Spectacular Smith
Founder & CEO of Adwizar Inc; Member of Pretty Ricky; Author
Spectacular Smith spent his childhood dreaming of bigger and better. His mother, a teenaged single parent.
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Spectacular Smith spent his childhood dreaming of bigger and better. His mother, a teenaged single parent, raised him and his three siblings in the Section 8 Projects of Miami, Florida, where the family struggled to dodge evictions and keep food on the table. Despite his own circumstances, Smith was keenly aware of the needs of others from an early age. Wanting to help alleviate his mother’s stress and his classmates’ hunger, he took it upon himself to find a solution. After a trip to the local grocery store, Smith began selling candy in between classes. By just 11-years-old, he was making $2,000 a week, and helping his mother to pay rent. This moment was but an early indication of the man that Smith would become – an entrepreneurial wizard with unmatched hustle, innovation and ability to pivot.
Smith first rose to notoriety as a performer. His love of dancing began in the third grade and continued into adulthood as he and his brothers formed the renowned rap group, Pretty Ricky. As a rapper and choreographer, Smith organized explosive stage routines and the group gained worldwide success. Their charisma earned them a deal with Atlantic Records, sold-out arenas for the Scream IV tour, millions of records sold and the chart-topping hits, “Grind With Me,” “On The Hotline” and “Your Body.” Unfortunately, the group’s good fortune was short-lived as their manager’s gross financial mismanagement left them with little to show for their success. At 28-years-old, Smith found himself suddenly homeless.
Once again, Smith demonstrated a masterful pivot with a surprising new endeavor. From his girlfriend’s childhood bedroom, Smith devoted 18 hours a day to learning the ins and outs of social media. Inspired by a tip from a friend, Matty J, he discovered untapped financial potential on Twitter, and began making parody accounts of popular celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jay Z, Beyoncé, Kevin Hart, Katt Williams and Eddie Murphy. In just six months, he had amassed a cumulative following of 6 million followers on monetized pages, bringing in $100,000.
Using Pretty Ricky’s Facebook page as a beta test, Smith experimented and honed his theories behind social networks for a full year. Soon, he had a new and unbreakable system of gaining and monetizing followers on any platform. Years later, his social media savvy gave way to the creation of Grumpy Cat, the most viral pet-themed account on the internet and a brand worth over $100 million. In 2014, Smith used his newfound social media prowess to build his own company, Adwizar. Specializing in creating viral content, Adwizar helps musicians, celebrities and big brands share their stories with the world while boosting engagement and making money. Forever a student of his industry, Smith credits much of his expansion to mentors including Co-Founder of Priceline.com Jeff Hoffman, Master P. and Diddy.
Smith has since become an esteemed authority on social media management. He has been recognized by several industry giants, including Huffington Post (“Top Marketing Gurus to Watch,”) Black Enterprise (“Innovator of the Year”) and Inc. Magazine (“Greatest and Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs”). In 2017, Adwizar was awarded the number 262 spot on Inc.’s list of the 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America. That same year, Smith published his first book, the best-selling Spectacular Love: How to Make Good Love Last. In 2018, Black Enterprise estimated his net worth at $65 million, making him one of the five most influential entrepreneurs at the intersection of music and tech. Finally, in both 2018 and 2019, Adwizar was named on the Entrepreneur 360 list of America’s Best Privately-Owned Companies.
Smith continues to push the limits both as an entertainer and an entrepreneur. In 2019, he rejoined his Pretty Ricky brothers on stage for the Millennium Tour, the number one hip-hop and RnB tour of the year. Today, in addition to Adwizar, he also runs the Spectacular Academy, a program educating aspiring entrepreneurs on how to build and scale thriving businesses. Students work closely with Smith’s carefully vetted millionaire mentors to build key relationships and expand their knowledge on a plethora of subjects. Programming is broken down into modules including wealth management, leadership, branding, mindset, business operations, marketing, social media, investment strategy and more. In just the two years since the academy’s inception, Smith’s students have collectively generated $36 million, and the program has yielded 17 millionaires.
Furthermore, Smith also leads the Power Circle, an elite mastermind network of high-achievers, entrepreneurs, founders and industry leaders. In his quest to pay it forward, he has committed himself to sharing his expertise. It is his hope that in making his own success secrets accessible to all, he can help to build wealth in the Black community, uplift the culture and create over one hundred Black millionaires. After conquering the worlds of music, social media, and publishing, the world is just waiting to see what he does next.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
An Evening With Spectacular Smith
Videos
Spectacular Academy: Group Session Part 1
The 80/20 Rule - Spectacular Smith
Books
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