Dan grew up in Pacific Grove, where he attended public elementary and middle school. Subsequently, he entered Stevenson School, earning one of the highest GPAs in his class. He also represented his school in math competitions, received the highest grade in BC Calculus, and was particularly strong in the language arts, earning a 780 on the SAT verbal section and the second-highest combined SAT score in his class.

After Stevenson, he attended Princeton University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. While there, he also furthered his love of foreign languages, taking the highest non-literature French class and three years of Japanese. After graduation, he took a year of Spanish while working at Carnegie Mellon University.

He returned to the Peninsula in 2012, and began working in advertising, but also tutored on the side. He quickly became the tutoring agencies' top tutor, setting both agencies’ student improvement records for the SAT. Student demand for his services increased. He now works full-time as an independent tutor. He also pursues his loves for wildlife photography and writing fantasy fiction in his off-hours.