The Speaker:
Rendell Solomon, an alum from Columbia’s class of 2005 and a private equity investor from Chicago. He founded the nonprofit “One Stock, One Future” to teach basic stock concepts and donate shares to underserved youth, turning 200 kids into shareholders so far.

Darius Gant, the Interviewer:
A second-year Columbia MBA and the first-ever chairman of a business school conference. He is a CPA and a former professional basketball player. He worked in finance at a boutique investment bank in Chicago before joining a private equity firm as a pre-MBA. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan, is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, a CBS PE fellow, and a Twigo fellow.

Robert Smith:
No introduction needed, but Solomon will attempt a unique one.

Robert F. Smith’s Background:
Robert F. Smith and Darius Gant share commonalities: same initials, engineering background, MBA from Columbia, and offices in the same building. Smith’s entrepreneurial venture in artist management faced challenges, leading to self-layoff after two years. In contrast, Smith’s Vista Equity Partners manages $28 billion and employs 45,000 across its portfolio companies.

BBSA and Its Impact:
Smith emphasizes the significance of BBSA in fostering community and diverse perspectives among students. He acknowledges the expansion of career interests beyond traditional fields like finance and marketing. Smith highlights the importance of Columbia’s educational offerings in supporting various career aspirations.

Leveraging Technology and Global Opportunities:
Smith stresses the ubiquity of technology and its potential for reaching billions of people. He encourages students to take advantage of this landscape to create meaningful businesses and generate wealth. Understanding communities and their dynamics is crucial for creating value through Columbia education.

Robert F. Smith’s Intentional Emergence:
Smith’s rise to prominence was a deliberate choice, driven by the need to create opportunities for himself and others. Despite his natural shyness, he focused on developing expertise and becoming the best at his craft. Smith realized that gaining recognition was essential for attracting capital and expanding his business ventures.

Importance of Expertise and Building Relationships:
Smith emphasizes the significance of becoming an expert in one’s chosen field. He stresses the value of hard work, countless hours, and acquiring knowledge and skills. Smith highlights the importance of building relationships and gaining recognition to attract opportunities and access capital.

Strategy Shift in Fundraising:
Previously, Smith faced challenges raising funds for his private equity firm due to a lack of recognition and established relationships. To overcome this, he focused on building his personal brand and demonstrating his expertise through strategic partnerships and publications. Smith emphasizes the importance of understanding target markets and tailoring communication strategies accordingly.

Overcoming Obstacles in the Middle East:
Smith’s initial attempts to raise funds in the Middle East were met with indifference and low-level meetings. He realized that decision-makers were influenced by factors beyond financial data and sought to establish a strong personal connection. By working with a strategic firm, Smith developed a narrative that resonated with investors, leading to a warm reception and increased funding opportunities.

The Importance of Craft and Sacrifice:
Smith recognizes the need to master the craft of fundraising, which involves understanding audience needs and delivering tailored solutions. He acknowledges the personal sacrifices that come with increased visibility and success, such as the loss of privacy and anonymity.

Inspiring the Next Generation:
Smith highlights the significance of serving as a role model for young people, particularly African-Americans, who may not have access to traditional pathways to success. He emphasizes the need for leaders to take responsibility for inspiring and supporting the next generation.

Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Culture at VISTA:
Smith explains that he founded VISTA due to the lack of opportunities for African Americans in private equity. He approached the challenge with a scientific mindset, recognizing patterns and identifying opportunities for improvement. Smith criticizes the traditional private equity model, emphasizing its bespoke nature and high volatility. VISTA’s design focuses on creating experts in identifying businesses with specific characteristics and improving their operational efficiency.

Business Design and Scalability:
Robert F. Smith emphasizes the importance of designing businesses that are efficient, scalable, and capable of handling large amounts of capital without compromising returns or increasing loss ratios. He believes in a design paradigm that focuses on specific subject matter expertise, reusing trained executives, and maintaining a culture that fits the business’s design.

Skill Development and Expertise:
Smith stresses the need for entrepreneurs to develop strong skills and expertise in their chosen field before starting a business. He suggests working in organizations where one can learn from experienced practitioners and participate in real-life training programs to gain hands-on experience.

Identifying Market Arbitrages:
Smith encourages entrepreneurs to identify arbitrage opportunities in the market that they can uniquely exploit over a long period of time. He advises against leaving a stable job without first acquiring the necessary skills and having a specific design in mind to take advantage of these opportunities.

Protecting Economic Opportunities:
Smith emphasizes the importance of keeping certain knowledge and strategies confidential to maintain a competitive advantage. He cautions against allowing others to copy successful business models and exploit them, leading to the erosion of economic benefits for the entrepreneur and their community.

