Ben Way Explained

Ben Way
Birth Name:Ben Way
Birth Date:1980
Birth Place:Exeter, Devon, England
Occupation:Entrepreneur
Relatives:Hermione Way (sister), Monty Way (brother), Theo Way (brother)

Ben Way is a serial entrepreneur and best selling[1] author[1] best known for his appearance on Secret Millionaire, The Startup Kids and as a cast member on , he started his first company at the age of 15.[2] He went on to raise £25 million in his teens[3] making him one of the first dot com millionaires.

Early life

Way grew up in a village in Devon, where his parents divorced[4] when he was young. He has a sister, Hermione Way, who is a journalist and appeared on a reality TV show with him; they were separated from each other at an early age.[5] Way was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age and despite being told by his teachers that he would never read or write,[2] Way describes his Dyslexia as an advantage.[6]

Business history

Way started his first company 'Quad', a computer consultancy, at age 15.[7] At the age of 19 he raised £25 million from Jersey-based venture capitalist to create an online shopping comparison technology called Pulsar.[8] However, after a dispute with the investors in 2001 he was diluted out of the business and lost everything. It is reported that he was in the under thirties Sunday Times Rich List 2001 on the same day he could not buy a tube ticket.[9]

He won "New Business Millennium Young Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2000 which was given to him by Gordon Brown.[8] After receiving this award he went on to advise both the White House[10] and the UK government[11] on technology as well as joining the internet incubator NetB2B2 PLC as a non-executive.[12] After this he headed up technical and environmental investments and due-diligence for the Rotch Property Group.[13]

He currently runs The Rainmakers, an innovation and incubation company, through this he got involved with a number of start up companies, including the online mentoring company Horsesmouth,[14] language learning company FriendsAbroad[15] which was sold to Babbel.[16] During this time he was also chief innovation officer for Brightstation Ventures a $100m technology VC fund[8] started by Dan Wagner and Shaa Wasmund.[17]

In 2012 he moved to San Francisco.[18]

Business ventures

Way is involved in a large number of startup companies that are listed on the Rainmakers Global website, such as GoDine, the restaurant booking service; FuelMyBlog, the blogging product review service; Truevoo, the iPhone apps store review service; an SME advice service called Smarta; and a graduate recruitment company called BraveNewTalent.[19] [20] In 2009 Rainmakers opened a United States (US) branch and consequently became involved in a number of US startups, including Traffic Spaces, the ad management platform, and BoostCTR, the Google adwords optimizer. He is also one of the founders of Alpha Concierge Matchmaking, which describes itself as the world's most exclusive matchmaking app.[21]

Way was also involved in a number of green start-up companies, such as SellMyMobile and SellCell, and is a cofounder with Paul Williams of Freetricity, a renewable energy provider based in the UK and the US.[22]

Way is the founder of Viapost,[23] an online postal company.[24] The POIP service allows printing of documents over the internet which are then sent by Royal Mail.

He is involved in his sister's production company Newspepper,[25] [26] a citizen journalism site that covers a large number of UK tech sector events.

In 2011 he worked with the founding team at TradeHill the first US crypto exchange on the BitCoin.com deal.[27]

Way and his sister developed GoIgnite, a health and lifestyle smartphone app and hardware for the Bravo TV reality television show they both appeared in.[28]

Television, film, and media

In 1999 Way was featured on Britain's Richest Kids on ITV.[29] After this he appeared on a number of television shows including Big Breakfast,[30] partly due to some unusual restrictions on his personal life.

In 2006, he appeared on the Channel 4 TV show Secret Millionaire where he gave away £40,000 in a philanthropic act after spending two weeks in Hackney as a volunteer. £20,000 was given to a youth organisation, £10,000 to a young entrepreneur, and another £10,000 as a thank you to one key member of the Hackney community. He subsequently appeared in the follow-up program Secret Millionaire Changed My Life.[31]

In 2008 has appeared on a Channel Four, 3 Minute Wonder on Robotics[32] and as a "Web Guru" on Sky News.[33]

He has written for a number of publications including The Telegraph,[34] City AM[35] and a chapter in How to be a Teenage Millionaire.[36]

Ben appeared on ITV's Take Me Out dating show on 20 February 2010, on which he declared his personal wealth as £10m, also taking Daisy Gigg out on a date.

