Courtne Smith
Canadian-American entrepreneur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Courtne Smith (born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian-American entrepreneur.
Early life and education
Courtne Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario and is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.[1] Smith attended the University of Western Ontario where she studied business.[2][3]
Her father, Bruce Smith, was an African-American athlete and entrepreneur who grew up in Huntsville, Texas. He became a professional football player in 1972, winning the Canadian Grey Cup Championship. He played for the Toronto Argonauts from 1976 to 1979 as defensive captain DT.[4][5] Smith led a successful career in real estate becoming one of Canada’s top-selling agents and later established his own firm. He became an ordained chaplain and pastor in 1999. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2013 at the age of 63.[6]
Career
Smith began her career as a personal assistant to Grammy Award-winning musician Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham).[7] She worked in Drake’s management team[8] for over a decade handling his business endeavors and special projects.[9] Smith and Drake grew up together in Toronto, Ontario and were best friends since they were kids.[3] She dropped out of college when Drake offered her a job[10] and is the only female in Drake’s inner circle.[11][12]
In 2015, Smith co-founded Tharen,[13] a hair extension brand with Filip Diarra.[10] Tharen was worn by Serena Williams and Taraji P. Henson.[3] In 2015, Shopify chose Tharen as an honorable business for the 2015 Shopify Ecommerce Design Awards.[14] Tharen was acquired in 2019.[15][16]
In 2018, Smith co-founded Suprize, a contest giveaway app with Filip Diarra.[7] Suprize combined pop culture, fashion, entertainment and gaming for users looking to win free prizes.[17] Suprize was favored by celebrities like Post Malone and Shawn Mendes.[15]
In 2020, Smith and Diarra launched NewNew,[18][19][20] a polling and decision-making platform.[9] She is the CEO of NewNew and one of fewer than 20 Black female founders in tech history to build an eight-figure, venture-backed company.[1] NewNew is funded by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Canaan Partners and Shrug Capital. Snap Inc. selected NewNew as one of nine companies for Snapchat’s inaugural Yellow Collabs program.[9]