Andy Smith is a serial entrepreneur and most recently founded Blacksmith Ventures to build products, brands and companies focused on forging execution, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset. Andy has founded and operated both B2B and B2B2C companies and loves taking an optimistic mindset, a great team, a strong network and an engineered approach to build great businesses with big visions and impactful and purposeful missions.
Andy has a background in engineering, but he’s an entrepreneur at heart. Blacksmith Ventures, was created to do just that – “Forge Entrepreneurial Mindset & Confidence” – to grow products, brands and companies. In 2007, Andy co-founded ABUTEC, a Clean Energy startup. Andy and his partner grew ABUTEC from inception to an eventual eight (8) figure exit to a Private Equity firm. After exiting ABUTEC, Andy acquired ASHCOR. ASHCOR is an Oilfield Service company that he and his team grew and ultimately exited to a strategic buyer in the Oil & Gas industry. In September 2020, he set his sights on surrounding himself with great people and helping entrepreneurs, business owners, and founders at scale. This was the birth of BlackSmith Ventures (#BSV). Andy’s vision for BlackSmith Ventures is to become a premier modern day holding company for Real American businesses.
In September 2020, he closed on the acquisition of SteelSafe Shelters which is a decade old manufacturer of FEMA compliant storm shelters and safe rooms. In January 2021, he and his team successfully rebranded SteelSafe Shelters to RemainSafe in order to take a regional player nationwide and further develop the company into a leader in the emergency preparedness space.
In mid 2021, Andy and his team founded Purified Simple Solutions. This entity helps food producers and oil and gas clients solve regulatory and clean energy problems.
In December 2021, CISTANT was founded to provide solutions that take the friction out of logistics. The first, and flagship product, AXL Eye, was developed which is a patented SaaS (Software as a Service) solution that will disrupt the mining and transportation industry for years to come.
In addition to running multiple businesses, Andy loves coaching both girls and boy’s basketball and keeping God and family at the forefront of his life.
Andy grew up in a small suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and earned a master’s degree from The University of Florida in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in business.
Connect With Andy (can you make this a button hyperlinked to: https://linktr.ee/AndySmithSmith)