Al Danto
Al Danto will draw on more than 20 years experience with start-up and entrepreneurial companies when he delivers the Lamar University Institute for Entrepeneurial Studies "Entrepreneurship" Lecture, Tuesday, Feb. 5.
The free public lecture will be at 11 a.m. in the Landes Auditorium, Galloway Building in the College of Business at Lamar University.
The founder, CEO or venture capital source for several successful start-up companies across a wide range of industries, Danto brings real-life experience to the classroom. Several Danto start-ups have developed into leading companies in their industries.
He started Structured Graphics at the age of 24 and, through catalog sales and acquisitions, grew the company into one of the nation's largest printing and document-management businesses. INC. Magazine recognized the company as the 145th-fastest growing company in the U.S. Global Docugraphix, the largest document distributor in America, acquired Structured Graphics in 1999.
After the sale, Danto funded and launched Universal Worker, an international health care recruitment company later acquired by GROW Inc., one of the largest international recruitment firms in the world.
Danto and a long-time friend launched Sirius Solutions in 2002 to meet the rapidly growing requirements of Sarbanes�Oxley Act of 2002. The company quickly grew to more than 200 employees and $50 million in revenues.
He has provided venture capital to several start-ups including Arcemus, Inc., which provided International Internet Domain name registration. The company sold to publicly traded Iron Mountain.
Danto has served as a board member to several Houston businesses and non-profit organizations.
He received his undergraduate degree in business administration and mathematics from Central Michigan University and an MBA from Rice University. He lives in Sugar Land with his wife Donna and two children. He coaches and plays competitive ice hockey and enjoys fishing throughout the Texas Gulf Coast.
With a passion for teaching entrepreneurship, Danto delivers his message through real-life examples and experiences. He describes his talk as very interactive and a "view through the window to entrepreneurship."