Emily Smith is building a company around a problem nearly everyone has experienced: dead devices, missing equipment, and the quiet chaos that comes from relying on technology without a system to manage it. As founder and CEO of HonestWaves, Smith is transforming phone charging and device management into a critical piece of modern infrastructure for schools, hospitals, logistics centers, and large venues across the country.
Raised in Huntington Beach, California, Smith’s personality and leadership style are deeply shaped by her Southern California roots. While she once imagined a future in law enforcement and studied criminal justice in college, she quickly realized that traditional education was not where she thrived. Rather than forcing a path that did not fit, she entered the workforce and discovered a natural strength in sales and relationship building. That pivot became the foundation of her entrepreneurial journey.
Smith spent years in high-end retail, selling luxury eyewear and learning how to understand customers, solve problems quickly, and build trust. During that time, she met one of her long-term business partners, who later invited her to join a phone charging station company. What started as an unfamiliar opportunity became a crash course in how businesses actually operate.
At that company, Smith took on nearly every role imaginable. She worked in customer service, the warehouse, sales, marketing, operations, sourcing, and product development. She traveled to China to work directly with suppliers and contributed to improving hardware and logistics processes. By the time she left, she was effectively running the company. That experience shaped her core belief that leaders make better decisions when they understand the realities of every role within the business.
After the company sold, Smith joined her partners in running a family-owned import business that had been operating for more than sixty years. The company sourced home goods from India for major US retailers, and Smith helped modernize operations that had not fully adapted to the internet era. The experience reinforced the value of long-term partnerships, operational discipline, and evolving with the market instead of resisting it.
After years in the charging industry, Smith and her partners noticed a persistent gap. As phones and mobile devices became essential to work, many charging solutions failed to evolve. What was once a guest amenity had become an internal operational necessity, yet few companies were addressing asset tracking, security, and accountability in a meaningful way. That realization led to the creation of HonestWaves.
HonestWaves provides smart charging solutions that extend far beyond plugging in a phone. The company builds power bank kiosks for public venues and asset management lockers designed to track, charge, and secure company-owned devices. These systems are now used in stadiums, malls, gyms, bars, coffee shops, schools, hospitals, and logistics facilities nationwide.
In public spaces, HonestWaves’ power bank kiosks allow guests to rent portable chargers, creating both convenience and recurring revenue for venue owners. In professional environments, the impact is more operational. School districts use phone charging lockers to support phone-free policies while keeping devices secure and accessible. Hospitals rely on the lockers to manage company-issued phones used by nurses, reducing loss and improving shift accountability. Logistics companies use them to track scanners and equipment that can cost thousands of dollars per unit and frequently go missing.
Smith credits much of the company’s progress to a willingness to listen closely to partners. She intentionally avoids calling customers clients, emphasizing that the people using the equipment every day have insights no executive could replicate. Feedback drives continuous software updates, hardware refinements, and new features. While HonestWaves is capable of custom builds, the company has increasingly narrowed its focus to delivering what it knows works best, based on years of hands-on market learning.
As a woman leading a hardware-focused technology company, Smith has encountered moments of surprise and skepticism, particularly in traditionally male-dominated environments. Rather than slowing her down, those moments have sharpened her confidence and competitive edge. She also values the growing network of female founders who support one another through shared experiences in leadership.
Today, HonestWaves operates in every US state and has begun international installations, though its primary focus remains domestic growth. Smith’s vision centers on continuous improvement rather than chasing novelty. By refining existing products, strengthening partnerships, and staying deeply involved in day-to-day problem solving, she is building a company designed for durability.
Emily Smith’s story reflects a broader shift in entrepreneurship, one where success comes not from flashy ideas but from understanding real problems and solving them relentlessly. In a world increasingly dependent on mobile devices, HonestWaves is quietly becoming the system that keeps everything powered, tracked, and running.
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