Bob Smith

Bob is the Director of I-Corps at GW, where he manages the strategic direction of GW’s I-Corps and Global Lean Startup programs. Prior to joining GW, he was director of Virginia’s Innovation Commercialization Program (ICAP). There he worked with universities, accelerators and local startup ecosystems throughout the commonwealth, assisting in their new venture development initiatives by providing instruction and counseling programs based on the Lean Startup method of business model development. He’s also an instructor with the NSF’s I-Corp program’s DC node. He’s also a Mentor-in-Residence at George Washington University. 

Bob has 30+ years of experience in innovation and entrepreneurship. He is currently the Chairman of CollegeFactual.com, a leading college rankings website. He’s held senior management positions at Congressional Quarterly and America Online in business development, marketing and new product development and was the founder and CEO of the first nation-wide online city guide, Digital City. He also launched one of the nation’s first accelerators. As an executive, angel investor and advisor he has helped companies in e-commerce, e-government, identity management, publishing, geospatial analytics, data science and media move from ideas to favorable exits.

He received a BA from USC and an MBA from GWU. He is a veteran of the US Navy.