Don Burton

Don has had an interesting career at the cutting edge of education innovation and technology-- primarily launching, scaling, and exiting companies as well as a thought leader on the topic of the Future of Education. As a strategic advisor, Don worked with McKinsey & Co consulting on strategies to launch interactive media business units and how to create open innovation within large corporates such as Apple, IBM, Sony, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Cox Cable, Viacom and Disney and with Goldman Sachs advising on exits and acquisitions. As an Intrapreneur, he has built education startups within large companies such as Walt Disney Company and Kaplan. As an Entrepreneur, he has built multiple edtech startups on his own as a founder with a major exit to Kaplan/Washington Post. He most recently has been a successful edtech investor with a portfolio of more than 30 startups as a seed stage investor. Don was an angel investor before running edtech Startup Accelerator programs with Techstars, and for his own company, graduating 3 cohorts who have raised more than 100 million in financing and have an estimated market cap of more than $400 million. He currently is co-founder and managing partner of LearnStart, a seed stage venture capital fund focused exclusively on learning, education and talent. Don graduated from Harvard Business School and Duke University. A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Business School, he enjoys spending time with his own kids and encouraging them to find and pursue their passions.