PEOPLE

DOUG SMITH - MANAGING PARTNER

An accomplished business strategist, company advisor, and investor, Doug has worked with a broad portfolio of companies in education, insurance, real estate, healthcare, and B2B SaaS. He has been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities on topics related to entrepreneurship, generative AI, and data science. He has also been a speaker at eMerge Americas and featured in Forbes, Tampa Bay Business Journal, and South Florida Business Journal. 

He has significant experience taking data-oriented projects from ideation to deployment, ranging from developing predictive models to creating generative AI and large language model (LLM)- powered applications. Doug aligns these skills with his venture capital and private equity experience to help ensure that projects are efficiently tracked from a financial perspective.

He is currently the Principal of Data and Analytics at Ampersand Consulting. He oversees and directs the firm's data and analytics team. The team works with Fortune 1000 companies on artificial intelligence, data engineering, business intelligence reporting, data science, and ML/AI Ops engagements.

Doug was formerly the Director of Operational Improvement and Strategy with UMA Education. While there, he led cross-functional business improvement initiatives in portfolio companies, including launching several new academic programs, developing predictive models, streamlining employer-partner relationships, and developing innovative graduate placement solutions. He also participated in merger and acquisition efforts.

He assisted MLB's Tampa Bay Rays ownership group with the ideation of potential events and community engagement initiatives, along with other Synapse members.

He was invited to the invitation-only Startupbus leaving Florida in 2012. His team was awarded 2nd overall, with BumperCrop beating out 50+ teams and 10 cities in the national competition judged at SXSW.

Doug has experience with business analysis and investment analysis from his time at Ballast Point Ventures. Ballast Point Ventures is a growth equity venture capital fund based in the Tampa Bay region in Florida with $550 million under management. While at Ballast Point, he reviewed over 2,000 companies for potential investment by the fund.

Doug has his Master's in Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida, ranked the #5 best Entrepreneurship Program by Princeton Review in 2008. Doug received his bachelor’s degree from Eckerd College, majoring in economics and minoring in finance and international business. He also is an alumnus of the Woodberry Forest School. Active investments in technology companies operating in the Augmented Reality, Predictive Medical AI, Insurtech, Cloud Communications, On-Demand Services, Automated Marketing, and Legaltech space.