Biographical information on Joseph Blake Smith, including his education, military service, and employment

Joseph Blake Smith (born August 27, 1983) is a serial entrepreneur, realtor, and former Army Lieutenant from the United States. He is the founder and CEO of SQRL Holdings, which is known for adopting laser-precision tactical service tactics to disrupt the convenience store sector. Blake Smith has vast expertise managing firms in the real estate and energy sectors, including SQRL Black, Rock Solid Opportunities, TriNet Realty, Standard Media, Z Banq, Standard Processing, and others, since the beginning of SQRL Holdings.

Blake Smith is also the author of “The Comeback,” a narrative about how he became a self-made millionaire, lost everything, then bounced back to start yet another successful firm.

Susan Collins-Smith and Joseph Mack Smith gave birth to Blake Smith on August 27, 1983. His mother was a concert pianist as well as a businesswoman. His father was a University of Arkansas linebacker. Billy Ray Smith, his father’s illegitimate grandpa, was a Hall of Fame football player. Smith didn’t learn about his forebears until after both of his parents had passed away.

Blake Smith graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Summa Cum Laude in Psychology, Business, and Physics.

He then enlisted in the United States Army. He returned to law school at the University of Arkansas in 2005 after serving in the military. He earned his Juris Doctorate in 2007. (meanwhile earning an MBA from Stanford University). He was admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 2007, but voluntarily renounced his license due to his lack of interest in becoming a lawyer.

While still in college, Blake Smith enlisted in the Army ROTC. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 3rd Ranger Battalion after completing jump, dive, and mountain combat training. Although this has not been proven, he was afterwards selected and assigned to the CIA’s Special Activities Center (SAC).

While still in law school, he began his career in commercial real estate brokerage and property development, focusing on developing property for Casey’s General Store around Arkansas.

When Blake Smith began leasing and purchasing mineral rights in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, he launched his entrepreneurial career. Later, he formed Rock Capital Group, a privately held captive capital firm specializing in oil and gas investments and commercial real estate development, where he served as CEO. Rock Capital Group has successfully deployed and managed over $100 million since its inception. In 2015, one of his business partners filed a lawsuit against him. As a result, a mediated settlement agreement worth $7 million was struck. 

Blake Smith created Standard Development Company in 2012, a completely vertically integrated convenience store development company that develops net-leased convenience locations around the country. The company owns and manages around 250 branded and unbranded convenience stores throughout the United States as of 2022.

Blake Smith established Z Banq in 2018, with the goal of transforming any hard asset into digital shares and creating a new form of capital using decentralization and blockchain technology. He founded Standard Energy in 2021, based on his experience with the Rock Capital Group. The firm quickly rose to prominence as a premier oil and gas mineral brokerage firm.

SQRL Holdings’ other businesses include SQRL Black, Trinet Realty, Standard Media, and Standard Processing.