About Angus Davis
Angus Davis - Professional Summary:
Although his own educational experience was unusual—he started his career in technology immediately after high school—Angus Davis has become a strong advocate for educational reform in his home state of Rhode Island in recent years. Appointed to the nine-member Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board of Regents, Angus Davis co-chaired the search committee that selected Deborah Gist as the new Commissioner of Education. Angus Davis also chairs the state and charter schools committee and has been instrumental in ending a ban on public charter schools, introducing regulations that allow alternative teacher certification, and bringing Teach for America, Inc. to the Ocean State. In addition to serving the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board of Regents, Angus Davis supports numerous educationally focused charities, such as Democracy Prep Public Schools, Democrats for Education Reform, KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), and The Center for Education Reform. Angus Davis launched his career in California’s Silicon Valley, serving as Netscape Communications’ youngest full-time employee. After developing his skills as a product manager, he left Netscape to co-found his own business Tellme Networks. After Microsoft acquired his company in its largest acquisition of a privately owned company, he returned to Rhode Island in hopes of establishing a similar entrepreneurial environment in his home state. Since 2009, Angus Davis has operated as Chief Executive Officer of Swipely, a social commerce company he founded in Providence. Thus far, he has generated $8.5 million in funding from top-tier venture capitalists, such as Greylock Partners and First Round Capital. His enterprise has also garnered the attention of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, TechCrunch, and other media outlets.
Angus Davis - Professional Experience:
Tellme Networks
Co-Founder
Technology
Mountain View, CA US
01/1/1999 — 05/1/2009
Co-founder of the company, one of Silicon Valley's most successful startups of the era.
Product leadership.
Raised $238 million in venture capital Grew company from 0 to over $120 million/year in sales. Grew company from inception to over 300 employees. Acquired by Microsoft in 2007 in a $1 billion deal, their largest-ever acquisition of a private company.
Founded Tellme in 1999 with Mike McCue. Went through many ups and downs, learning experiences and different roles over our journey. Grew business from zero to profitability with over 0 mm in annual revenue from Fortune 100 customers. Shaped software-as-a-service that redefined the industry and changed the way people use their telephone with pioneering speech interfaces. Raised 8 mm from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark Capital and Jim Barksdale. In 2007, Microsoft acquired Tellme in their largest-ever acquisition of a private company. Integration was a significant exercise, but successful: 304 of Tellme's 312 full-time employees stayed on with Microsoft following the acquisition.
Swipely
CEO & Founder
Technology
Providence, RI US
08/1/2009 — 99/99/9999
Founder and CEO of the company.
CEO. Lead and manage the company. Product leadership.
Recognized by Providence Business News as "Innovator of the Year." Press coverage of the company in NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, TechCrunch, etc. Attracted $8.5 million in investment from top-tier venture capitalists Index, Greylock and FirstRound - same folks behind Skype, Facebook, Zynga, Groupon and eBay.
The series A venture capital investment was the largest software series A investment ever in a Rhode Island company, and it represented the largest-ever investment from Silicon Valley investors into a Rhode Island company, period.
Netscape
Product Manager
Software
Mountain View, CA US
10/1/1996 — 01/1/1999
Product Manager.
Part of 4-person team reporting to Netscape founder and CTO Marc Andreessen.
Position: IDS Network
Product Management / Development
Angus Davis - Education:
Portsmouth Abbey School (High School)
Angus Davis - Interests:
Professional Organizations:
Board of Directors, Center for Education Reform (Washington, DC) TEDster
Community Service:
Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education
Charities:
Center for Education Reform, Democrats for Education Reform, KIPP, Teach for America, Democracy Prep, Paul Cuffee School, Providence Preservation Society, Trinity Reparatory Theater
Hobbies / Activities:
entrepreneurship, business, technology, education reform, sailing, diving, boating, skiing, general aviation, travel, photography, go red sox!
Angus Davis Links
