Don Cansino
Board Advisor
at FPT
Don is a seasoned executive who has decades worth of experience building award-winning products in mobile entertainment, SaaS, fintech, retail, and automotive industries. Don is passionate about guiding talented teams with his technical expertise in building innovative products that consumers love.
He has held executive positions at startups and at some of the most transformative large companies that have pioneered technology and product innovation.
Don was previously the CTO at CurbWaste, where he helped scale their SaaS/fintech software as revenue increased 8x through multiple funding rounds.
Prior to the startup world, Don headed up product for Walmart, where he oversaw the OmniChannel strategy for all 10 service counters — including wireless, automotive, and health/wellness — each generating over $1B in revenue. He introduced new offerings in wireless and health, tripled online adoption in automotive, and built a universal tech stack to power all service areas.
Don also served as Vice President at AT&T, bringing to market products such as Data Free TV, Mobile DVR, and streaming applications for Rogers in Canada. Earlier, at DIRECTV, he launched the Emmy Award-winning NFL Sunday Ticket experience across streaming platforms and interactive television.
At DIRECTV, Don pioneered the media industry with innovations like TV Everywhere, Kid’s App, Commercial Application, What’s Hot, and Bar Finder. He also expanded digital offerings for DIRECTV Latin America and helped resolve piracy issues, contributing to the company’s rise as a leader in television.
Don earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, holds numerous U.S. patents, and speaks three languages.
Articles by Don Cansino
How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov
Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...
Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers
Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...
Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris
Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...
The LinkedIn Playbook: How Startup Founders Can Stand Out & Scale
This LinkedIn Playbook is based on insights from a recent one-time Mucker Growth Session webinar featuring LinkedIn growth experts Alec Paul (Founder of SalesBrand) and Kyle Williams (Founder of Brickstack)....
DeepSeek vs OpenAI: Comparison Breakdown and What It Means For Your Tech Startup With Dan Cleary
In this recent webinar of our Mucker Growth Series, we discussed the evolving AI landscape with Dan Cleary, founder of PromptHub. He provided an in-depth breakdown of DeepSeek vs. OpenAI,...
Building Product Without Knowing Code With Adam New Waterson
In a deep dive into AI-driven product development, Adam New-Waterson, a former CMO turned Chief Product Officer and now solopreneur, shared how non-technical founders can harness the power of AI...