As an entrepreneur, John Smith has an impressive resume that spans more than three decades. If you ask him what his proudest achievement is though, he will tell you in no uncertain terms that it’s his 46 year love affair with his wife, Joanne, and being blessed with their three children, Justin, Trevor, and Courtney, and 8 grandchildren. Along with an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit and curiosity for computer and information technology, it’s his family-first philosophy that has made him as successful as he is.

One of eight children, John was ambitious from a young age. He grew up mowing lawns, walking dogs, and delivering newspapers, eventually discovering an athletic ability that afforded him the opportunity to sign with the New York Mets as a pitcher after graduating from Irondequoit high school in 1966. Two years later, John “retired” from a career in baseball to marry Joanne and start a family.

While putting his interest in computers to full-time use at a few different companies in Rochester, John earned his Associates degree from MCC in 1972 and Bachelors from RIT in 1973. But it was in 1980 that John began to realize the potential in his entrepreneurial spirit, founding JTS Computer Services—an IT staffng company that he built to 100 employees before selling to Ajilon in 1997. In the 30 years since JTS Computer Services opened its doors, John has started, acquired, or partnered in 12 other businesses, including: Restore, Able Data, Applied Database Marketing, Linden Associates, Bellot Smith, JTS Checqueout Solutions, Croop LaFrance (founded with David Croop), Brite Computers (acquired with his son, Justin), Solu Technology Partners (partner with his brother), Solu Digital Collaborative (formerly Storm Frog), CloudDOCX, and DealerDOCX. Presently, these businesses employ over 500 people in the Rochester area and several other cities across the country.

Beyond John’s dedication to family and building successful small businesses, he also believes in giving back to his community, and the communities his businesses serve. He is a member or former member of the RIT Dean’s Advisory Board, RIT Incubator Advisory Board, MCC Foundation (25 years, past Chairman), Hillside Children’s Center Board (20 years, Board and Trustee Chair), WXXI Board, Red Cross Blood Services Board, and the Country Club of Rochester Board (since 1980). Additionally, his Cloud-based document management company, DealerDOCX, has established multiple scanning centers in conjunction with not-for-profits, providing hundreds of jobs for the handicapped throughout the north- and southeast.