In 2012 he appeared as one of the main cast on Bravo's TV Show [37] with his sister Hermione Way working on an mHealth innovation called Ignite and raising $500,000 for it from investors including Esther Dyson.[38]

He was one of the Entrepreneurs featured in the highly successful[39] documentary The Startup Kids about the startup culture in San Francisco and the USA.[40]

In 2013 he wrote a book called Jobocalypse: The End of Human Jobs and How Robots will Replace Them'[1] '.

Supported charities and organizations

He has been involved with a number of charitable organizations, most notably his support of the Pedro Club[41] and a youth club from Hackney which he gave money to through The Secret Millionaire. He is also the patron of Social Firms[42] an organization dedicated to getting employment for people with disabilities.

He has acted as a judge on behalf of a number of charities including Anne Frank Awards[43] and Unlimited Awards[44] as well as having been an advisor to the charities Edge[45] and Nesta.[46]

Awards

Politics

Way stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate in Bayswater Ward in the City of Westminster.[49]

Way is an advocate for immigration reform after having his own immigration challenges[50] while moving to the United States, and works with Mayor Bloomberg's Partnership for a New American Economy[50] and the White House.[50]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jobocalypse: The End of Human Jobs and How Robots will Replace Them: Ben Way: 9781482701968: Amazon.com: Books . 2013-06-21 . 978-1482701968 . Way . Ben .
  2. Web site: Up and running: four Bransons in the making describe how they got started - Article . TES . 2013-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927230840/http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=157271 . 27 September 2013 . dead.
  3. News: Amelia Hill . Liz Taylor adored it. Now a reality show is rescuing the Pedro Club | Media | The Observer . The Guardian. 20 November 2006. 2013-09-15 . London.
  4. Web site: Ben Way - Entrepreneur's Story . YouTube . 2008-06-20 . 2013-09-15.
  5. Web site: 'Start-Ups' Stars Ben And Hermione Way - Business Insider. businessinsider.com. 2014-04-24.
  6. Web site: Secret Millionaire and British entrepreneur ben way talks about his life,technology and failure. 9 November 2009 . yhponline.com. 2014-04-24.
  7. Web site: Up and running: four Bransons in the making describe how they got started - Article . TES . 2013-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927230840/http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=157271 . 27 September 2013 . dead.
  8. News: Your Business . Profile: Ben Way . The Telegraph. 2007-10-02 . 2013-09-15 . London.
  9. Web site: Diving back in: What second-time entrpreneurs learned from the first time around . Growing Business . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927111658/http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/diving-back-in-what-second-time-entrpreneurs-learned-from-the-first-time-around.html . 27 September 2013.
  10. Web site: Ben Way . Growing Business . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://archive.today/20130420042446/http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/ben-way.html . 20 April 2013.
  11. Web site: Starting-Up in America . YouTube . 2013-09-15.
  12. http://www.netimperative.com/news/2001/01/30/No_clues_at_netb2b2 No clues at netb2b2 — Today's Top Stories
  13. Web site: The Entrepreneur: The Ben Way story . Tycoonentrepreneur.blogspot.com . 2008-03-18 . 2013-09-15.
  14. http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=36203 First pro-social networking site urges the Facebook generation to develop the 'M Factor'
  15. http://www.nma.co.uk/news/simon-murdoch-puts-%C2%A3250000-into-language-learning-venture/587.article Simon Murdoch puts £250,000 into language learning venture | News | New Media Age
  16. Web site: Babbel acquires FriendsAbroad in cash deal . TechCrunch . 2008-11-06 . 2013-09-15.
  17. http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/832817/leadership-week-mt-meets-online-entrepreneur-shaa-wasmund/ Leadership Week: MT meets entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund – Leadership, business and management news, tips and features from MT and Management Today magazine
  18. Web site: London Facebook staff will update status to millionaire - Technology - News - London Evening Standard . Thisislondon.co.uk . 2012-02-02 . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120205040047/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24033020-london-facebook-staff-will-update-status-to-millionaire.do . 5 February 2012.
  19. Web site: Portfolio. Rainmakers Global. Rainmakers. 15 September 2013. September 2013.
