About David

The short story

  • Technology! Business! Innovation! Design! Education!

The long story

  • Born in Paris, France
  • Started to teach himself computer programming around age 10
  • Graduated with two majors, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, from Cachan Institute of Technology, in less than 2 years
  • Dropped out of graduate school after 3 months, in order to spend a year developing gesture- and handwriting- recognition software in his bedroom
  • At age 20, moved from France to Silicon Valley with barely enough money to survive 10 days, no connections, no working visa, and immediately started his first company, Sensiva, Inc., in Palo Alto, CA to build a business out of his technology. He bootstrapped by selling a non-exclusive license, and became profitable from day one (and visa taken care of). First U.S. patent granted and first investors joined a couple years later
  • Sensiva gesture technology licensed and now used every day by millions of people worldwide
  • Co-founded XL Media, Inc., a permission-based email distribution company (failed, now defunct)
  • Co-founded MetaPass, Inc., a security software company. Products used by the FBI and other high-security organizations around the world. Second U.S. patent granted
  • On the board of advisors of several companies in the US, Europe, and Asia
  • Most recently, founded a non-profit organization, Talents Unlimited, to help people find jobs in a difficult economy, by aligning their skills with their passions and the market needs
  • Piano player
  • Member of the Stanford Ballroom Dance Team to compete at intermediate level
  • Speaks 3 languages with a different accent in each
  • Traveled to every continent and over 50 countries
  • Depending on the world location, nicknames include “Dave”, “D”, “DD”, “Double-D”, “David D”, or “Didi”
  • Minimalist, the less stuff the happier
  • Vegetarian
  • Zen practitioner and meditator
  • David is passionate about:
    • Disruptive business models
    • Advanced technology
    • Working with awesome people to bring products to mass markets
    • Design
    • Arts
    • Education
    • Sharing knowledge
    • Connecting people and the dots across various industries
  • He speaks at events, conferences, and universities such as Stanford, mainly in business, education, and technology.

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