career as an engineer, which taught me how technology really works. But what hooked me was seeing how the right product decisions could change a business.
Over the years, I’ve led product organizations across B2B SaaS, IoT, and climate tech — industries where the challenges are complex, the stakes are high, and the opportunity to make a real impact is enormous.

I’m currently VP of Product at ReUp Education, where I oversee our full product portfolio across both B2B and B2C lines of business. Our mission is to help universities re-engage students who have paused their education and support them from re-enrollment through graduation. On the B2C side, I’ve realigned strategy, improved the top of the funnel, and introduced AI tools to improve adoption and retention. On the B2B side, I built a new enterprise product from the ground up — assembling the team, securing investment, and launching the first version. It’s been deeply rewarding to lead such meaningful work that sits at the intersection of technology and education.

Like much of my career, my work at ReUp centers on building organizations that can translate product vision into real business and human impact — turning ideas into outcomes that matter.

At Stem, I helped pioneer one of the first AI-powered, energy storage systems — laying the groundwork for what’s now known as distributed energy.


Later, as VP and Head of IoT at Ericsson, I led the D-15 Studio, an innovation lab where we turned early ideas in IoT and 5G into real, market-tested solutions with major partners and customers.

I’ve also had the privilege of teaching Product Management and Strategy for the Internet of Things at Stanford University, where I trained over 1,500 experienced professionals from companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google. Teaching has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career — it keeps me connected to the next generation of product leaders.

And I wrote a best-selling book, The B2B Innovator’s Map, because I wanted to give product teams a simple, practical way to navigate the uncertainty of building something new.

What drives me

I care about helping companies — and the people inside them — succeed at building products that have a strong impact on society.
That means building clarity where there’s confusion, alignment where there’s friction, and confidence where there’s risk.

I believe Product Leadership isn’t about frameworks or buzzwords.
It’s about curiosity, courage, and empathy — knowing when to push, when to listen, and how to connect the dots between business goals and customer needs.

Let’s connect!

I’m always open to connecting with fellow product leaders, executives, founders, and anyone passionate about building great products.
If you want to connect, reach out to me on LinkedIn.

  • Russell Sprole, Entrepreneur

    The course is fantastic! Daniel does an excellent job breaking down the incredibly complex world of IoT in a very clear and concise way.

  • Rob Tiffany, VP of Strategy at Ericsson

    "When it comes to product leadership, Daniel is the best in the business. I’ve had the great fortune to work with him and benefited greatly from his thoughts on product innovation. Luckily, he’s put that wisdom into the book you’re holding in your hands. Needless to say, Daniel’s new book will be a constant companion as I build my next enterprise software product.”

  • Rob Fitzpatrick, Entrepreneur and Author of The Mom Test

    “A beautifully clear and coherent guide to the murky early days of building enterprise products. Elizalde has done a wonderful job of making his hard-won wisdom available and actionable to the next generation of B2B innovators and product leaders. I very much wish I’d had this book in hand throughout my whole career.”

  • Tendayi Viki, Author of Pirates In The Navy

    "With this book, Daniel Elizalde has crafted a much-needed guide on how to build a B2B business from scratch. Building a B2B business can be a challenging undertaking but Daniel is a world-class expert on the topic. Future B2B entrepreneurs are lucky to be able to tap into Daniel's expertise and to have this book to guide them toward their first ten customers."

  • Eric Simone, Co-Founder and CEO at ClearBlade, Inc.

    “Fabulous real-world examples from a person who has been there, done that. Daniel Elizalde has created an excellent guide for anyone navigating the treacherous waters of building enterprise software. I wish I had this book 10 years ago, it would have saved me from lots of pain!”

  • David Bland, Coauthor of Testing Business Ideas

    “Daniel has a unique blend of lean experimentation skills combined with both the worlds of software and hardware. He iterates through complex B2B solutions while speaking in terms that people understand.”

  • Miguel Morales, IoT Sales and Product Lead, Microsoft

    “In today’s fast-paced world of software product innovation, where everything is possible and ‘starchitects’ hold sway, it is so easy to disregard even core tenets of innovation discipline as impractical or assumed. And yet, how much time are we spending revisiting the fundamentals on products we are pushing to scale?

    This book is a fast, fun, and highly referenceable reminder that experience cannot possibly replace good strategy in early product design.”

  • Bill Schmarzo, Author, Data Management Innovation at Dell Technologies
    "Daniel brings a pragmatic, step-by-step, real-world-based framework for corralling innovation to not only win over those first 10 customers, but to put the product development process on the proper trajectory to drive repeatability and scale.”
  • Rich Mironov, CEO and "smokejumper" CPO
    "In “The B2B Innovator’s Map,” Daniel Elizalde takes us through the strategies and complexities of delivering value to not just one customer – who may have unique problems – but our first ten customers. This sets the stage for the growth and massive profitability that our companies need. This is a book that every B2B strategist, product manager, investor and company founder needs."
  • Wayne Irwin, Vice President of Operations, Ericsson

    “In The B2B Innovator’s Map, Daniel provides a wonderfully simple and easy-to-follow guide for launching new enterprise software products. If you follow the steps described in this book, you will understand the process needed to achieve the success you envisioned when you started your journey.

    Daniel not only teaches the correct steps, but he also identifies the pitfalls you need to stay away from, along with examples of each.”

  • Gebrin Gebrin, Marketing Manager
    “Daniel Elizalde is a great instructor. I highly recommend this course for any professional who wants to be successful in IoT."
  • Gwendoline Tuma, Sr PM
    “​​As a product manager, this course not only helped me become a better leader within my organization, but a better product manager overall.”

Throughout my career, I’ve identified the pain points B2B companies experience when bringing new products to market, and I’ve created field-tested frameworks that provide a structured approach to innovation—ensuring you avoid blind spots and can build digital products with confidence.

On my site, you’ll find plenty of free resources to get you started, including frameworks, templates, articles, talks, and my podcast.

You can take the next step by exploring my book or my online courses for B2B Product Managers.

I know that innovation can be daunting, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Believe me, I’ve been there. The good news is you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here for you and will guide you every step of the way.

Ready to get started?

I recommend getting started by checking out these FREE resources for B2B PMs.

I’ll talk to you soon!

FREE resources for B2B PMs
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Note: The views expressed on this site, including articles, podcast episodes, and courses, are my own. They do not represent the views of any of my employers, current or past.