Entrepreneurial Career

Entrepreneurial Career of Al Davis

Leadership Positions in Startup Companies

  • Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Offtoa, Inc.
  • President and Chief Executive Officer, Undisclosed Company 
  • Assets Sold: Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Omni-Vista, Inc. 
  • Public Acquisition: Founding Director, Requisite, Inc.
  • IPO: Vice President, BTG, Inc. 

Investor

  • Venture Capital: Non-Managing General Partner and Member of Investment Advisory Board, Catalyst InfoTech Development Fund, L.P.
  • Angel: Member of selection committee for High Altitude Investors (HAI), angel club in Colorado Springs [2009-2015].
  • Angel: Private investor in 13 start-up companies since 1983.

Mentor/Coach for Accelerators/Incubators/Investors

  • Colorado Springs Technology Incubator (CSTI), CO [2008-2015]
  • High Altitude Investors (HAI), Colorado Springs, CO [2008-2015]
  • IGNITE Community Accelerator, Albuquerque, NM [2018-2018]

Mentor for StartUp Companies (representative examples; excludes hundreds of student-run companies)

Teacher of Entrepreneurship

  1. "Entrepreneurship & Business Planning," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2018. 
  2. "Rise and Fall of a Business Startup," Placitas Adult Community Education, Placitas, NM, May 2018. 
  3. "Startup Boot Camp Lab," 4-week experience, Creative Startups, Albuquerque, NM, March-April 2017 (co-taught with lead instructor Lena Ramfelt). 
  4. "Entrepreneurship & Business Planning," ½-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Fall 2016. 
  5. "Entrepreneurship & Business Planning," ½-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2015. 
  6. "Entrepreneurship & Business Planning," ½-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2014. 
  7. "Entrepreneurship/New Ventures," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2014. 
  8. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2014. 
  9. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2013. 
  10. "Entrepreneurship/New Ventures," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2012. 
  11. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2012. 
  12. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2011. 
  13. "Entrepreneurship for Software Engineers," 1-semester course in the European Union Masters in Software Engineering Erasmus Mundus Program, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, June 2011. 
  14. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2010. 
  15. "Entrepreneurship/New Ventures," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2010. 
  16. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2009 (with Eric Olson). 
  17. "Software-Based Entrepreneurship," 2-day course, ORT Uruguay University Centro de Innovación y Emprendimientos, Montevideo, Uruguay, November 2009. 
  18. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2008 (with Eric Olson). 
  19. "New Venture Management," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2008. 
  20. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2007 (with Eric Olson). 
  21. "Software-Based Entrepreneurship," 3-day course, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, July-August 2007. 
  22. "New Venture Management," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2007. 
  23. "New Venture Management Executive Overview for University Principals," Atma Jaya Univ, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, September 2007. 
  24. "New Venture Management," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2006. 
  25. "Innovative Business Strategies for New Markets," 1-term course, Univ of Colorado Exec MBA Program, Spring 2006 (with Eric Olson). 
  26. "New Venture Management," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Spring 2005. 
  27. "New Venture Management," 1-semester course, Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs Business School, Summer 2005. 
  28. "New Venture Management Executive Overview for University Principals," Univ of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, June 2005. 
  29. "Software-Based Venture Management," ½-day course, Colorado Technical Univ, Colorado Springs, October 2005. 
  30. "Business Administration: New Venture Management," 13-day course, Univ of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, May-June 2005. 
  31. "Product Planning," 2-hour course, Univ of Colorado Entrepreneurial Boot Camp, Colorado Springs, July 2000 (with Josh Alspector). 

