Ryan and Kate Smith: Making the world happy

By Matt Schnepf

Making people smile inspires the work of Ryan and Kate Smith. It also describes the mission of Kate Smith Company, the married couple’s business.

Natives of Lafayette, Indiana, and Purdue University graduates, the two began dating in high school, eventually becoming partners in life and in work. And shoppers who have visited a Target store recently likely encountered a display of their greeting cards — bold, fun designs with witty, heartfelt messages bringing joy to each recipient. 

Ryan earned his BS in organizational leadership and supervision in 2004; he serves as company CEO, overseeing operations, legal matters and accounting. A 2005 graduate majoring in visual communication, Kate is the chief creative officer or CCO, tasked with branding, messaging and corporate vision. “It takes both of us,” she says. “I come up with the wild ideas, and he figures out how to make them happen.”

The Smiths launched their first card line, From Frank, in 2012. The company took inspiration from the couple’s French bulldog, Frank, “a little dog on a big mission to make humans smile.”

Business quickly took off as they secured a licensing deal with Recycled Paper Greetings, a division of American Greetings. “Our From Frank collection in Target sold really well and kind of put us on the map as a player in the greeting-card industry,” Kate says.

From Frank continued to grow through home décor, stationery, digital stickers and even a book (written by Frank) titled “Don’t Fart When You Snuggle: Lessons on How to Make Humans Smile.” Then came “Ask Frank,” a web series in which Frank offered other dogs advice on how to bring happiness to their humans.

Over time, Ryan and Kate shifted gears to ensure their product offerings stayed relevant, establishing Kate Smith Company with From Frank remaining under the corporate umbrella. “Our expansion into Kate Smith Company has allowed us to make humans smile in so many more ways — we're no longer tied to just one brand, look, style and voice. It also gives our company more flexibility to stay relevant in the long run." 

Future plans include art licensing, humor and writing. Just don’t expect to find the company’s CEO and CCO working from a traditional office. For the past two years they have traveled the country in an Airstream, operating a mobile business with a home base in Lafayette.

“We love to travel, so we just made it into a lifestyle,” Ryan says. “It has given us the ability to visit friends and family, meet up with business partners, and attend industry events across the country on a regular basis.” Sometimes they stay in one location a couple of days, sometimes a month or two. They also have developed an affinity for the American Southwest and head for the snow each winter to ski.  

Now, with the open road ahead, the Smiths savor the rewards of building a business of their own design.

“I would hope that, if anybody takes anything from our story, it’s that you can literally make your own job,” Kate says. “When we were younger, we had this invisible list of jobs and thought, ‘OK, we can pick from these.’ Writing greeting cards about your dog was not one of them. People don’t know they literally can put together a list of things they like and make it a job.”