BIO
Aaron McDaniel is a globally recognized entrepreneur (3 exits), teacher (Berkeley Haas faculty), author, corporate manager (fmr. AT&T), and speaker. Aaron is the co-author of The Wall Street Journal and National Bestseller, Global Class, a playbook for how to build a global company, developed through interviewing more than 300 executives from 50+ countries who have scaled the world’s fastest-growing companies.
Aaron is currently a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business (where he is also an alumnus) and is the co-founder of 10X Innovation Lab, an international consulting firm and accelerator helping corporations and governments across 4 continents build and leverage innovation ecosystems.
Aaron began his corporate career at AT&T, as part of its flagship Leadership Development Program. He rose to become one of the youngest to serve as Regional Vice President (at age 27) and was an AT&T Diamond Club honoree, being part of the Top 1% of sales managers worldwide (out of an organization of 10,000+). Aaron is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded 3 companies that were acquired (Pong360, Tycoon, Access Invest).
He is also the author of The Young Professional’s Guide to the Working World and The Young Professional’s Guide to Managing, has been featured in numerous media outlets including: Forbes, The Financial Times, Inc., Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CBSRadio, Entrepreneur, and US News & World Report, and is trusted by top companies including: the Ritz-Carlton, Microsoft, Deloitte Consulting, Wells Fargo, Principal Financial and UnitedHealth Group.
Aaron is the Chairman of Create the Change, a non-profit helping build the next generation of changemakers through connecting kids with age-appropriate volunteering opportunities, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
SPEAKER, Coach & Teacher
Through Young Professional's Edge (YP Edge), Aaron has helped countless Millennials build the foundation for successful careers and has taught executives (from Fortune 500 companies down to small community organization) how to empower their Millennial employees, preparing them to be the future leaders of their business, and have helped corporate leaders learn how to target and engage their Millennial customer-bases.
Aaron is currently one of the youngest members of the faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, teaching a highly rated course on innovation and entrepreneurship. Aaron also instructed a course called "Leadership and Organizational Dynamics," while he was still an undergraduate student!
CORPORATE LEADER
Coming to AT&T right out of undergraduate business school, Aaron was selected to be part of the Leadership Development Program (LDP), which put him at the same level as his post-MBA peers. Day 1 Aaron was put in charge of 17 people, half of whom had worked at AT&T longer than Aaron had been alive. Over nearly a decade of work at AT&T Aaron managed over 100 different direct reports in many functions from sales to operations, customer service, marketing, business development and strategy. Aaron was named to AT&T's Diamond Club, recognized for being in the Top 1% of sales leaders worldwide. Aaron became the youngest to serve as Regional Vice President (at the age of 27) when he ran a 60 person organization that covered an 8 state territory. Aaron was regularly on AT&T's "High Potential Leaders" list as he rose through the ranks.
ENTREPRENEUR
With over a dozen years of investing experience, Aaron and his partners have identified a unique opportunity in the sub-institutional multi-family real estate space, and built out Velocity Capital Group, a real estate investment firm. As managing director, Aaron leads acquisition and asset management efforts.
With the continued growth of global ecommerce, the problem of counterfeits and unauthorized sales has plagued many brands. IP Shark leverages technology to help protect brands online. As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Aaron leads sales, business development and customer success efforts to expand IP Shark’s business.
Seeing an opportunity to solve the biggest problems he faced when running the real estate crowdfunding platform he founded (Tycoon), Aaron co-founded Access, a mobile aggregating app for equity and debt crowdfunding deals (like Kayak.com does for travel).
With the passing of the JOBS Act, a landmark law changing how investment opportunities could be marketed and who could invest, Aaron founded Tycoon, an early a real estate crowdfunding platform that changed the real estate investment market. After building out the business and being one of the first to shine the national spotlight on real estate crowdfunding (through his appearance on ABC's Shark Tank), Aaron sold Tycoon to a Consortium of Real Estate Crowdfunding platforms in 2015, in the first ever acquisition of a real estate crowdfunding platform.
Before Uber came to change the transportation industry, Aaron co-founded FlagdownTaxi, a mobile application that allowed people to hail a cab through their smartphones. Before it's time, Flagdown focused on integrating with taxi companies (who were not ready for the industry's tectonic shift) instead of through drivers (the way Uber did). While ultimately a failure, the experience taught Aaron a great deal about building out a technology business and identifying emerging trends.
Pong360 was one of the leading companies in the portable beer pong table market. As CEO, Aaron built out a network of over 100 online retailers who sold Pong360 products (including, interestingly enough, 3 of the Pong360's top 5 competitors). After scaling out the business, Aaron stewarded the sale of the company in 2012.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER
Aaron is a board member of of Project Giving Kids (PGK). PGK’s mission is to cultivate empathy in youth by leveraging technology to engage them in meaningful and age-appropriate service opportunities.
As a 75th birthday gift for his Godmother, Aaron created the Jill Wakeman Foundation for Equality, featured on ABC News. A civil rights activist for more than 50 years, Jill has fought for racial, gender and sexual orientation equality. The non-profit foundation continues the fight for equality through initiatives like the Cups For Equality Campaign.
Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization that helps teach students about business and economics. Aaron has been an active classroom volunteer (primarily at the middle school level) over the last 10 years.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is a fantastic community organization that pairs at risk youth with young professionals who mentor them and provide older sibling-like support and guidance.
AARON'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE
Author of #2 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Global Class, a playbook for building a global company
Member of the faculty @ UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
Founder of 3 businesses that have been acquired
One of the Youngest to serve as Regional VP @ AT&T, a Fortune 10 Company
AT&T Diamond Club, Top 1% of sales managers worldwide
Graduate of AT&T’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) that puts participants in management roles day 1 out of school
Managed over 100 different direct reports and organizations as large as 60 at AT&T by the age of 27
Worked across many business functions – marketing, operations, customer service, sales, strategy & business development
Celebrated Author of the Young Professionals Guide book series
Founder & CEO of Tycoon Real Estate, a crowdfunding platform (Acquired in 2015)
Co-Founder & CEO of Pong360, an ecommerce company (Acquired in 2012)
Founder of the Jill Wakeman Foundation for Equality, a non-profit organization focused on supporting equality causes
Chairman of Create The Change, a non-profit helping build the next generation of changemakers through connecting kids with age-appropriate volunteering opportunities
Student Commence Speaking at UC Berkeley’s University-wide Convocation (2004)
UC Berkeley’s “Mr. Business” charity pageant winner