Educator. Entrepreneur. trailblazer.
TRUSTED BY
ABOUT dr. ARIEL
MULTI-HYPENATED & MULTIFACETED
Dr. Ariel D. Smith is a professor, entrepreneur, and ordained minister whose work moves fluidly across industries and disciplines.
WHAT I OFFER
- Podcast on food truck industry spurred by dissertation research on Black food truck entrepreneurs
- Expert witness for food truck related legal cases,
- Academic scholar for African American foodways
- Public scholarship on African American food entrepreneurship
BuyBrokoli is an app and community connecting Black-owned CBD, hemp, and cannabis businesses with customers who want to “buy Black while buying green.”
- Business locator — find and support Black-owned businesses near you, filtered by state regulations
- Community & networking — vendors connect with each other to share best practices and support
- Growth resources — mentorship, webinars, and funding opportunities through partnerships
- Give back — a portion of proceeds supports organizations working to expunge cannabis-related records for Black and Brown people, in partnership with the Last Prisoner Project
- Shop — a limited “Buy Black” apparel collection, with proceeds going to community organizations addressing inequities from the War on Drugs
The app is available in the App Store and on Google Play
PodNiche Academy is Dr. Ariel D. Smith’s course platform for aspiring podcasters, built on the success of her own show, The Food Truck Scholar.
Most people start a podcast with a broad topic and no plan, then stall out. PodNiche teaches the opposite approach — going niche — and walks students through three stages:
- Find Your Niche — turning a broad interest into a specific, targeted lane
- Build The Platform — the practical setup: equipment, hosting, editing
- Create Your Community — keeping listeners engaged (and monetizable) after launch
The flagship offering is the PodNiche Master Bundle, a two-course package covering starting and monetizing a niche podcast.
Ari Demi Enterprises is Dr. Ariel D. Smith’s consulting and IP venture, built around one core idea: successful founders and organizations often look aligned on paper while quietly struggling underneath, and most business tools only measure output, not that deeper health.
At the center is the SEE Framework (Body, Mind, Heart, Soul), which she applies three ways:
- Idea Therapy™ — 1:1 or organizational consulting for founders who need more than a pitch-deck review
- SEE Index™ — a 102-item assessment that scores a person or team against the framework and shows where practice diverges from values
- Curriculum licensing — for institutions teaching SEE across cohorts (courses, leadership pipelines, accelerators)
A companion textbook, Soul-Centered Entrepreneurship, is forthcoming from Routledge.
The Food Truck Scholar™
The Food Truck Scholar is a media and research platform founded by Dr. Ariel D. Smith in 2018 to spotlight the stories, culture, and business savvy of Black-owned food trucks while also documenting the industry as a whole.
• Podcast available on all major platforms
• Author of Before You Launch a Food Truck: 8
Questions Every Aspiring Food Trucker Should Ask
• Named a 2021 culinary trailblazer by TimeOut
Magazine
• Expert advisor for street food exhibit by the
Museum of Food and Drink
• Guest contributor for Whetstone Magazine,
Cuisine Noir Magazine
• Recognized by the Coalition for Food and
Health Equity, ESPN's Andscape, and The Guardian
• Expert witness for food truck related legal cases
• Academic scholar for African American
foodways with a foundational dissertation on Black entrepreneurs in the food truck industry
BuyBrokoli™
BuyBrokoli™ is an app and community connecting Black-owned CBD, hemp, and cannabis businesses with customers who want to “buy Black while buying green.”
• Business locator — find and support Black-owned businesses near you, filtered by state regulations
• Community & networking — vendors connect with each other to share best practices and support
• Growth resources — mentorship, webinars, and funding opportunities through partnerships
• Give back — a portion of proceeds supports organizations working to expunge cannabis-related records for Black and Brown people, in partnership with the Last Prisoner Project
• Shop — a limited "Buy Black" apparel collection, with proceeds going to community organizations addressing inequities from the War on Drugs
PodNiche Academy
PodNiche Academy is Dr. Ariel D. Smith’s course platform for aspiring podcasters, built on the success of her own show, The Food Truck Scholar.
Most people start a podcast with a broad topic and no plan, then stall out. PodNiche teaches the opposite approach — going niche — and walks students through three stages:
• Find Your Niche — turning a broad interest into a specific, targeted lane
• Build The Platform — the practical setup: equipment, hosting, editing
• Create Your Community — keeping listeners engaged (and monetizable) after launch
The flagship offering is the PodNiche Master Bundle, a two-course package covering starting and monetizing a niche podcast.
Ari Demi Enterprises
Ari Demi Enterprises is Dr. Ariel D. Smith’s consulting and IP venture, built around one core idea: successful founders and organizations often look aligned on paper while quietly struggling underneath, and most business tools only measure output, not that deeper health.
At the center is the SEE Framework (Body, Mind, Heart, Soul), which she applies three ways:
• Idea Therapy™ — 1:1 or organizational consulting for founders who need more than a pitch-deck review
• SEE Index™ — a 102-item assessment that scores a person or team against the framework and shows where practice diverges from values
• Curriculum licensing — for institutions teaching SEE across cohorts (courses, leadership pipelines, accelerators)
A companion textbook, Soul-Centered Entrepreneurship, is forthcoming from Routledge.
Strategic Consulting for Mission-Driven Leaders
Whether you’re launching a new venture, refining your message, or reimagining your next chapter, Ari Demi Enterprises offers strategic clarity through high-impact consulting for mission-aligned entrepreneurs and leaders.
Our signature approach, Idea Therapy™, helps you:
- Get unstuck and move beyond overwhelm or confusion
- Uncover fresh direction that aligns with your values and vision
- Build strategic plans that are both visionary and executable
Contact us
Get In Touch With Us
I have consulted individuals and corporations of all sizes from high ed to nonprofit to for profit and government. Want to pick my brain? Let’s book an initial idea therapy session for consulting or coaching to help you connect the dots from where you are to where you can be.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY ABOUT ME
