David Bell is a co-founder of Idea Farm Ventures and spent two decades at Wharton, where he created the school's first digital marketing and e-commerce courses. Inc. magazine called him the guru of the consumer and retail startup movement.
Through Idea Farm Ventures he invests in category-defining consumer companies. Early investments include Bonobos, acquired by Walmart for $310 million, Diapers.com, acquired by Amazon for $545 million, and Jet.com, acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion, alongside Harry's, Warby Parker and Cotopaxi.
He advises founders, executive teams and Fortune 500 leaders on growth strategy, innovation, consumer behavior and the future of commerce. His research and insight have been sought by Alibaba, Nike, Google, Mastercard, Ralph Lauren, Shell and the OECD.
David's current focus is how AI is changing consumer discovery, shopping behavior and the future of retail. His peer-reviewed research draws on real data from high-growth businesses, which makes him a fit for brands whose audience is retail and commerce leaders who want evidence rather than prediction.