Keith Smith
Keith Lloyd Smith (born May 2, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, angel investor, writer, and speaker with a focus on artificial intelligence, new business development, and product development. An AI-obsessed startup entrepreneur, he is the founder of several companies, including Me4U and Zango,[1] and co-founder and CEO of Payability.[2]
Early life and education
Smith was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended Northwest College from 1989 to 1993 and completed executive leadership programs at Stanford GSB Executive Education. He initially planned to be a youth pastor and went to a Bible college.[3]
Career
Entrepreneur
Smith started his professional career working on information systems within financial institutions for a few years. He then founded Northwest Micro Design, CyberMortgage, Zango, BigDoor,[4] and Payability. He is most recently the founder, CEO, and President of Me4U,[5] which provides authorized AI chatbots for celebrity creators.
In 1992, Smith founded Northwest Micro Design, a large-scale network design and consulting business, and in 1995 he founded CyberMortgage.
When the adware company 180solutions[5] merged with Hotbar, it rebranded to the newly combined entity Zango which provided the combined offerings of both companies, including games, videos, music, icons, electronic greeting cards, browser and email toolbars, and other utilities.[6] Smith served as the company’s CEO from May 1999 - Apr 2009. Zango became defaulted to a bank consortium for over $44 million and was sold to Blinkx.[7]
After Zango shut down, Smith jumped back into the startup arena establishing a new online advertising company called BigDoor Media.[8] He ended up selling his six-year-old gamification company to an investment firm for an undisclosed amount.[9]
After selling BigDoor, Smith moved out to New York City and co-founded Payability, a payment acceleration company. Payability offers a service to provide financing to eCommerce sellers that sell through major marketplaces.[10] Currently serving as the company’s CEO, Smith conceived the idea for Payability after noticing traditional suppliers and sellers increasingly turning to nontraditional options for financing. The company allows businesses to turn earnings reports into receivables, which can then be financed.[11] Payability used AI and machine learning extensively to power its underwriting models.
Smith has board memberships and investments in various businesses, such as Code Fellows, Influence Mobile, GoChime, and Durango Joes Coffee.
Writer
Smith is contributing author and writes about fintech, financing for startups, digital marketplaces, management, and startups on several platforms, including Entrepreneur,[12] Young Startups,[13] and Nasdaq.[14] He is also the author at Payability.[15]
Speaker
Smith has been interviewed on many podcasts and other platforms, including The Ivy,[16] Prime Talk,[17] Mix Energy,[18] Entrepreneur's Enigma,[19] BBC Radio 4,[20] and Business Rockstars.[21]
Volunteer
Smith is committed to giving back and has served as a mentor for tech startups at Techstars and volunteered with JDRF International.
Personal life
Smith has two adult children whom he has raised as a single father.
References
- ↑ https://www.forbes.com/2006/11/03/adware-ftc-zango-tech-security-cx_ll_1103zango.html?sh=381dc4bf4b6c
- ↑ https://www.payability.com/blog/about-the-founders/
- ↑ https://ideamensch.com/keith-smith/
- ↑ https://ivypodcast.podbean.com/e/leadership-principles-for-fintech-startups-with-keith-smith-%E2%80%93-ceo-and-co-founder-of-payability-e304/
- ↑ https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/519494-59#overview
- ↑ https://www.itprotoday.com/strategy/180solutions-merges-hotbar-renames-company-zango
- ↑ https://www.xbiz.com/news/107397/zango-shuts-down-operations
- ↑ https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2009/09/zango_founder_emerges_at_the_helm_of_new_startup_bigdoor_media.html
- ↑ https://www.geekwire.com/2015/after-selling-bigdoor-resilient-founder-keith-smith-is-back-at-it-with-nyc-startup/
- ↑ https://www.geekwire.com/2015/after-selling-bigdoor-resilient-founder-keith-smith-is-back-at-it-with-nyc-startup/
- ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/how-entrepreneurs-can-adapt-and-grow-their-businesses-at/343901
- ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/keith-smith
- ↑ https://www.youngupstarts.com/2016/03/14/how-to-grow-a-company-without-venture-capital/
- ↑ https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-startups-should-consider-raising-a-series-zero-2021-08-03
- ↑ https://www.payability.com/blog/author/ksmith/
- ↑ https://ivypodcast.com/episode/leadership-principles-for-fintech-startups-with-keith-smith-ceo-and-co-founder-of-payability/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWpO-rmLzac&ab_channel=GETIDA
- ↑ https://mixergy.com/interviews/keith-smith/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV_MlnK8eyc&ab_channel=ThisIsSethG
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bcny
- ↑ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7p8zpr
