Modern Architect ·

David Ulevitch

Entrepreneur, investor, and security innovator who founded OpenDNS and EveryDNS, and later led Cisco's security business before becoming a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Country

United States

Continent

North America

Industry

Technology, Venture Capital

Role

Entrepreneur, Investor, Executive

David Ulevitch is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist known for founding OpenDNS and EveryDNS. After OpenDNS's acquisition by Cisco, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's Security Business. He later transitioned to Andreessen Horowitz as a General Partner, focusing on American Dynamism, enterprise software, and national security investments.

Biography

David A. Ulevitch is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist whose career spans founding and scaling successful technology companies and investing in the next generation of innovators. He gained prominence as the founder and CEO of OpenDNS, an enterprise security company, which he established in 2005. Prior to OpenDNS, Ulevitch founded EveryDNS, a free DNS hosting service. His entrepreneurial success with OpenDNS culminated in its acquisition by Cisco in 2015 for $635 million. Following the acquisition, Ulevitch took on a significant leadership role within Cisco, being named the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's Security Business in December 2016. In this capacity, he was instrumental in shaping Cisco's cybersecurity strategy and product offerings. In October 2018, Ulevitch transitioned from an operational role to an investment capacity, joining Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as a General Partner. At a16z, he focuses on investments in American Dynamism, Enterprise, SaaS, National Defense, National Security, and Cybersecurity, leveraging his deep operational experience to identify and nurture promising technology companies. His portfolio at a16z reflects his commitment to foundational technology and national interest sectors.

Accomplishments

01Founded EveryDNS, a free DNS hosting service, creating accessible infrastructure for online presence.
02Founded and led OpenDNS as CEO, building it into a prominent enterprise security company.
03Engineered the successful acquisition of OpenDNS by Cisco in 2015 for $635 million, demonstrating significant enterprise value creation.
04Served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's Security Business from December 2016, overseeing a critical division of a global technology leader.
05Joined Andreessen Horowitz as a General Partner in October 2018, becoming a key figure in a top-tier venture capital firm.
06Developed an investment thesis at Andreessen Horowitz focused on critical sectors including American Dynamism, National Defense, and Cybersecurity.

Lessons for Operators

Identify foundational infrastructure gaps: Ulevitch's early success with EveryDNS and OpenDNS stemmed from addressing fundamental internet service needs (DNS) and then layering security on top. Actionable: Look for core technological dependencies that are underserved or ripe for innovation.

Build for the enterprise value chain: OpenDNS wasn't just a consumer utility; it evolved into an enterprise-grade security solution. Actionable: Understand how a product can scale from individual use to critical business infrastructure, focusing on reliability, security, and manageability.

Strategic acquisition as an exit and growth path: The sale of OpenDNS to Cisco provided a significant return for investors and a platform for Ulevitch to lead a larger security organization. Actionable: Consider M&A not only as an exit but as a pathway to expand impact and resources for a technological vision.

Leverage operational expertise into investment: Ulevitch's transition to Andreessen Horowitz after leading Cisco's Security Business showcases how deep operational experience translates into valuable venture capital insight. Actionable: Operators possess unique perspectives on market needs, team building, and technological viability that are highly sought after in investment roles.

Focus on critical sectors with long-term impact: His investment focus at a16z on American Dynamism, National Security, and Cybersecurity indicates a belief in durable technologies addressing significant societal and national challenges. Actionable: Invest in areas driven by macro trends and essential needs, which often provide more resilient and impactful returns.

The Operator's Playbook

Key Takeaways

Practical lessons distilled for operators, investors, C-levels, and capital allocators.

Lesson 01

The Power of Foundational Infrastructure

Ulevitch's entrepreneurial journey highlights the immense value in building foundational internet services. Both EveryDNS and OpenDNS addressed critical, often overlooked, components of internet functionality. Opportunities exist today in next-generation infrastructure, such as decentralized protocols, AI/ML operational layers, or novel computational paradigms.

Lesson 02

Scaling from Utility to Enterprise

OpenDNS started as a free service and evolved into a robust enterprise security offering. This trajectory demonstrates the potential for consumer or utility products to mature into high-value business solutions by integrating advanced features, reliability, and enterprise-grade support. Entrepreneurs should plan for this evolutionary path to unlock larger market opportunities.

Lesson 03

The Strategic Investor-Operator Arc

Ulevitch's career progression from founder/CEO to large corporate executive to venture capitalist illustrates a powerful arc. His operational experience at Cisco provided invaluable insights that inform his investment decisions at a16z. This path suggests that deep, hands-on operational leadership is a strong precursor to effective venture investing, especially in complex technical domains.

Lesson 04

Investing in 'American Dynamism'

His investment focus at Andreessen Horowitz on areas like National Defense, National Security, and Cybersecurity aligns with the 'American Dynamism' thesis. This approach prioritizes companies building critical, often dual-use, technologies that strengthen national interest and resilience. For investors and founders, this signals a significant capital allocation trend towards impactful, mission-driven innovation beyond traditional consumer tech.

Mental Models

Frameworks & Principles

Named frameworks and strategic principles they popularized or embodied.

Foundational Layer Innovation

Identifying and developing solutions for core, underlying technological infrastructure (e.g., DNS, blockchain primitives, new computing paradigms) that enable subsequent applications and services.

When to useWhen exploring opportunities that address fundamental requirements of a technological ecosystem, rather than just end-user applications. Ideal for entrepreneurs aiming to build enabling technologies.

Utility-to-Enterprise Growth Model

A strategy for product development and market penetration where a service initially gains traction as a free or low-cost utility, then evolves to offer advanced, enterprise-grade features and security for business customers.

When to useFor startups with a widely applicable technology that can initially attract a broad user base, and then convert subsets of that base into paying enterprise clients with enhanced offerings. Useful for SaaS and infrastructure plays.

Operator-to-Investor Transition Pathway

Leveraging deep, hands-on operational and leadership experience from building/scaling companies or leading large corporate divisions to inform and execute venture capital investment strategies.

When to useApplicable for seasoned entrepreneurs, C-level executives, and product leaders looking to transition into venture capital, where their domain expertise provides a significant competitive advantage in identifying and supporting promising startups.

Citations