J. Carey Smith
J. Carey Smith is an entrepreneur based in Austin, Texas.[1]
Smith founded ceiling fan and light manufacturer Big Ass Fans in 1999. He sold the Lexington, Kentucky, company to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg for $500 million in December 2017.[2] As part of the sale, he took with him eight employees to launch a startup incubator, Unorthodox Ventures, in Austin.[3]
Education[edit]
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, in 1974. Smith worked his way through college as a shoe salesman and custodian.[4] He went on to graduate school at the University of Chicago.[5]
Career[edit]
Smith began working in the insurance and reinsurance industry, where he remained until age 30. He then started his first company, which installed sprinklers on the roofs of industrial buildings to keep them cool. The job took him around the country for installation jobs; he slept in the bed of his pickup truck on such trips. But the company never surpassed $1.4 million in sales, so Smith used the profits to start The HVLS Fan Company, later renamed Big Ass Fans. He was 46.[6]
Under Smith’s leadership, Big Ass Fans grew to 1,000 employees[7] and gained an average of 30 percent revenue annually, landing on the Inc. 5000 list for 11 years in a row. Smith expanded the company’s offerings beyond industrial ceiling fans to industrial lights and IOT-enabled residential fans and lights. The company’s products are sold in 190 countries, and 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies use them.[8]
Business philosophy[edit]
Smith is a proponent of direct sales, arguing that the model allows a business to better understand its customers.[9] He also advocates investing in customer service.[10]
Awards[edit]
Smith has won awards for leadership, including Inc. Magazine’s Economy Hero for refusing to lay off any employees during the Great Recession.[11] Additionally, he earned Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the South Central Ohio and Kentucky region in 2011.[12]
Personal life[edit]
Smith has been married to attorney Nancy Smith since 1977.[5] The couple met while studying in Chicago. They have one son.[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ Novak, Shonda. "Big Ass Fans founder buys Lance Armstrong's Austin home". Austin American-Statesman.
- ↑ "Big Ass Solutions being acquired by equity firm for $500 million". kentucky.
- ↑ Sjogren, Candace (22 August 2018). "Want to Build a Million-Dollar Business? Focus on Your People, Not the Money". Entrepreneur.
- ↑ Strauss, Karsten. "Having Created The Market For Big Ass Industrial Fans, A Manufacturer Tries To Go Small Ass". Forbes.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Watson, Heather C. (9 February 2012). "Big Ass Fans' Carey & Nancy Smith: Fan-Powered Power Couple". Ace Weekly.
- ↑ Rosenbaum, Steve (27 September 2013). "Going Big in the Bluegrass State".
- ↑ Juetten, Mary. "Giving Back: An Incubator Founder Interview". Forbes.
- ↑ Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "America's coolest company: How Big Ass Fans went from cooling cows to a multinational tech powerhouse". TechRepublic.
- ↑ "For Big Ass Fans CEO, going against grain comes naturally". kentucky.
- ↑ "Why Silver-Platter Customer Service is Worth the Cost". Inc.com. 28 November 2014.
- ↑ https://industrialmachinerydigest.com/industrial-news/industry-updates/big-ass-fans-president-named-inc-s-economy-hero/
- ↑ https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2011/06/30/ernst-young-recognizes-kentucky.html
- ↑ "Why I Didn't Push My Son Into Business--Or Basketball". Inc.com. 3 April 2015.
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