Preventing Exploitation of Talent:
Smith highlights the need to address the exploitation of talented individuals in various industries, particularly in the entertainment industry. He encourages business students to think about ways to protect brilliant talent from being exploited and to ensure that economic benefits are shared within the community.

Investing in the Community:
Robert Smith believes that everyone has a role to play in their communities, including business leaders and philanthropists. He emphasizes the importance of investing in scholarship wealth, diligence wealth, and grit in the community. Smith stresses the need to be thoughtful about one’s highest and best use in giving back to the community.

Community Service:
Smith shares his experience with a tutoring program at Cornell University, where he and other Alpha Chapter members tutored Ithaca high school students on weekends. He emphasizes the importance of community service and the impact it can have on young people. Smith believes that community leaders should take the initiative to engage with young people and create sparks of scholarship, grit, and stick-with-it-ness.

Impactful Initiatives:
Smith discusses his work at Carnegie Hall, where he and his team are bringing music education back into the lives of 4 to 5 million children per year. He highlights the disproportionate impact that the elimination of music education in public school systems had on communities. Smith emphasizes the importance of thinking about one’s highest and best use and making a meaningful impact at scale.

A Digital Gift for Preserving and Curating African-American History:
A digital platform that curates African-American history and experiences from various sources, including the Apollo Theater Library, Louis Armstrong House Museum, and community repositories. This digitization project aims to provide access to community history, trace family lineages, and connect individuals to their roots through artificial intelligence.

Music Education and Cognitive Development:
Smith emphasizes the importance of music education for cognitive development and its positive impact on students. He believes that reintroducing music education in communities can contribute to the overall upliftment and success of African-American students.

STEM Education as an On-ramp to Opportunity:
Smith identifies STEM education as a crucial factor for economic upliftment and wealth creation in the African-American community. He advocates for initiatives that focus on training African-American students in STEM fields to equip them for the technological advancements and job opportunities of the future.

Utilizing Technology and Intellectual Property for Wealth Creation:
Smith highlights the significance of intellectual property and technology as avenues for wealth generation in the modern economy. He emphasizes the need for African-Americans to participate in the technology sector and leverage their unique creativity to establish successful businesses and contribute to economic growth.

Taking Advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution:
Smith recognizes the importance of preparing for the fourth industrial revolution and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence. He advocates for teaching the basics of computing infrastructure and architecture to young people to help them understand the implications of artificial intelligence and prepare for the changing job landscape.

Code.org Initiative for Coding Education:
Smith introduces the Code.org initiative, a program that provides coding training sessions for African-American youth across Vista portfolio companies. The goal is to excite and encourage young people to pursue STEM education and programming skills to prepare them for future job opportunities.

Addressing the Gap in Job Availability and Skilled Workforce:
Smith emphasizes the need to address the gap between job availability and the number of skilled individuals in the coming decades. He believes that investing in STEM education and preparing African-American students for these opportunities will have a lasting impact on the economic dynamics of the community for generations.

VISTA’s Success and Imitation:
VISTA’s success as a private equity firm has attracted attention and imitation from competitors. Smith acknowledges that other firms may adopt VISTA’s playbook, but emphasizes that VISTA is constantly evolving and innovating, staying ahead of the competition.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Digitization:
Smith discusses the fourth industrial revolution and the digitization of industries. He highlights the need for private equity firms to adapt and provide insights on how specific industries can evolve through digitization.

Vista Intelligence Group:
VISTA has established the Vista Intelligence Group, which analyzes data from portfolio companies to create analytical tools, systems, and cognitive solutions. This focus on data analytics and cognitive solutions is a unique and innovative approach in the private equity industry.

The Future of Private Equity:
Smith predicts that the private equity industry will undergo significant changes due to the fourth industrial revolution. He believes there will be fewer, larger, and more capable private equity firms that are highly specialized and diversified.

VISTA’s Leadership in Digitization:
VISTA is at the forefront of digitization in the private equity industry. Smith highlights the company’s work in Asia, where they are helping to digitize entire industries and economies.

Connection with Howard University:
Smith expresses his admiration for Howard University and its resilience. He mentions his relationship with Gary Harris, a cousin who runs the Department of Engineering at Howard, and his plans to visit the university.

Political Changes and Business:
Smith acknowledges the political changes in the United States and the impact they may have on equality for black women. He believes that businesses can drive policy changes by using their resources and influence to advocate for equality and social justice.

Understanding Data and Shaping Opinions:
The recent election cycle highlighted the importance of data-driven strategies in managing political activities. One camp successfully used data to shape their actions, while the other relied on outdated survey methodologies. The power of data lies in its ability to shape impressions, outcomes, and opinions.

