#094 From Social Worker to Billion-Dollar CEO: Ryan Dewey Smith's Unconventional Journey

Built For This Podcast, with Carly Pepin

October 29, 2026 by

Carly Pepin

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In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Ryan Dewey Smith, founder and CEO of Inperium, to explore how challenging traditional business models can create extraordinary opportunities for growth, sustainability, and meaningful impact.

After decades working in human services, Ryan found himself leading a nonprofit facing familiar challenges: limited access to capital, rising operational costs, and the difficulty of growing without sacrificing its mission. Rather than accepting a traditional acquisition model, he developed an entirely different approach built around shared resources and organizational independence.

Today, Inperium has grown into a nationwide network of 44 organizations across 24 states, employing approximately 11,000 people and generating nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. Ryan shares how this model allows organizations to reduce administrative costs while directing more resources toward the communities they serve.

Carly and Ryan also explore the human side of leadership, including the importance of emotional intelligence, honest feedback, and building trust across a decentralized organization. They discuss how Ryan's background in psychology and social work has shaped his leadership philosophy, and his vision for using technology, AI, and new partnerships to expand Inperium's impact.

Key Takeaways

You Can Scale Without Sacrificing What Matters Most

Ryan believes growth shouldn't require organizations to surrender their independence or compromise their mission. By creating a model that combines shared operational resources with local autonomy, Inperium demonstrates how organizations can achieve significant scale while protecting the culture, services, and relationships that make them valuable.

Financial Sustainability Is Essential to Long-Term Impact

A strong mission isn't enough if an organization can't sustain itself financially. By consolidating functions such as finance, legal services, insurance, and IT, Inperium has helped affiliated organizations reduce administrative expenses from approximately 18–25% of revenue to less than 10%, freeing up more resources to support the people who need them.

Strong Leadership Requires Emotional Intelligence and Honest Feedback

Drawing on his background in psychology and social work, Ryan emphasizes the importance of listening, understanding different perspectives, and treating feedback as an opportunity to improve. Through executive coaching, open conversations, and a willingness to challenge hierarchy, he's building a culture where people can communicate honestly and grow together.

About Ryan Dewey Smith

Ryan Dewey Smith is the founder and CEO of Inperium, a national nonprofit supporting organization helping human services providers become more sustainable through shared infrastructure, access to capital, and operational scale.

With a background in psychology, social work, and community-based services, Ryan created Inperium to challenge traditional nonprofit models and help mission-driven organizations grow without sacrificing their independence or purpose.

Under his leadership, Inperium has expanded into a nationwide network supporting vulnerable populations across multiple states. Ryan is also the author of the forthcoming book Sustaining the Mission, which explores how nonprofit organizations can build greater financial sustainability, resilience, and long-term impact.

Memorable Quotes
"Being able to listen, being able to problem solve, being able to connect with people and appreciate their feedback as a gift and not an insult."
"We're all equals and peers. Let's have an honest conversation about what I did that wasn't helpful and what I can do better."
"We aren't disrupting or negatively impacting the foster child or the individual with intellectual disabilities in the group home."

Ryan Dewey Smith