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Before billionaire Ryan Smith bought the NBA’s Utah Jazz, he co-founded Qualtrics in his father’s garage. That company was acquired for $12.5 billion in 2023, and Smith recently went on the “My First Million” podcast to discuss how he built a multibillion dollar business and acquired a basketball team.

“Your success is directly correlated with your pain threshold,” Smith said on the podcast.

Smith shared valuable business insights that entrepreneurs can use to achieve key revenue milestones and become more ambitious.

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Become Good At Multiple Things

Smith doesn’t just own a basketball team; he is also good at basketball. The “My First Million” episode gave viewers the opportunity to see Smith’s shooting and dribbling ability as he played against competitors. While playing basketball with his regular group, Smith said that the most successful people he met aren’t exclusively good at one thing.

“‘Winners seem to win in a bunch of areas,” Smith said. “Not every area; no one’s perfect. It’s never just one.”

A successful business owner may be an elite athlete in one sport on the side. Another top-tier entrepreneur may know multiple languages. You don’t have to be a jack of all trades, but it’s better to be a master of two than it is to be a master of one.

“How you do anything is how you do everything,” Smith said when explaining why the most successful people tend to be extraordinary in multiple areas.

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Surround Yourself With The Right People

Smith regularly surrounds himself with the right people based on his ability to observe common traits among successful people. However, he also makes it a point to build the right team, and he recognizes their value.

“I need to work with people and I need to be in a spot to create,” Smith said.

The people you surround yourself with can amplify you or drain your energy. Being intentional about your team members, network, and colleagues can translate into business and career growth.

Play The Long Game

Smith didn’t become a billionaire overnight, and he attributed his ability to stick it out to his ability to power through pain instead of letting it hold him back. By accepting that it’s a long-term journey, it may become easier to put in the effort today even if the results don’t show up right away.

“Can you handle the pain of going through it?” he asked “My First Million” viewers.

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Playing the long game also requires coming across new challenges and evolving your business so that it can offer more types of services. Smith explained that when he bought the Jazz, he wasn’t only buying a sports business. He also bought a business that is involved with payments, security, events, the music business, and the media business. He also had to build a social media brand around the team, so it was far more than just a basketball company.

“You have to become an expert in every business that you’re a part of,” he said of the various businesses and services that are tied to the Jazz.

He also mentioned that you become the sum of all of these businesses. Each of them is important for the success of the company as a whole.

“You’ve got to be confident in what you’re doing, and you have to play the long game,” he said.

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