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David Isserman

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Isserman
Born (1983-03-31) March 31, 1983 (age 43)
EducationIndiana University (BS)
Columbia Business School (MBA)
OccupationsEntrepreneur, conservationist
OrganizationIsserman Ventures (founder)
Known forCo-founding RareShare
Explorers Club Flag No. 179 Sorraia horse expedition
Spouse
Anna Berger
​
(m. 2014)​
AwardsKnight, Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (2023)

David Isserman (born March 31, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and conservationist living in Lisbon, Portugal. He is the founder of Isserman Ventures, which describes itself as working with e-commerce brands to build and scale their operations.[1][2]

Isserman co-founded RareShare, an online platform for rare disease communities, in 2008,[3][4] and founded Venin Royale, a skincare company in Boulder, Colorado, in 2013.[5]

From 2020 to 2026, he served on the board of directors of The Explorers Club,[6][7] and he helped form the club's Portugal Chapter.[8] In 2024, he carried an Explorers Club flag on an expedition that reintroduced endangered Sorraia horses to Portugal's Alentejo region,[7] and in 2025 he led a team on the Dino Dawn paleontological expedition in the Algarve.[9][10] In 2023, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza made him a Knight of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing.[6][1]

Early life and education

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Isserman grew up in Clayton, Missouri, and graduated from Clayton High School in 2001.[6] He began building websites for small businesses in middle school and had about 75 clients by high school.[11] At age 14, he approached A.G. Edwards to offer technology consulting services; Alfred Goldman, a corporate vice president at the firm's brokerage subsidiary, later nominated him for the St. Louis Business Journal's 30 Under 30 list, to which he was named in 2006.[11] He earned a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University[6] and an MBA from Columbia Business School.[4][6]

Career

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Early ventures

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While at Indiana University, Isserman founded Isserman Consulting LLC, a communications and web strategy firm in Clayton.[11] In 2006, television host Richard Wiese hired the firm to build his web presence, including a site for Wiese's nationally syndicated show Exploration with Richard Wiese.[12]

RareShare

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In 2008, while attending Columbia Business School, Isserman co-founded RareShare with Eric Steele.[4][3] The platform connected people affected by rare diseases with one another and with medical professionals.[13] RareShare won the social venture category at the 2008 Pace Pitch Contest hosted by Pace University's Lubin School of Business.[14] In December 2008, TechCrunch reported that the platform had more than 700 communities for different disorders and that, according to RareShare, it had been collaborating with the National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders.[3] The Washington Post covered the platform in February 2009,[13] and the Toronto Star reported that it hosted discussion groups for hundreds of conditions.[15] RareShare grew to more than 850 communities before Isserman exited in 2014.[6] RareShare is now operated by the Rare Genomics Institute, which describes it as having more than 1,000 disease communities.[16] The platform has been cited in the academic literature on rare-disease drug discovery.[17]

Venin Royale

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In 2013, Isserman founded Venin Royale, a skincare company in Boulder, Colorado, that used king cobra venom peptides in its products.[5][18] The products were developed with neuroscientist Paul Reid.[5] The line was sold through physician offices, medical spas, and specialty retailers.[5]

Isserman Ventures

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Isserman is the founder of Isserman Ventures,[1] which describes its work with e-commerce brands as including supply chain management, logistics, international distribution, manufacturing oversight and brand development.[2] Town and Style reported in 2023 that the firm also makes angel investments in scientists and entrepreneurs and provides microgrants to local conservation efforts.[6]

Exploration and conservation

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Isserman is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School.[11] He joined The Explorers Club in 2002 and is a life member.[19][1][6] From March 2020 to April 2026, he served on the club's board of directors.[6][1][7] He chaired the club's annual dinner (ECAD) and co-chaired its Conservation and Sustainability Committee.[6] After the club's 2023 Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) in the Azores,[20] Isserman and the chapter's founding chair led the formation of the club's Portugal Chapter.[8] The club's November 2025 announcement of its mobile app thanked him for guidance in modernizing its data infrastructure and digital footprint.[19]

