Jared Smith: From Vol Court to His Own Ventures

Jared Smith (UT B.S., ’16; M.S., ’17; Ph.D., ’20) did not set out to become an entrepreneur. He set out to solve problems. That instinct, honed through years of research, competitions and late nights troubleshooting code, led him to co-found two companies and return to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as a mentor for the students now walking in his footsteps.

Smith spoke at the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s Meet the Founder event in fall 2025, sharing hard-won lessons from his journey as a technical founder. He is also a startup coach for the center and served as a judge for Graves Business Plan Competition.

Building Something from Nothing

Smith co-founded two companies after earning his Ph.D. in computer science from UT. The first, Uncat.com, is an accounting app designed to streamline the back-and-forth between accountants and their clients regarding uncategorized transactions, missing receipts and other financial loose ends. The second, Evasive AI, is a cybersecurity firm.

Uncat’s origin is a case of problem-first thinking: It came directly from the people experiencing a pain point.

“My number one piece of advice is to try to find a problem that truly needs solving, rather than just creating something because the market tells you or because somebody says that’s a cool thing to do,” Smith said.

What sets Uncat apart in a crowded market is not just its functionality but also its brand. Built around a cat theme, a playful nod to “uncategorized” expenses, the app occupies a memorable five-letter domain and projects a personality distinct from the buttoned-up world of accounting software.

“The tech is the same across the board,” Smith said. “But the branding, being first to market, and having the best customer support we can have makes for a very good combination.”

Persistence, Optimization and Experimentation

Entrepreneurship, Smith acknowledged, is not a straight line. Challenges have ranged from technology failures at 3 a.m. while on vacation to a well-funded competitor entering the market while Smith and his co-founder were working on the business part-time.

His prescription for navigating those moments centers on two principles: persistence and optimization.

“The most important thing to focus on is persistence,” he said. “But second to that is always finding a way to optimize working on things that provide the most value for the least amount of work, so that way you can do 100 things with minimum work and get the most value versus risking a ton of time up front.”

That lean, experiment-driven approach has shaped how Smith builds products and how he coaches others to do the same.

Vol Court Roots

Smith’s entrepreneurial education began in earnest at UT, where he competed twice in Vol Court, the university’s startup pitch event. He did not win the competition, but he considers those experiences invaluable.

“The lessons learned from Vol Court led to the businesses I co-founded,” he said. “It’s genuinely a great experience to go to any of those events and hear from actual founders, especially at the time when I was 21 or 22 years old and had no idea what I was going to do.”

That perspective now informs his work as a startup coach and competition judge for the Anderson Center. For students standing at the same crossroads he once faced, his message is clear-eyed and encouraging.

“It will be tough. It’ll be awful at times, but it will be extremely rewarding,” Smith said. “As long as you’re moving and not staying stagnant, that is the key to success. With that, you can outrun almost anyone.”

For more entrepreneurial stories, visit the Anderson Center’s spotlight stories webpage.

About the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Anderson Center, housed in the Haslam College of Business, is the front door to entrepreneurship at UT. It connects Volunteers with the expertise, resources and collaborators at UT and across the regional ecosystem to advance ideas, tackle bold challenges and turn entrepreneurial ambition into results. At the Anderson Center, Volunteers are empowered to identify opportunities and take bold action to create value through new ventures.

For more information and upcoming events, visit the Anderson Center event page.

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Author:

Allison Kelly, Anderson Center director of marketing, akelly9@utk.edu

Contact:

Leah McAmis, senior editor, leah@utk.edu

Contact

Leah McAmis

Senior Editor

lpowel20@utk.edu

Haslam College of Business - Jared Smith: From Vol Court to His Own Ventures