David Waxman is a three-time technology entrepreneur and co-founder of TenOneTen Ventures. Self-described as "3X founder + 10 year VC — most comfortable among nerds," he brings deep operator experience to investing. After studying computer music at IRCAM in Paris and graduating from MIT's Media Lab in 1995 (where he built HOMR, an early music recommendation system), David co-founded Firefly Network with Nick Grouf and others. Spun out of the Media Lab, Firefly pioneered collaborative filtering and privacy technology. Microsoft acquired Firefly in April 1998, and the team built the first versions of Microsoft Passport — the web's first unified single sign-on platform. David then co-founded PeoplePC (again with Grouf), bridging the "digital divide" with bundled affordable PCs and internet access. PeoplePC landed a $300M deal with Ford Motor Company, grew to 600,000+ subscribers, reached ~$1B valuation, went public on NASDAQ in August 2000, and was acquired by EarthLink in 2002. In 2005, David co-founded SpotRunner, democratizing TV advertising for local businesses via automated ad creation and placement. SpotRunner raised over $100M from CBS, Goldman Sachs, WPP, and Allen & Company. The 2008 financial crisis crushed the advertising market, and SpotRunner did not achieve a positive exit — David calls it "a very expensive lesson" and notes failure is "highly overrated." The TenOneTen name references LA's 10 and 110 freeways. David lives in Hancock Park, LA with his wife, three daughters, and "a ludicrous number" of pets.