David Janssens is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Zell Lurie Institute at Michigan Ross. He returns to Michigan after spending 16 years in Silicon Valley. He has extensive experience in product innovation, startup leadership, raising capital, and building product teams. Along with his EIR role, he is founding another company that combines his passions for sustainable products, family, and the outdoors.
David was the founder and CEO of Knit Health, a computer vision, machine learning, and sleep health startup acquired by Google. At Google, he was a senior product leader helping to grow Google’s health, AI, and hardware products. David spent 8 years at IDEO where he founded the Digital Shop, a creative technology studio that launched cutting-edge products and research. After moving to Ann Arbor, David joined Excelerate America as a partner and Chief Product Officer to build a collective for small and medium-sized businesses.
David holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, a BA in Physics from Kalamazoo College, and an MBA from the University of Cambridge. His work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, CES, and others. Beyond building and advising startups, David races sailboats, seeks powder, and gets outside with his wife and two kids.
Expertise:
- Raising capital
- Product development
- Human-centered design
- Product market fit
- Growing talent
- Building culture
- Early stage leadership
- Business & brand strategy