Utilizing Digital Tools for Effective Advocacy:
The younger generation, known as “digital natives,” consumes information rapidly and engages with it frequently. The fabric of impressions created through digital interactions shapes opinions and influences perceptions. It is essential to use digital tools effectively to harness and broadcast voices that reflect positions and opinions on important issues.

Empowering Communities to Embrace Technology:
Technology has the potential to be transformative, but there is a lag between where technology is and where communities are in terms of adoption. Black Greek-led organizations and community leaders must empower communities to get on ramps to technology and embrace its potential. Professionals and working individuals should also stay updated with technology as their livelihoods may depend on it.

Addressing Historical Barriers to Wealth Access:
Barriers erected for centuries have prevented communities from accessing wealth, and technology presents a new set of barriers. Structural and ideological barriers, such as the digital divide and lack of access to high-speed internet, hinder technology adoption. Schools play a crucial role in providing technology education and bridging the technology gap.

Fostering Collaboration and Shared Responsibility:
Addressing technology adoption disparities requires collaboration between community leaders, educators, government agencies, and the private sector. Shared responsibility is essential to ensure equitable access to technology education and resources. By working together, communities can overcome barriers and harness the transformative power of technology.

Access to Technology Education:
Robert F. Smith emphasizes the need for widespread access to high-quality coding and STEM education for all students, especially in underserved communities. Libraries, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other community organizations play a crucial role in providing this access.

Massive Effort Required:
Smith stresses the importance of massive and collective efforts to address the lack of diversity in technology leadership. He uses the example of his aptitude test initiative, which reaches over 400,000 individuals annually, to illustrate the scale of effort required.

Developing a Pipeline of Talent:
Smith compares the development of technology leaders to the farm system in sports, where young athletes are identified and nurtured from a young age. He calls for a similar system in technology, where talented individuals are identified early and provided with the necessary support and opportunities to succeed.

The Role of Corporate Firms:
Smith highlights the importance of engaging corporate firms in community service initiatives to expose youth to top talent and provide mentorship opportunities. He suggests tapping into existing organizations like Culture Shift, which specializes in assembling professionals for seminars and workshops.

Addressing the Arbitrage Window:
Smith warns of a potential “arbitrage window” closing, where access to computing power and education becomes limited, leading to an expanding wealth and opportunity gap. He emphasizes the urgency of investing in technology education and leadership development to prevent this from happening.

Effective Collaboration:
Collaborate with existing institutions and tap into their resources rather than reinventing the wheel. Connect with organizations that share similar goals to amplify your impact. Leverage existing infrastructure instead of creating new ones.

Building Expertise:
Immerse yourself in your chosen field by constantly learning and engaging with other experts. Dedicate significant time to understanding the intricacies of your field. Become an expert in both the analog and digital aspects of your domain.

Emergence of Business Opportunities:
Business opportunities naturally arise from deep expertise and understanding. Focus on becoming an expert in your field rather than actively seeking business opportunities. Expertise attracts business opportunities, eliminating the need for proactive searching.

Network and Engage:
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who share your passion and knowledge. Engage in discussions, share insights, and collaborate with other experts in your field. Foster meaningful relationships and connections within your industry.

Global Manufacturing and Energy Generation:
There are large-scale photovoltaic manufacturing capabilities outside the U.S. that will serve economies with high hydrocarbon electrical generation. Many countries, including the Bahamas and parts of Africa, still rely on diesel to generate electricity despite having abundant sunshine. The political leadership in these economies needs to understand the economic inefficiencies of relying on imported energy sources.

Opportunities in Africa and the Caribbean:
Smith sees significant opportunities in Africa and the Caribbean for entrepreneurs to address the energy generation issue. Local entrepreneurs can set up photovoltaic power plants, creating economic benefits and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels. The Chinese have a competitive advantage in photovoltaic manufacturing and are likely to pursue these opportunities.

Funding for Early-Stage Businesses:
An audience member asked how to secure funding for an early-stage business in AI and machine learning before reaching the venture capital level. Smith did not provide a direct answer to this question, as the transcript ended before he could address it.

Funding a Software Startup:
Robert F. Smith believes that software startups can often be funded with relatively small amounts of capital. Convincing investors to take a meaningful chance on a startup while not taking control of the business is a challenge. It’s important to find investors who understand the startup’s business and would benefit from its success. In the real estate industry, Smith suggests finding someone with real estate problems that the startup can solve and writing a contract that allows the startup to fund itself from that contract.

Writing an Autobiography:
Smith is writing an autobiography titled “They Shouldn’t,” inspired by Reginald Lewis’s autobiography “Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun.”