my story

INSPIRED Steve JobS
TO LAUNCH Apple StoreS

startup TO
$1 billion exit

Launched businesses in 15 countries

Keynote speaker in 8 countries

I grew up in calm times and tumultuous times. I was raised on a ranch breeding and training horses. Many times money was tight, but my mom never gave up on herself and never gave up on my brother and me. She taught us to be winners. As the clear underdog, I won the State Fair championship in horsemanship. Again, as a newcomer and underdog, I won the international 4-H sheep competition. We had many challenges and we had many great times.

I know tumultuous times! I lived in Oregon when Mt. St. Helens erupted. I lived in Silicon Valley when the Loma Prieta earthquake of ‘89 hit. I lived in Alabama when hurricane Hugo struck in ‘89. The Oakland firestorm of ‘91 threatened our home. And more recently experienced a tornado in Utah in ‘2016. In 2018 a fire came to the crest of the hill just minutes from our home.

These experiences taught me that I must “over prepare” and be ready for anything to come my way, and then “go with the flow.”

At 28 I finally graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. First ever in my family to graduate with a four year degree. I went to work for a technology company in Mobile, Alabama. I was a big fish in a small pond. Then I moved to Adobe in Silicon Valley and was now a small fish in a big pond. I almost got eaten. After six months my boss said I wasn’t going to make it. Remembering my childhood and the winning attitude my mom instilled in me, I asked for six more months to prove myself. Six months later we all celebrated the largest deal in Adobe history. I led the team who made it happen.

Having worked with Steve Jobs while I was at Adobe, he knew me and knew what I could do. When he was asked to return and reinvent Apple he asked me to help. A few weeks later I proposed the Apple Store concept. As they say, the rest is a $60B a year history. After my adventure at Apple, I jumped into a startup. I discovered that I had a gift for growing small companies. That startup went from a zero to $1 billion dollar exit.


In all of this experience I learned what to do when the waters were calm and what to do when I hit the rapids. Are we living in tumultuous times now? You bet. The economy experienced a shut down!!! Unheard of. Unemployment skyrocketed. Now, we’re trying to get back to business in this tumultuous time. My life experience has prepared me for these times.

I can help you thrive in these challenging times.

Receiving International Business Award from Derek Miller, President of World Trade Center Utah

Purchase Now

Guiding Your Raft • Dano Ybarra.

Dano Ybarra

• Took a startup to a unicorn exit

• Inspired Steve Jobs to launch the now $60B a year Apple stores.

• 20+ years as an executive in high tech companies

• 10+ years as a CEO or General Manager with over 350 reports

• Launched businesses in 15 countries around the globe

• Speaker in 8 countries across the globe from a dozen to thousands in the attendance

• #1 Best Selling author on leadership






Business Intelligence (BI) is the buzzword of today.


Capturing business trends hidden in structured data and big data using analytical tools can deliver intelligence about where the business has been, where it is today, and when combined with predictive analytics, where it can be in the future. Even with all of this technology at our fingertips, individual experience and a track record of success are still critical assets for any business to succeed. Here is an introduction to Dano Ybarra — me — and my business intelligence.

Driving businesses to high visibility in competitive markets, I deliver strategies for rapid growth and sustainability. As a senior executive with 15+ years of experience in general management, marketing, sales, business development, start-up, turnaround, M&A activity, and product positioning, I seize emerging opportunities for long-term impact. Please consider:

• Elevated startup to $120M in < 3 years with $28M EBITDA, launching industry’s first DSL router and seizing world-leading market share at 34%; resulted in company’s ultimate sale to $100B global conglomerate.

• Outperformed large competitors during market struggle, executing company’s $1.2B sale to leading producer of modems.

• Set stage for acquisition by Motorola and growth to $90M by aligning capabilities and technology with rapidly changing conditions.

• Turned around VC-backed technology solutions company, growing revenue from <$4M to $14M+ in five quarters while expanding margins from 18% to 28% by building high-quality sales/marketing organization, generating new business, and containing spend.

• Closed Adobe’s largest single account agreement to-date licensing PostScript to Sun Microsystems for $20M.

My track record of closing business and my ability to build high-performing organizations and teams has resulted in profitability, expansion, and continuous innovation for previous employers. If your company can benefit from a world-class background, strong business acumen, and technical knowledge, I welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs. Thank you

Executive Summary

Global Executive building world-class organizations and driving product/technology innovation for competitive advantage on international level. Experience spans general management, marketing, sales, product management, P&L oversight, strategic business development, M&A, operations, and public speaker.

Catapulted startup from $500K to $120M in < 3 years with $28M EBITDA, launching industry’s first DSL router and seizing world-leading market share at 34%; resulted in the company's ultimate sale to $100B global conglomerate…

  • Identified product roadblocks due to tight market, pursuing alternative direction and completing development and release of breakthrough software and hardware products that garnered interest from multinational companies.

