Dana Allender, a life-long resident of Northeast Ohio, spent nearly 20 years doing enterprise B2B sales, working with some of the largest organizations in the country. Intellectual curiosity is one of the strongest traits Dana feels that any person can have and he followed that curiosity in 2014 to start his own entrepreneurial journey.
On a spring day in 2014, he founded SUN (as in, “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles). His own professional experiences in sales (the good and the bad) led his desired to work directly with tech founders and small business owners to: 1) teach them how to tell their stories and become the “sales leader” they need to become and 2) document these “best, right practices” that they learn so they can scale their business – creating repeatable, scalable sales processes and enabling them to make their first (and subsequent) sales hires. His “secret sauce” is delivering on these two outcomes while also driving real sales outcomes throughout the process.
In addition to his work at SUN, he currently serves as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at JumpStart/JumpStart Ventures, working with early stage tech startups to become “venture ready”. Dana received his VC University Certification, an initiative of Venture Forward, National Venture Capital Association and Berkeley Law, in 2023. In the past 10 years, he’s worked with and for tech companies in the Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain and Smart Mobility spaces. His work has covered fintech, regtech, insurtech, manufacturing and professional services. He’s also served as a mentor at Bounce Innovation Hub, Fintech 71, JumpStart and Alloy Development. In 2018, he worked with the leadership team of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO and JobsOhio working directly with emerging tech companies to grow and scale their businesses in the region. He is a current member of OhioX, serving on the New Ventures and Technology Committee.
Active in a number of civic and nonprofit organizations, he has served on the Alumni Board of Trustees at Walsh University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business and is a Past President of the Kent State University (Stark Campus) Alumni Association.
Dana resides on the near west side of Cleveland, Ohio with his family – Noel (wife), Blake (son), Sydney (daughter), Lance (dog) and Loki (the other dog) – we are a Marvel movie family! In addition to coaching founders and small businesses owners, Dana coaches in the travel basketball community – coaching kids and shooting a few hoops now and then. If you see him on a Zoom call, you’ll also see the guitar he’s learning to play…going on a few years.
Certifications
Certified Member of the Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants
The Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants® (AASBC) is the only international association specializing in training and certification of small business and SME consultants. We understand the impact that privately owned, small businesses and SMEs have on the worldwide economy. Whether referred to as a small business, SME, micro business, or SMB, the objective of the AASBC remains the same, which is to train small business and SME consultants with the core competencies needed to improve operational efficiency and maximize profit for their clients.
The VC University certification consists of 5 modules, mixing lectures, investor perspectives, exercises, and assessments in the following areas of focus;
- Venture Fund Fundamentals — Explores how venture funds are structured and managed.
- Startup Fundamentals — Covers how venture-backed companies are formed, managed, and funded.
- Venture Deal Fundamentals — Addresses the terms, processes, and structures that drive venture financings.
- Modeling Venture Deals — Utilizes case studies and capitalization table exercises to illustrate the economics of venture finance.
- Advanced Topics in Venture Capital — Examines issues like public policy, corporate venture, investor governance, venture capital careers, valuations, and more.