CEO at Glowforge

Dan Shapiro is a serial entrepreneur and innovator who is transforming how people create. As CEO and cofounder of Glowforge, he pioneered desktop laser technology that has enabled hundreds of thousands of designers to produce hundreds of millions of custom products—from intricate wallets to elegant furniture. The company's launch shattered crowdfunding records with the largest 30-day campaign in history. Before revolutionizing digital fabrication, Dan created Robot Turtles, the most successful board game in Kickstarter history. The game, which teaches programming fundamentals to preschoolers, has been sold everywhere from Target stores to the Museum of Modern Art. Prior to his detour as a game designer, Dan's entrepreneurial journey includes roles as CEO of Google Comparison Inc. (following Google's acquisition of his startup, Sparkbuy) and founder of Photobucket Inc. (formerly Ontela). A prolific innovator with over 100 patents to his name, Dan's work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and the front page of the New York Times. He serves as a Senior Research Fellow in Wharton's Generative AI Lab and is the author of "Hot Seat: The Startup CEO Guidebook,” published by O'Reilly. Dan holds a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College.