J ared Smith is an American self-made billionaire and a co-founder of Qualtrics, a leading experience management software company. He co-founded the company in 2002 with his brother, Ryan Smith, and their father, Scott, from the basement of their family home in Utah. They bootstrapped the company for its first decade, building a powerful survey and data analytics platform.
Qualtrics' software allows organizations to collect and analyze feedback from customers and employees to improve their products and services. While his brother Ryan was the charismatic CEO and public face of the company, Jared was a key technical leader, playing a crucial role in building the company's product. In 2018, just days before its planned IPO, they sold the company to the German software giant SAP for a massive $8 billion. The company was later spun out of SAP in a successful IPO, before being taken private again by private equity firms. Jared's founding stake is the source of his massive fortune.
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Jared Smith is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Co-founder and former President of Qualtrics, a leading experience management (XM) software company. His wealth is rooted in the high-growth cloud computing and enterprise software sector.
Smith co-founded Qualtrics in 2002 in Provo, Utah, with his brother, Ryan Smith (CEO), and his father, Scott Smith (a BYU professor). His academic background is distinguished: he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the London School of Economics (LSE). His career is defined by his commitment to innovation in enterprise software and the management of customer and employee experience data.
Jared Smith's strategic genius was his commitment to bootstrapping Qualtrics for many years, relying on minimal external funding while focusing intensely on product development and customer value. His leadership as President (while his brother Ryan was CEO) guided the company to global market leadership in the niche of experience management (XM).
The company faced two massive financial events: first, the acquisition by German software giant SAP for $8 billion in cash in January 2019 (three days before its scheduled IPO); and second, the subsequent sale to Silver Lake and CPP Investments in March 2023 for a $12.5 billion valuation. Smith owned about 14 percent of the company at the time of the first sale. His wealth is tied to the colossal, successive monetization of the technology asset and his long-term vision in cloud software.
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Co-founds Qualtrics with his brother Ryan and father Scott in Provo, Utah (Founding).
Qualtrics is acquired by SAP for $8 billion in cash (Major Exit 1).
Qualtrics is acquired by Silver Lake and CPP Investments for $12.5 billion (Major Exit 2).
Continues as a major investor and co-founder (Executive Oversight).
Jared Smith's wealth is concentrated in the liquid capital generated from the $8 billion SAP acquisition and the $12.5 billion Silver Lake/CPP sale of Qualtrics.
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Jared Smith's social impact is structural, stemming from Qualtrics' role in providing essential experience management software for global corporations, fundamentally improving customer satisfaction and employee engagement metrics. The company provides thousands of stable jobs in the technology and cloud computing sectors.
His personal philanthropy supports various educational and community initiatives in Utah. His structural contribution is tied to the successful creation and monetization of a global enterprise software category (XM).
Jared Smith maintains the professional, high-energy style of a technology executive. His attire is consistently modern and high-quality, favoring tailored business casual wear. His aesthetic reflects confident, data-driven authority, typical of a leader in the cloud software sector.
Residing in Provo, Utah, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to technology investment, software innovation, and the long-term pursuit of data analytics and AI solutions.
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+0.34% | +$7.10M
+0.57% | +$47.59M
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