David, a serial entrepreneur and advisor at Flybridge Capital Partners, invests in young Israeli companies and helps them enter the United States and other markets around the world. David is also owner of TinyURL.com, a leading URL shortener and one of the top 800 most-visited sites in the US.
Previously, David founded Ruckus Network, a legal digital entertainment service and social networking site for colleges and their students. He also served as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Battery Ventures, co-founded and served as President for two startups in the technology industry – including a company that was the single largest purchaser of Powerball tickets – and served as Director of Business Development for Idealab, a leading technology incubator. Prior to his entrepreneurial activities, David was a Consultant at Arthur D. Little in the Technology & Innovation Management Group.
David was recently a Mentor with the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and is currently a Judge for MassChallenge. He co-taught the MK 411 Entrepreneurial Marketing class at Bentley College and has been a Guest Lecturer at Brandeis University, Fordham Graduate School of Business Administration, MIT Sloan School of Management, Sy Syms School of Business, and Yale University.
David believes entrepreneurs should be able to give back to society – even if they have no money. To this end, he was a Co-Founder and Board Member of the Maimonides High School Charitable Venture Fund and a Board Member of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of New England. Both organizations allowed entrepreneurs, even those with no income, to pledge stock in their early-stage companies to charities of their choice.
David was a member of the Atid Circle at Maimonides School. He also served on the PR Committee and Social Networking Committee at Maimonides and was Co-Chair of the 75th Anniversary Concert featuring Israeli artist Shlomo Katz. David served on the Board of Trustees of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation – a large non-profit that distributes hundreds of thousands of Jewish-themed children’s books every month in Israel and the United States. David supports Tmarim – an organization focused on helping Israeli tech companies thrive yet not violate the Sabbath.
David graduated cum laude from Brandeis University with a BA in Economics and Environmental Studies. He also graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management with an MBA focused on New Product and Venture Development. At MIT, he was a winner of the MIT $1K Business Plan Competition.
Perhaps David’s stupidest accomplishment was apprehending a bank robber in downtown Boston. For his efforts, he received a commendation from the MBTA Transit Police and received a cash reward from the Massachusetts Bankers’ Association. He also received a strong rebuke from his wife and mother.