Biography
Darren Smith is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Management at Texas State University, where he teaches the undergraduate strategic management capstone and entrepreneurship. His teaching emphasizes experiential learning, evidence-based decision making, and responsible use of AI in managerial practice. Darren is a PhD candidate in Business Administration at Oklahoma State University. His research examines how ADHD relates to entrepreneurial cognition and behavior, with complementary interests in founder well-being, neurodiversity in new venture contexts, and how AI tools can augment opportunity discovery and venture execution. He previously taught entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. Outside academia, Darren leads SparkFinder Labs, advising founders and organizations on AI implementation and innovation processes.
Research Interests
Broadly interested in entrepreneurship with a focus on the intersection of ADHD and entrepreneurship as well as AI and entrepreneurship.
Teaching Interests
Darren is passionate about experiential education and loves teaching entrepreneurship courses, strategic management course, and courses that bridge the real world with the classroom.