Dave Mathews

Consumer Product Expert & Partner, Idea Works
Dave Mathews is a consumer product expert and dynamic public speaker specializing in the convergence of digital entertainment devices. In addition to holding more than 22 U.S. patents in networking communications, Dave has appeared on more than 300 television shows. His television experience includes a five year stint as co-host of Net Talk Live! – the first live interactive triple cast (a syndicated television, radio and Internet broadcast).

Currently, Dave is a partner at Idea Works, a consulting company where he creates the go-to-market strategies for consumer electronic and service companies. His expertise in consumer palatability and product readiness comes from inventing, testing and reviewing thousands of devices in his career. In addition to his consulting and public speaking, Dave is also a regular contributor to Ziff Davis Media’s PC Magazine, O'Reilly's Make and other consumer-tech publications.

Before his tenure at Idea Works, Dave served as the Director, Product Innovation at Sling Media Inc, in San Francisco. There he identified consumer trends leading to the development and creation of the latest in digital media products. Previously, Dave was brought in by the former chairman of RadioShack to develop their modern home strategy, introducing products such as the RadioShack USB Electronic Scale, Cinego portable DLP with integrated DVD player and power line transmitted whole-house audio systems. Before joining RadioShack, Dave was co-founder of Digital: Convergence – creator of the CueCat - a first-ever consumer barcode reader, distributed through Forbes, Wired, Parade and Nielsen Media publications. He also launched a TV to web broadcast hyper-linking technology licensed to NBC called CueTV. Dave resides in San Francisco, California.