About my site
About a year and a half ago some friends and colleagues approached me about doing something new. We were all intrigued by the amazing things generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini (and their APIs) were making possible.
We played with a few ideas, and then got started - let's create something useful and iterate along the way. After some fits and starts we are finally humming along on a project - and learning a LOT about what AI can and can't do.
On this site I will share our journey - what we're building, what we are learning, and how we are doing it.
I hope you find it useful, and would love to hear what you are working on too!
-Don
My Background
I got into computers as a kid when I saw a friend's Apple ][+ computer. I got my first job, saved up some money, and convinced my parents to help me get one. Sitting in my bedroom every night up until 2 a.m. I played games and learned to program Basic and some 6502 Assembly. I was hooked!
That started by obsession with computers and software, and turned into a really rewarding career for me too.
I like to think of myself as a "lifelong learner". I get a charge out of a steep learning curve. Some of my best friends share this curiosity. Maybe you do too.
What is happening now with AI feels like a shift on the order of mobile, social, cloud, and maybe even the Internet. What an exciting time to be learning!
Here are some of the things I've worked on:
As partner at Founder Partners, I led a monthly Founder Meetup for the CEOs of our portfolio companies. In these sessions we explored growth marketing, go-to-market, sales, marketing, business model and product issues that startups face.
I co-led the Ford X venture accelerator within Ford Motor Company, helping venture teams build new mobility businesses. This was a really fun project where I worked with a bunch of entrepreneurs internal to Ford to dream up and start new tech/mobility businesses.
I co-founded and built two software companies - Expand2Web and GatherUp. In 2019 we sold GatherUp - which serves over 20,000 businesses globally, helping them manage and market their customer experience including Net Promoter Score, customer feedback and online reviews. GatherUp appeared in the INC 5000 list for 2019 (#2240).
Prior to that, I consulted for Red Bull Media House, where I established partnerships for Red Bull TV with Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Roku and others and managed the creation of applications for their streaming device platforms.
As a product evangelist at Microsoft, I helped third-party developers adopt new Microsoft technologies and APIs and showcased their new offerings at product launches. I was also part of a team that supported selling large enterprise deals across the US.
Prior to that, I was an early member of Interwoven, a web content management company, in key product management and technical sales roles where I helped build the company to 1,000 people and a successful IPO.
I enjoy working with kids and volunteer for the Hour of Code, working with elementary school teachers to help kids learn to write software.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and love to surf, sail, mountain bike and travel.