  20. http://www.spectator.co.uk/print/the-magazine/entrepreneur/3058216/2020-vision-tomorrows-stars.thtml The Spectator
  21. Web site: Would You Pay A$299 Subscription Fee To Access Alpha's Dating World?. Will Schmidt. Tech Cocktail. 15 May 2014. Feb 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152859/http://tech.co/ben-way-launches-dating-app-alpha-2014-02. 17 May 2014. dead.
  22. Web site: In the Green Room with Freetricity's Paul Williams. Business Green Plus. Incisive Media Investments Limited. 15 September 2013. Will Nichols. 29 October 2012.
  23. Web site: Send physical post direct from your pc / online . Viapost . 2013-09-15.
  24. http://www.techdigest.tv/2007/09/viaposts_big_id.html ViaPost's big idea for snail mail: 'Post-over-Internet Protocol' : Tech Digest
  25. Web site: Internet Video Production . Newspepper . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130903022805/http://www.newspepper.com/ . 3 September 2013.
  26. Web site: Europe | TechCrunch . 14 January 2008 . Uk.techcrunch.com . 2013-09-15.
  27. News: The Blockchain Era - Totalprestige Magazine. Totalprestige Magazine. 2018-02-19. en-US.
  28. Web site: Meet Ignite, The Personal Health Startup Launching Out of Bravo's 'Silicon Valley' Reality Show . TechCrunch . 2012-09-27 . 2013-09-15.
  29. http://archive.theargus.co.uk/1999/4/21/198045.html Tom The Teenage Whizzkid (From The Argus)
  30. http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/120625/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH Win a dream date with teen e-babe! (milk and cookies for two in Paris).
  31. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/S/secret_millionaire/millionaires/changed-programme.html The Secret Millionaire
  32. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/generationnext/documentaries/3minutewonders/ Generation Next
  33. https://web.archive.org/web/20110718001918/http://blogs.news.sky.com/skynewscom/Post%3Ab044d74a-828b-4c7c-878d-627004bf33b4 Web Guru Ben On Sky.Com News | Ben Way | Rainmakers | Entrepreneur | SkyNews.com | Sky News Blogs
  34. Way, Ben. (19 November 2007)Make a difference, when you can. Telegraph. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  35. https://web.archive.org/web/20110607103733/http://www.makingrain.com/cityam.jpg p. 16 of CityAM newspaper on 14 November 2005
  36. http://www.whsmith.co.uk/WHS/Go.asp?isbn=0141323167&DB=220&Menu=Books What can I buy? | Using the site | Help
  37. News: Meet The 7 Stars of the New Silicon Valley Reality Show . SFGate . 2012-04-05 . 2013-09-15 . Boonsri . Dickinson.
  38. Web site: Tiku . Nitasha . If Bravo Moves Randi Zuckerberg's Startup Show to 6pm Central, Does It Make a Sound? | Betabeat | The Lowdown on High Tech . Betabeat . 2012-12-11 . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130826110513/http://betabeat.com/2012/12/bravo-randi-zuckerberg-startups-silicon-valley-time-change/ . 26 August 2013.
  39. Web site: The Startup Kids on iTunes Top 10 list . Newsoficeland.com . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130414062858/http://www.newsoficeland.com/home/entertainment-leisure/motion-picture/item/944-the-startup-kids-on-itunes-top-10-list . 14 April 2013.
  40. Web site: Full cast and crew for The Startup Kids (2012). IMDb.com. 2013-09-16.
  41. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1951867,00.html Liz Taylor adored it. Now a reality show is rescuing the Pedro Club | Media | The Observer
  42. Web site: News: Ben Way . Social Firms UK . 2008-12-02 . 2013-09-15 . dead . https://archive.today/20130421063442/http://www.socialfirmsuk.co.uk/news/all-news/search/results/taxonomy:176 . 21 April 2013.
  43. http://www.annefrankawards.org.uk/index.php?categoryid=15 Judging panel
  44. http://www.unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=1&PageName=whatareunltdawards What are UnLtd Awards?
  45. Web site: raising the status of practical, technical and vocational learning . The Edge. 2013-09-15.
  46. News: Sue Norris . From garage tinkerer to the next big thing | Technology . The Guardian. 25 January 2007. 2013-09-15 . London.
  47. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/feb/11/careers.work4 Entrepreneur Ben Way on a meeting of minds with telecoms boss Chris Moss | Money
  48. http://startups.co.uk/young-guns/ben-way/ Ben Way: The Rainmakers
  49. http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/elections/localelections2006/Bayswater.pdf CITY OF WESTMINSTER. ELECTION OF CITY COUNCILLORS. BAYSWATER WARD. DECLARATION OF RESULT OF POLL
  50. Web site: Future Immigration: Guilty until proven innocent, my story.. TWnow. 22 September 2013. Ben Way. 15 September 2013.

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