# Ian Small

> Ian Small is the CEO of Blues, a Boston-based IoT connectivity company backed by $115M in funding including a $25M Sequoia-led round in 2025. A 30-year Silicon Valley veteran who started at Apple in 1989 working on QuickTime VR, Small went on to lead TokBox (Sequoia-backed video communications platform acquired by Telefonica), serve as Global Chief Data Officer at Telefonica overseeing 300M+ customers, and then spent five years as CEO of Evernote transforming the company through a massive technical overhaul before it was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2023. Known as an 'end-to-end operator' with a famous habit of deep customer listening, he joined Blues in June 2025 to lead the company's next phase of growth in making IoT connectivity accessible and affordable for product makers everywhere.

- **Role:** CEO at Blues
- **Organizations:** Blues, Lumentum (Board), Snapdocs (Board), Squint (Advisor)
- **From:** Canada
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Science, University of Toronto, Master of Science in Computer Science, University of Toronto
- **Known for:** Holder of 9 US patents, Co-conceived QuickTime VR at Apple (1991), a pioneering virtual reality technology, Founded TokBox, the first real-time video PaaS, backed by Sequoia Capital

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Joined Apple as research scientist and senior engineer in the Human Interface Group / Advanced Technology Group
- **1991** — Co-conceived QuickTime VR at Apple with Eric Chen; managed engineering and product release of QuickTime VR
- **~2000s** — Held executive roles at CKS, USWeb/CKS and marchFirst (NASDAQ-traded professional services companies)
- **~2000s** — Served as SVP Products at MarkLogic, an XML content database startup funded by Sequoia Capital
- **~2008** — Founded and led TokBox, a Sequoia-backed startup pioneering real-time video PaaS
- **2013** — Joined Telefónica as Global Chief Data Officer and member of the Executive Committee, overseeing data strategy and R&D for 300M+ customers
- **2014** — Became Chairman of the Board at TokBox (after stepping back from day-to-day CEO role)
- **2016** — Left Telefónica; TokBox acquired by Telefónica
- **2018** — Appointed CEO of Evernote, replacing Chris O'Neill; began major technical debt reduction and platform rebuild
- **2023** — Stepped down as Evernote CEO following acquisition by Bending Spoons (Italian mobile app company)
- **2025** — Joined Blues as CEO on June 24, 2025, following $25M Sequoia-led funding round

## Achievements

- Holder of 9 US patents
- Co-conceived QuickTime VR at Apple (1991), a pioneering virtual reality technology
- Founded TokBox, the first real-time video PaaS, backed by Sequoia Capital
- Led Telefonica as Global CDO managing data strategy for 300M+ customers
- Rebuilt Evernote's technical platform from scratch as CEO (2018-2023)
- Board member at Lumentum (NASDAQ: LITE), a market-leading optical/photonic manufacturer
- Board member at Snapdocs, a leading digital mortgage closing platform
- Advisor to Squint (manufacturing intelligence for Fortune 500 companies)
- Previously advised Loon (Google X graduate) and Alpha (Telefonica's moonshot unit)

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Joined Blues as CEO on June 24, 2025, following the company's $25M Sequoia-led Series funding round
- **2025-05** — Blues raised $25M in its latest funding round (Sequoia-led), bringing total funding to $115M
- **2023-01** — Stepped down as Evernote CEO following the company's acquisition by Bending Spoons

## Links

- Website: https://blues.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iansmall

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ian-small
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16