Self-Taught Techie Turns Passion into Developing Laptops for Kids to Help Close the Digital Divide

Greg Smith was a precocious 7-year-old kid growing up in Salem, Oregon who didn’t have much direction.

Home computers in 1984 were rare and prohibitively expensive at $595, out of reach for many families. From the first time he saw one, Smith wanted it, so he asked his parents.

Released in 1982 by Commodore International, the Commodore 64 was a revolutionary concept in home computing, bringing the then-advanced technology to the masses. It was poised to let people own home computers for the first time.

Smith was one of the first kids in the neighborhood with his own computer when his father, Francis, purchased one for him.

“Dad was a successful lawyer, well to do,” he said. “It wasn’t that outside of things. He said, ‘I want Greg to have a computer. He might have a future.’ Nice gamble there, dad.”

One of the founders of Tanoshi and the company’s Director of Fun, Smith is following the path from when his father purchased him his first computer. He’s embracing and forwarding Tanoshi’s mission of bringing computers to everyone.

What started as escapism by playing video games, evolved into a career path for the 43-year-old. Over the past 25 years, Smith has worked for technology companies including Hewlett-Packard and Xerox as well as education companies such as NWEA, which created academic assessment for students in kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Since Joining Tanoshi in 2017, Smith was pivotal in the 2018 launch of the Tanoshi 2-in-1 Kids Computer.

“For me, video games drew me in and was the escape. Basically, now you can go somewhere where you couldn’t probably go. You could learn something you couldn’t learn,” he said.

He turned that experience into a career, working with multiple platforms in areas like Information Technology, User Interface and ecommerce.

Smith brings a unique perspective to Tanoshi, having been an internet user since the early days, back when things like filters were non-existent and people communicated through bulletin boards.

He was instrumental in designing parental controls on the Tanoshi 2-in-1 Kids Computer and its next-generation computer, the Tanoshi Scholar, both of which are kids laptops designed to close the digital divide.

Smith is the jack of all trades for Tanoshi, filling roles like quality control, warehouse manager, customer support, information technology, programming and evaluating software.

In his free time, he takes security training classes, always trying to stay a step ahead of anyone seeking to subvert the rigorous security protocols on Tanoshi’s products, ultimately giving parents the final say on what their kids see online and what they don’t.

“So it’s going to be a constant battle. It’s going to be a constant target. How do we keep up, how do we do the best we can and then how do we educate parents?” Smith said.

A certified Zumba instructor and Group Groove instructor, Smith volunteers at performances with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, in which his partner, Tim, is a singer.

Tanoshi is on a mission to provide an equitable digital education for all kids. Every child, no matter their socio-economic background, race, or gender should have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to excel in today’s school environment.

Tanoshi is seeking investments from the greater community in exchange for shares in the company. Unlike traditional investments in start-ups, anyone can be an investor in Tanoshi for as little as $249.

Now is the time to invest in Tanoshi and support tech done right. To learn more, please visit our equity crowdfunding campaign HERE.

We hope you join us in making sure all kids have future success.