Quick biography
David A. Steinberg was born in 1970. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer or CEO of Zeta Global. He graduated at Washington & Jefferson College in 1991. In 1993, he founded Sterling Cellular, Inc. He broke up Sterling Cellular in 1999. He then sold retail chain and telemarketing operations of Sterling Cellular. He founded Inphonic, Inc. after that. He won the Greater Washington Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2002. It was in the communications category. He became a member of the board for United States Chamber of Commerce in 2004. He resigned in 2007 from Inphonic. Versa Capital Management then bought it in bankruptcy court then renamed it Simplexity. He then started anew with CAIVIS Acquisition Corp. In 2011 he started XL Marketing Corp. He rebranded XL Marketing in 2014. He co-founded the new XL Marketing with John Sculley. They renamed the company as Zeta Interactive. In 2016 it became Zeta Global. He has also served on the Washing & Jefferson College Board of Trustees.
Beginning a career
David Steinberg founded Sterling Cellular, Inc. in 1993 using credit cards and a parental loan. He used the basement of his house in Bethesda, Maryland. It was a business that sold cellular phones. It grossed $1.3 million in sales during its first year in business. Sterling offered free and timed delivery on its third month. And also a warranty/repair program. They also offered a free loaner phone program. Sterling Cellular grew to 12 retail locations by 1997. Its sales amounted to $22 million.
Bankruptcy
Steinberg broke up Sterling Cellular to sell cell phones over the internet. He founded Inphonic, Inc. after he sold off Sterling Cellular. Inphonic became the largest seller of new cell phones over the internet. Its revenue reached over $300 million. The public praised and criticized Steinberg at the same time. Inphonic’s downfall started when the financial crisis of 2007 began. Steinberg resigned as CEO and Chairman of the Board. Inphonic filed for bankruptcy after.
New investment
He secured support to start anew. He founded a new corporation, CAIVIS Acquisition Corp. It is an investment firm looking to buy small companies in the internet space. It then combines them to maximize their opportunities. It is like a holding company. It aims to achieve an economy of scale. This is for the standard infrastructure required for internet businesses. This includes human resources, legal, and accounting departments. It also aims for many arbitrage by combining smaller companies into larger businesses.
Advertising and marketing changes over the years
Steinberg moderated a marketing panel on 2014. David Steinberg Interactive hosted the panel. It was about the changes in advertising and marketing over the years. Apple’s 1984 commercial was their benchmark. Panelists include Apple’s John Sculley. And advertising executive David Sable who was GLobal CEO of Young & Rubicam. As well as Jessica Gelman, the Vice President of Customer Marketing & Strategy. The Kraft group, owners of the New England Patriots, is also part of the panelists. Hooman Radfar, the Chairman and co-founder of marketing firm, AddThis.
