Miami-based entrepreneur Dan Novaes built a technology company around rewarding people for everyday smartphone activity. Now, he is expanding that idea into artificial intelligence, acquisitions and a new market for business data.
For years, technology companies have made billions of dollars from the time people spend on their smartphones. Miami-based entrepreneur Dan Novaes built his business around a different idea: what if consumers could earn a share of that value?
Novaes is the co-founder and CEO of Mode, the technology company behind the EarnPhone and EarnOS platform, which allows users to earn rewards through everyday activities such as listening to music, playing games and interacting with digital content.
His entrepreneurial career began long before smartphones became central to everyday life. As a teenager, Novaes started selling products online and went on to build businesses in e-commerce and consumer technology. He later co-founded MobileX Labs, an application development company, before launching Mode Mobile with Kiran Panesar in 2015.
The company's growth attracted national recognition. In 2023, Mode Mobile ranked second overall on Deloitte's North America Technology Fast 500 list and first among software and services companies, recording revenue growth of 32,481% between 2019 and 2022.
But Novaes has continued to look beyond the original smartphone rewards business.
Through acquisitions of consumer applications, including NGL, TrimBox, QR Code Reader and JibJab, Mode has expanded its presence across social networking, digital utilities and mobile entertainment. The company says its consumer businesses have facilitated more than $1 billion in earnings and savings for users.
Its expansion is also reflected in its financial results. According to its latest regulatory filing, Mode Mobile generated $26.5 million in revenue during the first six months of 2026, compared with $9.2 million a year earlier. Much of the increase came from acquisitions, while the company reported a $3.8 million net loss for the period.
The next stage of Novaes's strategy is focused on artificial intelligence.
On October 13, 2026, Mode announced BizBuyData, a program designed to compensate businesses and nonprofits for licensing historical operating data, including workplace emails, internal communications and business records, for AI research and training.
Under the proposed model, organizations retain their original records while Mode prepares agreed copies for licensing. The company says identifying and sensitive information is removed or transformed before the data is provided to AI developers.
The initiative reflects a broader shift in how Novaes approaches technology. Having built products around the economic value of consumer attention, he is now exploring whether information generated through ordinary business operations can become another source of income.
Although Mode Mobile maintains its corporate headquarters in Chicago, Novaes is based in Miami, adding him to South Florida's growing community of entrepreneurs leading technology businesses with national and international reach.