Dana Robinson is a principal with Verde Equity Partners, a San Diego based private equity firm currently focusing on property adjacent services and business to business services.
Dana is a recovering corporate/trademark lawyer with over 20 years of practice (managing partner, Techlaw LLP, managing partner, US IP Attorneys). Dana also spent the past decade mentoring the professionals of tomorrow. He was adjunct professor and director of intellectual property clinics at both California Western School of Law and University of San Diego School of Law. Dana’s contribution to the profession includes publishing Trademark Prosecution, a Casebook and Practice Guide (Lawcarta, 2021).
Parallel to Dana’s legal career, his focus has been business ventures and real estate. His ventures span multiple industries, including three international businesses with operations in China. Dana’s operational experiences include startups and control buyouts, and multiple experiences combining operations of acquisitions.
Unlike many private equity professionals, Dana has been boots-on-the-ground, and gets his hands dirty in the operational side of the businesses he invests in. He spent two years in operations as a member of the executive team at Goettl, where Dana handled the integration of the Austin acquisition, and a season handling change management in the company’s Los Angeles operation. Goettl’s 10x growth over a three year period led to a recap in December 2021 to Cortec at a historic valuation.
Dana was Co-Founder of an audiobook company that was sold to private equity group Shamrock, and recapped to KKR in 2020. Since that time, he and his co-founder have launched Zoundy, an early stage audiobook SAAS platform, and EverCourse, an AV learning production and distribution company.
As a real estate professional, Dana has acquired and exited multiple property management businesses, where he was investor and operator. Dana has owned 100 doors of residential rental property. His experience includes complex 1031 and reverse 1031 procedures, entitlement, syndication, and workouts.
Dana’s investment banking experience includes three years at San Diego’s Shoreline Partners, where Dana held a Series 79 FINRA license, and was involved in numerous sell-side deals.
Dana’s corporate governance includes roles as a professional neutral director, and board seats with for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Dana continues to give back what he has learned through authorship and education. Dana’s courses on IP, business and entrepreneurship on Linkedin Learning have reached over half million learners. Dana has published three books that share his (sometimes) unrefined approach to entrepreneurship, life and money. His community support includes Creative Mornings San Diego; TEDx San Diego; and founding two local business networks.
Dana’s educational background includes a B.A. from Life Pacific University, a M.A. from Azusa Pacific University, a Juris Doctor from University of San Diego (cum laude), and he is slated for a Doctor of Business Administration (2023) in Luxury Marketing from the Paris-based Ecole de Commerce International (ESGCI).