  • Drove requirements specification and architecture discussions and reviews.

  • Initiated sell-side M&A activity to strengthen visibility and credibility, heading $24M sale to major investors, gaining new business from key players, such as Pacific Bell, SBC, and France Telecom, and pushing quarterly revenue to $8M.

  • Outperformed large competitors during market struggle, executing company’s $1.2B sale to leading producer of modems.

  • Grew revenue from $60M to $120M in one year and achieved 40% hardware profit margin via product innovation strategies.

  • Cut $12M in costs in < 6 months by centralizing global technology development centers following post-acquisition integration.

Pioneering Leader expanding footprint and identifying profitable direction by combining strong business acumen with technical knowledge. Excels in startup, turnaround, and high-growth situations, devising and executing actionable strategies for sustainability.

  • Lifted quarterly revenue $10M despite legal NASDAQ-related non-compliance issues by securing accounts in Europe and acquiring new software management technology that led to licensing agreements with AT&T and Siemens.

  • Set stage for acquisition by Motorola and growth to $90M by aligning capabilities and technology with rapidly changing conditions.

  • Led acquisition of the software company and drove development over 12 months resulting in $3M license agreement by Bell South.

  • Turned around VC-backed technology solutions company, growing revenue from <$4M to $14M+ in five quarters while expanding margins from 18% to 28% by building high-quality sales/marketing organization, generating new business, and containing spend. Managed worldwide sales, marketing, and engineering team of 80 employees.


Professional Overview

Principal, Eagle Flight Investments (Consulting), 3+ Years

  • Getting results for start-up and mature companies. Accelerating their success directing business, marketing, sales, and engineering directions and teams. Clients include PurePredictive (acting CMO) – predictive analytics and Business Intelligence (BI), LykeBox – social loyalty platform, MyMark – social media for professionals SaaS platform, Entelica Energy – energy efficiency for buildings, Jikan – employee schedule SaaS platform, ReadyNet – home networking products, Revinetix – D2D2D backup, Mediaport – digital entertainment, and My LifeStyle – SaaS online real estate …

CEO, 3+ Years

  • Demi Energy, Inc.: Engaged for spin-out of Asoka USA Corporation’s core energy solution, attaining $2M in series A funding.

  • Asoka USA Corp.: Sought out by VC investors to revitalize struggling powerline networking company, tripling revenue and overseeing 90 direct reports (60 engineers) spanning US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and China.

Senior VP, Sales & Marketing, Netopia – Acquired by Motorola then Google, 3+ Years

  • Directed sales/marketing, product management, service delivery, and business development for $120M broadband products firm.

  • Facilitated integration of Wi-Fi broadband and merchant services to capitalize on market penetration.

  • Revitalized SaaS division due to compliance issues, repositioning group as key contributor and rebuilding staff/management team.

VP/General Manager/Co-Founder, FlowPoint Corp/Cabletron/Efficient Networks/Siemens ICN, 5+ Years

  • Recruited as co-founder by FlowPoint to overcome competitive barriers, elevating revenue from $500K to $7M+ in one year by building a sales/marketing team, leveraging engineering talent, and devising plans to enter DSL space on a multinational level.

  • Championed company’s sale to build capital, positioning company as wholly-owned subsidiary of primary investor (Cabletron).

  • Oversaw growth to $60M+ in 1999, steering negotiation of company’s sale to Efficient Network; remained on executive staff as VP of corporate marketing, strengthening promotional strategies and corporate image via new website and PR approach.

  • Transitioned into general management role for product division, proving vital in boosting sales to run rate of $500M in 2000.

  • Integral in company’s sale to Siemens to minimize impact of impending dotcom burst, assuming general management position for global broadband products; oversaw 150 direct reports and engineering/product development in Switzerland and Belgium.

  • Served on Broadband Forum contributing to standards-based software and hardware specifications.

Consultant, Apple Computer, 1 Year

  • Delivered recommendations that resulted in launching standalone stores and developing in-store partnerships with CompUSA.

Business Manager, Adobe System Incorporated, 5+ Years

  • Drove new product introduction, marketing, and sales channel development for company’s UNIX graphic arts product offerings including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier, and Acrobat; participated in buy-side acquisitions and operational integration.

  • Secured company’s largest PostScript licensing agreement valued at $20M, landing contract with Sun Microsystems

  • Integral in developing Acrobat and transitioning major Adobe products into Sun, Silicon Graphics, DEC, and IBM operating systems.

─ Board & Standards Experience ─

Current: Board of Advisors Member/Investor for startup enterprise-level, web-based asset-tracking software company (CG4)

Previous: Member DSL (Broadband) Forum standards committee setting worldwide broadband standards.

─ Education ─

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

Conversational Spanish