David Lyons
A Principal in Den Ventures, L.L.C., Mr. Lyons initially practiced corporate and securities law and then embarked on a career consisting of over 25 years of broad management experience, extensive merger and acquisition experience and significant involvement in the public markets.
Mr. Lyons was a founding partner of the Nacio Investment Group, LLC, which, pursuant to a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, financed and managed Nacio Systems, Inc. (“NSI”) to operating profitability as of July 2004. NSI, based in California, is an application development and managed hosting company providing the solutions and the infrastructure necessary to run and maintain network-based computing and communication services on an outsourced basis. The Company was acquired by a public company.
Mr. Lyons was retained by Oxford Management Corp., a private investment company specializing in building new technology companies, to work with several of Oxford’s companies, including its voice recognition, perimeter security and road repair technology businesses. Also served on the Board of Directors of Electronic Retailing Systems, an Oxford company that created supermarket checkout scanning technology, until its sale in 2003.
Prior to that he served as Vice President of Acquisitions for Expanets, a company founded and capitalized by NorthWestern Corporation, and was responsible for formulating and implementing a consolidation plan in the voice and data communications market. Expanets completed 28 acquisitions resulting in annualized revenues of approximately $1.3 billion, serving over 800,000 customers throughout the U.S.
He was a founder and served as Chairman and CEO of Amnex, Inc., a public company providing telecommunication network services. Amnex, applying an approach that included organic growth in conjunction with strategic acquisitions, grew annual revenues to over $80 million employing approximately 350 people.
Mr. Lyons served as a founder and President of Walker Telephone Systems, Inc., a startup subsidiary of a public company. Walker developed and distributed business telephone systems through a network that grew organically to over 225 independent vendors throughout the United States and Canada, with annual revenues in excess of $40 million.
Mr. Lyons sat on the board of directors of GoAmerica, Inc, (NASDAQ:PRPL), a $10,000,000 provider of relay and wireless communications services for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired persons through its January of 2008 asset purchase of the Verizon Relay Services Division, and simultaneous merger with Hands On Video Relay Services, a provider of video relay and interpreting services. GoAmerica, now known as Purple Communications, Inc., is now one of the leading providers of these innovative wireless services, with annual revenue in excess of $130 million.
Mr. Lyons joined the Board of Directors of DCAP Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KINS) to help analyze the market of this $8 million company and help realign its business model to adapt to shifts in the industry. DCAP at that time was a reseller of consumer automobile and other insurance services through approximately 70 company owned and franchised locations. Due to intense competition from such national providers as Geico Insurance, the Company determined to modify its core business. By the first quarter of 2009 the Company had divested itself of all of its franchised and company owned retail locations. Through a Plan approved by the State of New York Insurance Department, DCAP acquired 100% of the stock of Commercial Mutual Insurance Company, a casualty insurance company with annual premium volume of $25 million, repositioning itself as a direct insurance provider, now known as Kingstone Companies, Inc.
