Dan Shapiro

Dan works at Google, which acquired his most recent company, Sparkbuy. Before that, he was the co-founder and former CEO of Ontela (now Photobucket), a Seattle-based mobile software company. Prior to founding Ontela, Dan managed development of the RealArcade service at RealNetworks, enabling thousands of end-users to play classic games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, and Rollercoaster Tycoon on their desktops. He arrived at RealNetworks by way of Wildseed, where he managed software development for the Identity Cellular Phone, from the modem to the Linux platform to the user interface.

Dan started his career at Microsoft, where he was responsible for Windows XP user interface components, the critically acclaimed Windows PowerToys, Windows 2000 Storage Management, and consumer storage in Windows 98. He received a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College. Dan loves unusual cuisines and blogs about his woodworking foibles at www.nothingseveredyet.com.

Recent posts and comments

• Don’t Ask for Introductions to Investors

  Raising money is hard, and there’s no way to screw it up faster than going around asking, “Hey, could you introduce me to some investors?” It’s sort of like when, on... Read more »

• Open Letter to Mike Arrington: Please Stop Investing in Startups

  Hi Mike,

  I’m one of your customers.

  We don’t really know each other. We’ve chatted at a few events, you’ve covered some of my antics, but I’m mostly just a guy who reads... Read more »

• What You Probably Don’t Know About Non Disclosure Agreements

  There is no love like a first time entrepreneur’s love with nondisclosure agreements. They are a romantic dream: secret pacts bonding two economic entities together as one, if only for the transaction. Promises... Read more »

• Intel and the Three Ds of the App Store Business

  Where are app stores going next? For the past few years, the app store model has spread through the wireless ecosystem like wildfire. There have been a few big winners and lots... Read more »

• Your Company Culture Is a Meaningless Platitude

  In this envelope, I have your Company Culture.

  “We work hard, but value work/life balance.

  We’re a team culture and we believe in individual empowerment.

  We give back to the community, and have strong ethics.

  We... Read more »

• Mobile Trends: The Cell Phone Body Count

  You may not realize it, but your mobile phone is a cold-blooded killer.

  Its assault began with little fanfare—the first victim, the phone booth, wasn’t particularly well-loved, and nobody was expecting a complete... Read more »