Podcast Summary: My First Million — "The High School Dropout Who Made $2B & Bought an NBA Team"

Hosts: Sam Parr and Shaan Puri (Hubspot Media)
Guest: Ryan Smith (Founder of Qualtrics, Owner of Utah Jazz)
Date: November 5, 2025

Overview

This episode dives deep into the remarkable journey of Ryan Smith—from a high school dropout with a 1.9 GPA to the founder of Qualtrics (acquired for $8 billion) and owner of the Utah Jazz. The discussion covers his tough beginnings, entrepreneurial grit, dynamics of building a business with family, tough decisions (like turning down a $500M acquisition offer), and the business logic he’s used throughout. Ryan candidly shares personal stories of hardship and pivotal moments, ultimately reflecting on what drives meaningful fulfillment in life and business.

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Humble Beginnings and Rock Bottom

Timestamps: 00:00–10:00

• Family Turmoil & Academic Struggles: Parents divorced when Ryan was 14, leading to “screw everything” attitude and flunking out of school.
  • "I knew I was a good athlete. I knew I was good at golf and could play poker. I knew there was something there, but I didn't work hard. I didn't finish anything." (Ryan, 01:56)
• Getting Pushed Out of School: Dropped out; school suggested he find another path (03:09).
• First Work Experience: Uncle offers mailroom job at a tech company (03:16).
• GED and Seoul, Korea Adventure: Motivated by the promise of work abroad, crams for his GED, jets off to Korea at 17, only to find all supposed arrangements (job/housing) were a scam (04:37-07:00).
  • "You're not coming home. The upside is way better." (Ryan's dad, as recounted at 06:16)
• Resourcefulness under Pressure: Nearly stranded, Ryan hustles to survive—teaching English, negotiating with building security to market lessons, living in closet-sized shared rooms, making $8K/month eventually.
  • "Literally like a month later, I was making like $8,000 a month as a 17 year old teaching English. And I was like, how in the world did I go from there to here?" (Ryan, 09:14–09:51)

2. The Genesis and Focus of Qualtrics

Timestamps: 09:51–20:17

• Starting with Family: Qualtrics began in the family basement while Ryan’s father was battling cancer.
  • "He would come home from his, like, radiation and chemo... I'd be like, let's do a business. Let's let me take this to the world." (Ryan, 10:18–11:12)
• Market Landscape: At the time, companies did feedback on paper—Qualtrics brought it online, revolutionary for its era (11:12–11:22).
• Crucial Focus: Ryan’s brother Jared (then at Google China) enforced radical focus—narrowing to universities, saying, “unless you're talking about these 250 universities, I don't want to hear it” (14:47–16:18).
  • "He was religious about it, and it was actually an incredible forcing function for me and the team." (Ryan, 14:47–16:18)
• Family Dynamics: Sibling co-founder tension/synergy; pushing hard because they’re family, stronger than with any employee or exec.
  • "With my brother, I could go 15 [rounds]. We were so different. He was full engineer, I was full business." (Ryan, 17:08)
• First Major Funding: When Sequoia wanted to invest, deliberation over who would be CEO. Jared stands up: "It's him. I won't do media." (19:09)
  • "We'll still operate two in the box. We'll divide the world. But like, it's a cool moment." (Ryan, 19:09–20:17)

3. Ten-Year “Overnight” Success

Timestamps: 20:17–24:30

• Long, Obscure Grind: A decade before major recognition.
• Against the Odds: Competitors raising $40M, product weakness—nearly quit, but father’s wisdom: "Who's stopping you from going to do everything you want to go do?" (Ryan's father, 22:15–22:49)
• Sales Hustle: Cold calling all day, demoing by phone before Zoom—relentless marketing and personal belief in product (23:38–24:30).

4. The $500M Offer—and Saying No

Timestamps: 24:30–29:35

• First Big Buyout Offer: SurveyMonkey offered $500M at a time when this set up the team for life.
• Mentorship & Calculated Risk: Mentors (esp. Duff Thompson) urged him not to sell too early: "We sold Word Perfect too early... don't take the money."
• Family/Personal Input: Wife's practical advice: "If it's going good, just keep it rolling. I don't need you around the house more." (28:00)
• Turning Point: Decided to “go for it,” redirecting profits back into the company and raising funds from top VCs—prompting a new growth trajectory.

