David Smith

David Smith is a seasoned entrepreneur, business strategist, and educator with over four decades of experience founding and managing technology companies. His diverse career spans from corporate leadership at Apple to pioneering Internet technologies and establishing innovative educational platforms.

Career Highlights

Corporate Leadership

• Served as Apple's World Marketing Manager responsible for the company's global brand and international marketing (1990-1991).

• Recipient of Golden Apple Award for outstanding performance.

• Managed Apple's distribution channels and launched the Apple Accredited Distribution Program (1987-1990).

Entrepreneurial Ventures

David has founded and continues to run a portfolio of successful companies:

• Silicon Valley High School (SVHS) - Founded in 2013, an accredited online high school and curriculum publisher that has served over 77,000 students through AI-supported personalized education.

• Liquidity Club - Co-founded in 2020, an exclusive network connecting startups, investors, and accelerators.

• Tynax - Founded in 2003, a global patent brokerage operating an online exchange with more than 500,000 patents.

• Silicon Valley Business School (SVBS) - Founded in 2010, providing real-world online business education and entrepreneurial guidance.

• Red Rooster Media - Co-founded in 2017, a digital marketing agency offering video production, online advertising, and web design.

• Cambridge Manhattan Group - Founded in 2002, a startup formation and incubation company (operated until 2023).

Internet Pioneering

• Founder & CEO of SurfMonkey (1996-2002), developing one of the leading Internet browsers and safety solutions for children, later deployed by major ISPs including Earthlink and Yahoo Japan.

• Founded MediaLive (1994-1996), developing advanced web browsers for TV set-top boxes.

• Founded Xpand (1991-1994), creating one of the first web browsers and the world's first virtual reality trade show on CD-ROM.

Entrepreneurship Educational Contributions

David has made significant contributions to entrepreneurial education:

• Developed the comprehensive Silicon Valley Business School curriculum with 30 courses on various aspects of business, finance, marketing and law.

• Created the "Zero to IPO" methodology guiding entrepreneurs through the startup journey.

• Pioneered integration of AI guidance with structured entrepreneurial education through the Sherpa AI system.

• Developed the Milestone Progress tracking system for quantifying startup advancement.

Published Works

Books:

• Zero-To-IPO - A roadmap for entrepreneurs navigating from startup to public offering.

• Dollar Value - On valuation methodologies for patents, startups, and intellectual property.

• Patents, Cloaks and Daggers - An insider's look at the secretive patent trade.

Podcasts:

• Silicon Valley Trends Podcast - helps entrepreneurs build successful startups and innovators profit from their inventions. 

Education

• Juris Doctorate (JD), Santa Clara University School of Law (2004-2008). Recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award.

• Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, University of Westminster (1984-1986).

• BSc. (Hons) in Computer Science and Economics, University of Leeds (1979-1982). Deployed advanced concurrent modelling techniques to macro-economic modelling and built one of the first computer graphical user interfaces.

Recognition

David has been recognized as one of the world's leading intellectual property strategists by Intellectual Asset Magazine for multiple consecutive years.

His unique background spanning technology, marketing, law, and education has enabled him to build and scale multiple successful ventures while creating educational platforms that share his extensive knowledge with entrepreneurs worldwide.