In November 2024, Isserman carried Explorers Club Flag No. 179 on an expedition to reintroduce endangered Sorraia horses to a former cattle ranch in Vila Viçosa, in the Alentejo. The ranch is the designated site of an elephant sanctuary run by Pangea Trust, a UK-registered charity.[7][10]

The Explorers Club Flag No. 179 expedition team in Portugal's Alentejo region, 2024. From left: Ruth Ganesh, Kate Moore, Anna Isserman, David Isserman (holding flag), Princess Diana d'Orléans, Duchess of Cadaval, Gonçalo Matos, and José Fontes of Rewilding Portugal.

He returned the flag at the club's ECAD Sunday flag-return ceremony in April 2025.[21]

In 2025, Isserman led the PaleoDiscovery Team on the Dino Dawn Expedition, an Explorers Club flag-bearing paleontological dig in Portugal's Algarve region whose lead paleontologist is Ricardo Araújo.[9][10]

Affiliations and honors

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Isserman is an advisory trustee of the Academy of Science of St. Louis.[6][22]

In 2023, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, made Isserman a Knight of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, a dynastic order of the non-reigning House of Braganza.[6][1]

Personal life

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Isserman married Anna Berger in June 2014.[23] They moved from the United States to Lisbon, Portugal, in 2022.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Duraes, Sara J. (March 30, 2024). "Portugal: The new place to be for innovators". The Portugal News. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Isserman Ventures". Isserman Ventures. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Kincaid, Jason (December 23, 2008). "RareShare: A Community For People With Rare Medical Problems". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Wilcox, Joe (October 2, 2008). "RareShare social network builds an uncommon community". BetaNews. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Heckel, Aimee (July 31, 2015). "Cobra venom can erase wrinkles? Who knew?". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Talk of the Towns: Notable Neighbors". Town and Style. November 1, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Brookes, Cristina da Costa (November 26, 2024). "Endangered Sorraia horses reintroduced to Alentejo in landmark rewilding effort". The Portugal News. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  8. 1 2 McGee, Nancy (Winter 2023–2024). "A Chapter Is Born" (PDF). The Explorers Log. 56 (1). The Explorers Club: 32. Retrieved September 11, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "The Team". Dino Dawn Expedition. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Flag Expeditions: Field Projects, 2024 and Beyond" (PDF). The Explorers Log. 56 (4). The Explorers Club: 14–17. Fall 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 McDonald, Michele (July 16, 2006). "David Isserman, 23". St. Louis Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Isserman wins contract from TV host". St. Louis Business Journal. September 18, 2006. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. 1 2 Bhanoo, Sindya N. (February 10, 2009). "Sharing the Pain". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Fifth Annual Pace Pitch Contest". Pace University Lubin School of Business. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  15. ↑ "For people with rare ailments, a way to connect". Toronto Star. July 3, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  16. ↑ "RareShare". Rare Genomics Institute. Retrieved September 11, 2026.
  17. ↑ Litterman, Nadia K.; Rhee, Michele; Swinney, David C.; Ekins, Sean (October 31, 2014). "Collaboration for rare disease drug discovery research". F1000Research. 3: 261. doi:10.12688/f1000research.5564.1. PMC 4314660. PMID 25685324.
  18. ↑ Weinderman, Coris (September 5, 2013). "Would you put King Cobra venom on your face to reduce wrinkles?". St. Louis Business Journal. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. 1 2 "The Explorers Club Mobile App to launch November 12, 2025". The Explorers Club. November 10, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  20. ↑ Quaresma, Luciana (June 14, 2023). "Amazonia e o tema central da maior convencao de exploradores do planeta". Radio France Internationale. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  21. ↑ "ECAD Sunday". The Explorers Club. 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Academy of Science of St. Louis. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Gem wins love and adventure for Anna and David". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 13, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
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