David is the founder of Skylark Creations LLC, a one-person, AI-native product studio based in Colorado. He designs, builds, and ships apps and tools from zero to live—fast—using AI at every layer of the stack. Every project is designed, built, and shipped by one person working with a team of AI systems—reasoning partners for architecture, coding agents for implementation, and human advisors for taste and truth.
Live Skylark projects include Decomposer, an AI planning tool that turns sprawling goals into structured, executable plans with honest effort routing and quality scoring; Agentic News, an AI-powered news intelligence platform that clusters duplicate coverage, interprets through role-aware lenses, and monitors company websites for changes; BuddhaUR (iOS & Android), a conversational guide to early Buddhist wisdom with citations to the suttas; BloomEDU (iOS), an offline-first app with 46,000+ wildflower species and spaced repetition for lasting plant ID skills; Urban Journeys, a themed walking route composer optimized for discovery; FrameDial News, a daily briefing with cited facts and an interactive dial for commentary intensity; AniMoment, which transforms photos into spoken animist readings of place; QuickBite, a group restaurant decision tool with fair voting; Quiet Tab, a Chrome extension that hides Gmail's distracting unread count; Sagent (iOS), which lets users consult timeless minds like Buddha, Carl Sagan, and Mark Twain about modern dilemmas; and Agentic Directory, a curated directory of agentic AI products scored on a 20-point agenticness scale.
In-development projects include Syntopica, a tool for cross-book synthesis using your Amazon library and Kindle highlights; Frolic, AI-powered outdoor activity recommendations; Dreamflyer, a meditative flying game; and Urban Beaver, a relaxing dam-building puzzle game. David also maintains the open-source Cursor Environment Docs project.
He regularly shares insights on AI, philosophy, and product strategy through his newsletter Uncaged Minds, exploring the intersection of technology and human experience.
David co-founded and served as CEO & Chief Product Officer of Jointly (2018-2025), a purpose-driven cannabis wellness technology platform. He conceived and launched the industry's first AI-powered virtual assistant for personalized product recommendations, leveraging 500K+ user data points. Under his leadership, Jointly grew to 500,000+ downloads with tens of thousands of monthly active users, achieving 35% retention at 30 days. He authored the "Theory of Purposeful Cannabis Consumption," reframing market perceptions and establishing cannabis as a holistic wellness tool.
From 2010-2020, David founded and operated Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery, building it into one of Southern California's top cycling retailers. He achieved 10 consecutive years of revenue and profitability growth, maintained a 4.92 average rating across 1,200+ five-star reviews, and pioneered innovative drop-ship partnerships that increased online sales by 60% year-over-year. The business culminated in a successful acquisition by Trek Bicycle.
Earlier in his career, David held leadership roles at McMaster-Carr (2002-2009), where he oversaw a $1B+ distribution operation with 300+ staff, implementing groundbreaking e-commerce parametric search and achieving 99.4% fulfillment accuracy. He also worked at Click Commerce Inc., Navistar, and other enterprises, consistently driving innovation in data-driven operations and e-commerce.
His educational foundation includes an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (2002), a B.A. in Economics & Statistics from Northwestern University (1996), and a B.S. in Computer Science from Oregon State University (2016), providing him with a unique blend of business strategy and technical expertise.
David is a passionate naturalist dedicated to daily mindfulness and mountain hikes. He's fascinated by geology, botany, ecology, and early human history - always exploring how technology and nature can co-exist. His approach to product development is deeply influenced by these interests, seeking to create technology that enhances rather than replaces human connection with the natural world.
Beyond technology, David enjoys cycling, community advocacy, and playing both piano and banjo. His musical tastes lean toward bluegrass, jamgrass, folk, and reggae - genres that reflect his appreciation for authentic, community-driven creativity. He's a proud dog companion on every adventure, finding that the best product insights often come during long walks in nature.
David believes in harnessing technology to improve consumer well-being, with an emphasis on mindful product design and responsible AI development. He's particularly interested in how AI can augment human capabilities while preserving what makes us uniquely human - creativity, empathy, and our connection to the natural world.
David welcomes thoughtful conversations about AI, entrepreneurship, product strategy, or philosophy. Whether you're building something interesting, exploring new ideas, or just want to connect, feel free to reach out.
The best way to connect is through LinkedIn. For a more interactive experience, try chatting with ChatDDK, his AI persona that can answer questions about his work and philosophy.