Draft:Marcus Dantus

Marcus Dantus
Citizenship	Mexican
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, Angel Investor

Marcus Dantus is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, known for creating, operating, investing in, and advising startups across Mexico, the United States, and Latin America.

Early life

Dantus was born in Mexico City on November 7th, 1967. He has russian, bielorussian, ucranian and polish ancestry. His mother, Olga Mochán, (1946-2012) was a Montessori teacher and a  Montessori guide trainer, she owned a Montessori Kindergarden and Primary School (Casa de los Niños NAN). His father, Leon Dantus, (b. 1945) was a  factory general manager (Productos MetalicosStandard) and is currently a Director in a Montessori High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Marcus´grandparents emigrated in the early 20^th century to Mexico where they resided until their passing.

Marcus was born into a middle class family and had a normal childhood. He was a good student but had disciplinary problems since early childhood. His maternal grandfather, Isaac Mochán was a successful entrepreneur, arriving in Mexico as an Mechanical Engineer and early in his career set up the electricity in Mexico City´s Périferico, the City´s main beltway. His paternal grandfather, the original Marcus Dantus, was a merchant and owned a couple of stores in downtown Mexico.

After finishing High School he took a sabbatical year in which he traveled to several countries in Europe, Israel and Egypt where worked several jobs and played guitar on the streets to earn a living during his travels. During college he worked as a boucer and bartender in order to pay partially for his education.

Education and academia

Marcus studied high school at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) at the state of Mexico campus. He attended a bicultural program which helped him refine his English skills (1982-1984).

He continued as a college student at the same institution (1985-1987) majoring as a B.A. in Computer Science and Administration (LSCA), he maintained a 3.9 GPA during his 2 years of college in Mexico. In 1987 he received a partial scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania´s Annenberg School of Communications, where he graduated as a B.A. in Communications, Mass Media and Modes in 1989.

In 2021 he received an honorary PhD from the Claustro Doctoral Honoris Causa for his contrubutions to society in the field of entrepreneurship. And in 2022 he received a second honorary doctorate degree in Human Rights from the Inter American Institute for Research and Teaching in Human Rights (IIIDDH) for his contributions to society and innovation in human rights.

Since 2003 he began giving lectures as a guest professor in several universities in Mexico such as UAM, UNAM, ITESM, IBERO, Anahuac and ITAM and in the US for MIT and Harvard. In 2007 he became a guest professor at IPADE, Mexico´s most important business university, where business cases on two of the companies he cofounded and/or directed were part of the curricula (Innovamedica and Startup Mexico). In 2010 he became a full-time professor of entrepreneurship at Centro where he co-created the Entrepreneurial Center for the University. Marcus was also part of the founding team of ISDI Mexico where he directed the Startup Module for the Masters in Internet Business (2013-2016). He has currently joined Instituto Expansion as a partner, a tertiary education institution both in-premises and online based in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Marcus has also participated as a Keynote speaker in a plethora of corporate, entrepreneurial and government in Mexico, the US & Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. events including TedX, Ciudad de las Ideas, SemanaPyME, Semana del Emprendedor, Campus Party, Talent Land, Emerge Americas, South Summith, The Global Youth Leadership Forum, Montreal´s Startup Fest and many others.

Career

After graduating, Dantus began his career at Leo Burnett, an advertising agency. He later worked in tourism, film production, and commercial production. In 1994, he founded Latin American Telecom, an internet telephony distribution company, marking his entry into the tech industry.

Dantus founded Mexico.com in 1996, which grew into asignificant Internet company in Mexico. He also established Simitel, a software development company, and Peerant Inc., a call-routing company over Skype. Helater founded Innovamedica, a medical device developer, and Startup Mexico, anentrepreneurial initiative in Mexico.

Dantus has been involved in various councils and organizations, including the Mexico-US Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council(MUSEIC) and the Mexico-France Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation(COMFEI). He has also been an advisor to social organizations such as Agora International and Ashoka and served as the President of the Latin American and the Caribbean Business Angel Network (LACBAN).

Dantus has been a guest professor at institutions such as MIT, Harvard, IPADE, and ITESM. He co-created the Entrepreneurial Center at Centro University and directed the Startup Module for the Masters in Internet Business at ISDI Mexico.