5. Working Backwards and the Power of Narrative

Timestamps: 32:07–36:54

• Reverse Engineering Outcomes: Learning from an accidental Business Insider headline about rejecting $500M, Smith made a game of “what’s the next headline/story?” and let this goalpost drive their milestones.
  • "What’s her next article? What is she putting up next?" (Ryan, 35:13–36:14)
• Framing the Journey: Stories and the “arc” matter more than numbers: “All we have are going to be these stories that we're going to be able to tell.” (36:15)
• Post-Exit Reality:
  • "When Qualtrics sold, it was probably one of the most underwhelming days of my life." (36:54–37:51)
  • After years of grind, money arrives, but fulfillment comes from the journey and legacy—not the wire transfer.

6. NBA Team Ownership

Timestamps: 39:43–44:57

• Transition to the NBA: Qualtrics years were singularly focused, but after acquisition, Ryan chased his lifelong passion: basketball.
  • "I didn't do anything else when I was doing Qualtrics. No side hustles, nothing. Except for hoops." (Ryan, 41:34)
• Buying the Utah Jazz: Initially pursued other teams when Jazz were unavailable. Serendipitously got a call from the owners, negotiated quickly based on Forbes valuation ($1.6B).
  • "My philosophy was, don't blink. These chance. There's 30 of these things in the world, just go." (Ryan, 43:49)
• Mission & Responsibility: Candid reflections—
  • "You're taking the hopes and dreams of a whole nation here and putting them on your shoulders... The NBA team is very different." (Ryan, 44:49–44:58)
  • Decision ultimately made with Utah/the community in mind rather than ego.

7. Life Lessons & Decision Frameworks

Timestamps: 45:01–48:23

• Family Over Hustle: “The nine most important minutes of the day: when your kids wake up, when they get home from school, when they go to bed. Try to hit at least one." (45:20–45:38)
• Inversion Principle: If unsure what you want, figure out what you don’t want first.
  • “Don't be so caught up on what this looks like. See if it fits... That's all that really matters.” (46:00–48:23)
• On Never Arriving: “I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. What I do know is I'm going to work till I'm 80.” (37:51–38:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Survival in Korea:
  • “No Americans, no English, no money, and you just kind of had to go figure it out.” (Ryan, 06:37)
• On Focus:
  • “Unless you’re talking about these 250 universities, I don’t want to hear it.” (Jared Smith, 14:47)
• On Family Dynamics:
  • “With my brother, I could go 15 [rounds]. We had to wake up and there was no drama.” (Ryan, 17:08)
• On Rejecting $500M:
  • “The only person that said, don’t take the money... we sold WordPerfect too early.” (Mentor Duff Thompson, 28:00)
• On Reverse Engineering:
  • “What's her next article?... It fired us up to go and say, well, that next one isn't interesting. Like, we actually need to go bigger.” (Ryan, 35:13–35:14)
• On the Meaning of the Journey:
  • “It is about the journey. Because even after all that, it wasn't a eureka moment, right?” (Ryan, 37:51)
• On Purposeful Life Design:
  • “Every young person should ask themselves... I’m going to work till I’m 80.” (Ryan, 37:51)
• On Buying the Jazz:
  • “My philosophy was, don't blink. These chance. There's 30 of these things in the world just go.” (Ryan, 43:49)

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |---------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–01:56 | Ryan’s childhood struggles and dropout | | 03:09–09:51 | Surviving and thriving in Korea as a teen | | 10:18–16:18 | Qualtrics’ origin, early days, family focus | | 17:08–20:17 | Family dynamics and the CEO decision | | 20:43–24:30 | 10-year grind: adversity and sales strategy | | 24:30–30:32 | The $500M offer and decision to go bigger | | 32:07–36:54 | Reverse engineering the future via public narratives | | 39:43–44:57 | From founder to NBA owner: buying the Utah Jazz | | 45:01–48:23 | Life/career lessons: focus, inversion, work/life balance |

Key Takeaways

• Perseverance matters more than origin: Ryan’s story defies the “dropout prodigy” clichés—his rise was about surviving adversity, learning by doing, never giving up, and keeping focus on the journey, not just the result.
• Radical focus and saying 'no': Narrowing Qualtrics’ audience and staying disciplined was a key difference-maker.
• The value of family and mentorship: Honest, sometimes uncomfortable feedback from close family and trusted mentors provides a unique edge.
• Success ≠ Satisfaction: Even with financial windfalls, the things that matter are stories, the journey, and the impact made.
• Purpose, not destinations: Fulfillment is in striving, learning, and giving back, not just achieving a windfall or prestige outcome.
• Don't let imagined limitations define you: Whether your GPA, your background, or your first step in life, the path forward is made by moving.

Closing Thought:
"I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. What I do know is I'm going to work till I'm 80 because I'm not going to check out. If I was going to do that, I would have done it already." (Ryan Smith, 37:51)