{"id":703,"date":"2026-04-28T15:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/?p=703"},"modified":"2026-04-28T15:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:01:11","slug":"investing-in-potential-how-professor-nick-smarrelli-shapes-future-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/2026\/04\/28\/investing-in-potential-how-professor-nick-smarrelli-shapes-future-entrepreneurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in Potential: How Professor Nick Smarrelli Shapes Future Entrepreneurs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Professor Nick Smarrelli<\/a>, entrepreneurship didn\u2019t begin with a bold idea or a breakthrough moment. It started, ironically, with a club he created in college because it didn\u2019t exist yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a finance and psychology major at St. Louis University, he was convinced his future was in corporate leadership. He imagined climbing the ladder of a Fortune 500 company, not co-founding tech startups. And yet, that early instinct \u2013 to start something simply because it wasn\u2019t there \u2013 would become the quiet through line of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI began the entrepreneurship club not because I wanted to be an entrepreneur,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cIt was just the only club that didn\u2019t exist yet. It let me build something, create opportunities, and practice leadership. Entrepreneurship came early, but it was almost by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduation, Professor Smarrelli joined Ingersoll Rand and lived the kind of global life young professionals dream about. He moved from St. Louis to New York, then to Shanghai, then Charlotte, Atlanta, and eventually Indianapolis \u2013 all with the same company. But somewhere between flights, hotel rooms, and elite frequent-flyer status, the path he once imagined stopped feeling like his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One morning, sitting on a plane for the fourth time that week, he experienced what he calls his \u201cGhost of Christmas Future\u201d moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI looked around and realized \u2013 this is the next 40 years if I don\u2019t change something,\u201d the entrepreneurship and innovation lecturer said. \u201cI took out my BlackBerry, texted two college friends who were starting a business, and said, \u2018I want in. I don\u2019t care what the salary is.\u2019 Three months later, I was co-building my first company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That leap began a 15\u2011year journey as a founder, investor, and eventually CEO<\/a> \u2013 leading companies like Ryvit and GadellNet through periods of intense growth. The secret to that success, he insists, had little to do with marketing or strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always say 98% of leadership is psychology and 2% is business,\u201d Professor Smarrelli said. \u201cPeople are the complex part. People are the differentiator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That belief is what drove him back to graduate school for a master\u2019s degree in industrial & organizational psychology at Harvard University \u2013 and what ultimately brought him to the Lacy School of Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cButler is incredibly thoughtful and nimble,\u201d the director of entrepreneurship<\/a> said. \u201cHigher education is under pressure to stay relevant. LSB has proven repeatedly that we can evolve quickly to serve students better. That\u2019s what drew me here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That impact was formally recognized when Professor Smarrelli was named a Spring 2026 Leadership Impact Award <\/strong>recipient by the Butler University Family Council. Nominated by the families of Butler students, the award honors faculty and staff whose leadership makes a lasting difference in students\u2019 learning and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was recognized for his hands\u2011on, real\u2011world approach to entrepreneurship education, deep investment in students beyond the classroom, and unwavering belief in their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the classroom, Professor Smarrelli teaches the way he leads: with honesty, energy, and stories. Lots of stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a class that goes by where I don\u2019t tell a story,\u201d he said. \u201cStudents can tell I\u2019m still figuring out this teaching thing \u2013 and that I\u2019m willing to share everything I\u2019ve learned, including the mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s why students connect with him not just as a professor, but as a mentor<\/a>. His classes are filled with real-world cases, guest speakers from his professional network, and lessons shaped by 20+ years of scaling teams and building culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Smarrelli lights up most when he sees students doing something for the first time: pitching an idea<\/a>, traveling to a new city, testing a business concept, or experiencing the spark of real confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the classroom, Professor Smarrelli is an ultramarathon runner who has completed seven 100-mile races, and endurance sports shape nearly every part of his leadership philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBig, scary goals are achieved in tiny steps,\u201d he said. \u201cSuccess is consistency over intensity. Rest matters. And no one does big things alone \u2013 there\u2019s always a support system behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That philosophy is the foundation of his forthcoming book, Next Two Steps<\/em>, which explores how small, sustainable habits unlock long-term growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond his teaching and writing, Professor Smarrelli is deeply involved in the Indianapolis community, serving on boards focused on youth, education, and early-intervention support. At home, he and his wife are raising three children \u2013 ages 13, 10, and 6 \u2013 who he describes as \u201cthe center of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he looks ahead, his purpose is clear: invest in people so they can realize their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want students to see the humanity behind business \u2013 the people behind the spreadsheets and forecasts,\u201d Professor Smarrelli said. \u201cIf I can help them take the next step, believe in themselves, or find a path they didn\u2019t know they could walk \u2013 that\u2019s the impact I want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what he\u2019d tell his younger self, he paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCare less about what people think,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard, but it\u2019s going to be worth it. And remember: no one is thinking about you as much as you think they are. So go do the thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Professor Nick Smarrelli, entrepreneurship didn\u2019t begin with a bold idea or a breakthrough moment. It started, ironically, with a club he created in college because it didn\u2019t exist yet.<\/p>\n

As a finance and psychology major at St. Louis University, he was convinced his future was in corporate leadership. He imagined climbing the ladder of a Fortune 500 company, not co-founding tech startups. And yet, that early instinct \u2013 to start something simply because it wasn\u2019t there \u2013 would become the quiet through line of his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2812,"featured_media":980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"coauthors":[38],"class_list":["post-703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-insights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":965,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions\/965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}