David A. Steinberg
CEO, entrepreneur
David A. Steinberg (born 1969) is a serial entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Zeta Global. Steinberg also serves as chairman and co-founder of On Demand Pharma and Caivis Investment Corporation.
Career
In 1993, David Steinberg founded Sterling Cellular, Inc. in the basement of his house in Bethesda, Maryland, with the use of credit cards and a parental loan. Sterling Cellular sold cellular phones and grossed $1.3 million in sales in its first year in business. Sterling offered free, timed delivery, a warranty/repair program, and a free loaner phone program from its third month. By 1997, Sterling Cellular grew to 12 retail locations and $22 million in sales.
In 1999, Steinberg broke up Sterling Cellular by selling off the retail chain and telemarketing operations of Sterling Cellular and founding Inphonic. Over a seven-year period, Inphonic grew into the largest seller of new cell phones on the internet with over $300 million in revenue.
The public source identifies “David A. Steinberg” as cEO, entrepreneur. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around David, Steinberg and entrepreneur.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “David A. Steinberg”, the useful work is to connect “cEO, entrepreneur” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5230527. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1993, 1997 and 1999.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “David A. Steinberg”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow David A. Steinberg primary sources, David A. Steinberg archive and David research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “David A. Steinberg”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “David A. Steinberg” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.