Lecturer on Entrepreneurship

  1. SECMOL School, "Tips for Starting a Successful Company," informal 1-hour class for high school students, Leh, Ladakh, India, Jun 2018.
  2. IGNITE Albuquerque Community Accelerator, "Autopsy of a Failed Startup," Albuquerque, NM, Apr 2018.
  3. IGNITE Albuquerque Community Accelerator, "Autopsy of a Failed Startup," Albuquerque, NM, Apr 2016.
  4. Open Coffee Club Santa Fe Startup and Creative Community, "Autopsy of a Failed Software Startup," public workshop, Santa Fe, NM, Mar 2016.
  5. One Million Cups, "Offtoa," Albuquerque, NM, Feb 2016.
  6. Colorado Springs Technology Incubator, "Getting Investors to Yes," 2-hour public workshop, Apr 2015.
  7. Placitas Community Library, "You Have a Great Idea for a New Business. Will You Make Money?" Placitas, NM, Jan 2015.
  8. Colorado Springs Technology Incubator, “Getting Investors to ‘Yes’,” Colorado Springs, Apr 2014.
  9. Steamboat Springs Economic Summit 2013, "Patterns of Entrepreneurial Failure," Steamboat Springs, CO, Oct 2013.
  10. Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto (Lappeenranta Univ of Technology), University Technology Transfer Office, "Methods for Evaluating Start-Up Companies," Lappeenranta, Finland, Jun 2012.
  11. Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto (Lappeenranta Univ of Technology), Dept. of Information Technology, "What Every Software Engineer Should Know about Entrepreneurship," Lappeenranta, Finland, Jun 2012.
  12. Colorado Springs Entrepreneur of the Year Luncheon, "The State of Global Entrepreneurship," keynote speaker, Colorado Springs, May 2012.
  13. Verizon Wireless Conference on Raising the Bar on Collaboration, "Converging on a Shared Vision of a New Product through Enhanced Collaboration," keynote speaker, Basking Ridge, NJ, Oct 2011. 
  14. VentureDay R+ Iberoamericano 2010, "Two Big Successes, One Big Failure, and Now Trying Again: Some Lessons Learned in Entrepreneurship," Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov 2010. 
  15. Colorado Springs Technology Incubator, "The Rise and Fall of a Software Startup," Colorado Springs, Oct 2009.
  16. Technical Univ of Madrid, European Union Masters in Software Engineering Erasmus Mundus Workshop, "What Every Software Engineer Should Know about Start-Ups," keynote address, Madrid, Spain, Jun 2009.
  17. Helsinki Univ of Technology, "Agility in Dynamic Markets and Tough Competition," Helsinki, Finland, Mar 2009.
  18. OOP 2009: Software Meets Business, "What Every Software Engineer Should Know about Start-Ups," Munich, Germany, Jan 2009.
  19. Pet Care Services Association Annual Convention and Expo, "Exit Strategies," Pittsburgh, PA, Oct 2008.
  20. Best Practices in Teaching Entrepreneurship Conference, "The Rise and Fall of a Startup: How a Failure Can Be a Success," keynote address, Colorado Mountain College, Leadville, Jun 2008. 
  21. Atma Jaya Univ, Industrial Engineering Department, "Entrepreneurship in the Global (and Flat) World," Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sep 2007.
  22. Atma Jaya Univ, Industrial Engineering Department, "Rise and Fall of a Business Startup (with Lessons for all Wannabe Entrepreneurs)," Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sep 2007.
  23. Conference on Developing New Strategies in Global Business, Atma Jaya Univ, "Differences Between Large Corporate and Startup Company Strategies in Global Business," Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sep 2007.
  24. Pohang Univ of Science and Technology (PosTech), "Rise and Fall of a Software Startup," Pohang, S. Korea, Apr 2006.
  25. National ICT Australia, "The Rise and Fall of a Software Startup," Sydney, Aug 2005. 
  26. Georgia Southern Univ, "The IT Entrepreneurial Challenge," Statesboro, Sep 2004. 
  27. School of Information Systems, Deakin Univ, "The IT Entrepreneurial Challenge," Melbourne, Australia, Aug 2004. 
  28. Centre for Object Technology Applications and Research, Univ of Technology, Sydney, "The IT Entrepreneurial Challenge: The Rise and Fall of a Software Startup," Sydney, Australia, Aug 2004. 
  29. Colorado Springs High Tech Startup Symposium, "Productization and the Startup," Colorado Springs, Mar 2004. 

Book Authorship on Entrepreneurship

Will Your New Start Up Make Money (WYNSUMM) (Scrub Oak Press, 2014).

Other Volunteer Entrepreneurial Activities

  • Member, Selection Committee, High Altitude Investors Angel Network, Colorado Springs, 2008-2015.
  • Judge, Colorado College Entrepreneurship Competition (CCEC), "The Big Idea," $50,000 First Prize, March 2013.
  • VentureDay R+ Iberoamericano 2010, Montevideo, Uruguay, Judge, Business Plan Competition, November 2010.
  • Member(ad hoc), Selection Committee, Colorado Springs Technology Incubator, 2008-2009.
  • Member, Board of Advisors, Colorado Springs Technology Incubator, 2001-2006.
Share by: