Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Qualtrics, a cloud-based subscription software platform for experience management, which he dropped out of college to launch in 2002 with his father and brother. In 2018, it was announced that Qualtrics would be acquired by SAP for a reported $8 billion, and in 2021, Qualtrics was listed publicly on the Nasdaq.

Along with being a successful tech entrepreneur, Ryan Smith is also the majority owner of the NBA franchise, the Utah Jazz, which he purchased just last year.

We spoke with Ryan all about his upbringing and what his childhood was like, what inspired him to start Qualtrics with his father and the early days of building the business, how he felt when the company was acquired, his thoughts on entrepreneurship, why he decided to buy the Utah Jazz, and much more.