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Peter Smith

President/COO, Golden Spiral



Areas of Expertise: Finance, Marketing, Operations

Peter serves as President and COO of Golden Spiral, an integrated marketing agency focused on meeting the unique needs of B2B technology companies.

Established in 2011, Golden Spiral is headquartered in Nashville, TN and serves a client base that spans the nation. Golden Spiral excels at translating complex tech-driven offerings into market-focused solutions that speak to buyers’ real needs.

Peter oversees Golden Spiral’s operations, workflows, and finances while providing direction and vision for the company’s future. Each day looks different for him, whether it’s working toward long-term goals, researching new technologies and opportunities, or helping clear hurdles for other people so that they can focus on what they do best.

“I enjoy looking at the big picture opportunity and distilling that down into tangible to-dos across different departments. It’s really great seeing the little things come together to achieve the bigger picture goals, especially as we’ve moved into the fast-paced world of technology.”

To meet with Peter, or any of our excellent mentors, please fill out this interest form.

Q. What excites you most about the Wond’ry?

A. I am excited to see institutional support and resources for entrepreneurship and innovation. Building a business is hard. I have benefited greatly from mentors and industry peers and am excited to see Vanderbilt providing student entrepreneurs with mentorship and access to advanced technologies.

Q. What do you feel are the most important skills you have to offer in your role as a mentor?

A. I can help the students understand how to build and integrate all aspects of their company around solving a market problem. Their service or product is important, but their ability to build a culture, a sales funnel, a marketing engine, a financial model, and an operational backbone that work in concert is key.

Q. What has been your proudest moment in your career?

A. I am most proud of the culture and team we have built.

Q. What has surprised you most about your job?

A. I am consistently surprised by how well people (clients and coworkers) respond to candid communication in the midst of challenges.

Q. If you could do everything over again, would you make the same career choices?

A. I regret not starting sooner. Our first year or two was stunted by me learning how a business works. If I could do it over again, I would pursue more jobs/internships with a similar business model in college where I could learn many of the basics.

Q. In your opinion, what is the most important quality for success?

A. Constant learning.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I wanted to be Batman, but I knew that job was filled. My second choice was to be an architect because I loved to build things. I didn’t know building a company was an option.