Nathaniel D. Smith is a technology visionary, inventor, patent holder, and Entrepreneur. He is the Founder and CEO of Blue Nova Technology, LLC, a leading technology and innovation company headquartered in Chicago, specializing in software engineering, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and multi-modal marketing web applications.
Nathaniel’s Career Story: How Did He Start?
Nathaniel graduated from Bradley University with a BSC. in Computer Science and a minor in Economics. In the same year, he started his professional career in banking as a software engineer at Discover Financial, where he serviced credit/debit transactions from major networks of banking payment systems. During his time there, he expanded the Discover Payment Network into four different countries, improved reward programs, and assisted in corporate recruiting and innovation.
Regarding education, Nathaniel values his formal education but finds the real-world experience to be an accurate measure of skill and tenacity. “My education was helpful, but I learned most of what I know about being an entrepreneur from real-world experience – networking, traveling, research, and constantly refining my pitch to match the progress of my company,” says Nathaniel.
Nathaniel got the idea for his business while having a subpar dining experience with friends. “I got the idea by pitching it to my friend in college. We had a disconnected communication experience at a restaurant involving the server, kitchen, and point of sale system. I mentioned being able to shop online from the table,” says Nathaniel.
Nathaniel decided to pursue this career when he had the idea of being able to shop at any physical store via smartphone, no matter where one goes. To start his research, Nathaniel would knock on business doors – restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational facilities – and every time Nathaniel interacted with these businesses, he gained more insights into the design and function of the technology. Nathaniel also employed observational research in watching how people shop, their habits, and their experiences in-store.
Based on his research, he realized that there was no solution for the problem he wanted to solve that existed in the market. Nathaniel decided to go out on his own, founding Blue Nova Technology with the goal of creating a technology that revolutionized the way people shopped online and in-store. His mission at the outset was to secure funding, hire the team, and close sales. The vision was to provide best-in-class services and do what he knew to the best of his ability.
The pivotal moment came when Nathaniel decided to compose the patent for the technology, devoting years to research and verification while hearing affirming words from potential customers and colleagues that he was really on to something. He filed the patent in 2013, received the filing date in 2014, and won the patent in 2018. While processing the patent, Nathaniel focused his time, energy, and finances on investing in his company’s infrastructure and sustainable business model.
Blue Nova Technology: Beyond Limitations
Blue Nova Technology intends to create a technology revolutionizing how people shop online and in-store. While on this journey, Nathaniel was able to create, design, and patent the Light-Life Platform, which uses A.I. and machine learning tools to assist customers on demand while shopping in-store during peak hours. These tools automate inventory tracking services, outbound and inbound marketing, and create real-time interactions with customers and clients to deliver the best results.
The company’s primary goals are to educate and train businesses on the benefits of AI-generated business services that allow them to focus solely on the customer shopping experience, shortening the learning curve on new technology and subscribing to new businesses while building a sustainable business.
Contactless shopping was an early solution in the functional use of Nathaniel’s patented technology. This solution became critical to connecting customers to the products and services they needed during the pandemic.
Another on-par solution is Blue Nova Technology’s direct focus on providing business services, including but not limited to mobile payments, web database support, online marketplaces, market research, inventory tracking, digital (or endless) aisle experiences, and A.I. tools for automation across service offerings, including cryptographic network analysis. These tools allow data collection across various business pain points, strategically positioning Blue Nova Technology executives to partner with the federal government to collaborate on workforce development solutions. Nathaniel is also looking forward to getting involved in the energy efficiency field related to cryptographic business functions and microchip technologies at scale.
Achieving Success Is About Overcoming Hurdles
Nathaniel constantly challenges himself and realizes that not knowing everything is a key value to his ability to overcome obstacles. “I may be in a leadership role, and people may look up to me. However, I must admit when I mess up and be open to constructive criticism. When leaders can’t admit that they’ve messed up, problems become harder to fix,” says Nathaniel. Memorably, Nathaniel had to tap into this when defending his patent.
“I worked closely with the lawyers, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the technology developers. It was getting down to the wire, and I only had a few hundred dollars, and I realized that I needed help,” says Nathaniel. Nathaniel joined organizations like the National Inventors Association and the Small Business Advocacy Council for support and continued to work with his lawyers in lock-step to win the patent.
Future CEOs Should Be Encouraged To Innovate and Embrace Change
Insightfully, Nathaniel thinks the most pressing challenges CEOs face today stem from overstressed systems, such as broken communications systems, and interpersonal skills, such as emotional intelligence. “This is especially important as we emerge from the pandemic and learn to interact with one another again,” says Nathaniel. “During the pandemic, we stopped exploring and collaborating in ways that felt natural, and now we are re-learning how to do those things,” he continues.
Nathaniel firmly believes that every CEO needs to be able to support their team. “Being in leadership can also mean allowing others to shine. Secondly, being able to provide solutions that are inclusive of stakeholders involved and affected. It’s important to share what you learned with others and not back away from what you do not understand,” asserts Nathaniel.
Message to Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Never be afraid to fail. Feel free to get it right. It can be scary because you can be down to your last dollar or have investor dollars and lose it all. Listen to your teammates, listen to other people who are invested and interested in your success, and take your time.
What Is Next?
In two years, Nathaniel sees the company growing to the point where he can give more responsibility to employees to run more of the day-to-day operations to focus on expanding the client base in foreign markets and increasing revenue. One avenue for creating that change is sharing his experiences and teaching others what he has learned to make smoother transitions for teammates. Nathaniel is also interested, at large, in policy efforts that can increase opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and success. “I also see myself influencing policy to make it easier for others to create and build careers that help them build the future they want,” assures Nathaniel.
