Author Archives: Ben T. Smith, IV

About Ben T. Smith, IV

Founder of, investor in and advisor to technology and media companies

Mobile Technology: A Must For Business

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I recently co-authored an Independent Retailer article with Seema Sud, Director of Product Management for Mobile and Tablet at Wanderful Media. We were asked to share our thoughts on Mobile Technology for the magazine’s readers. As the rate of mobile … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Wanderful Media | Tagged Behavior, Consumer, Discovery shopping, mobile, Mobile Devices, Retail, shopping, Smartphone, tablet, technology | Comments Off

Wanderful Media Raises Another $9 Million to Fuel Rapid Growth

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

We’ve been heads-down, busy working, and I am very pleased with the team’s accomplishments so far in 2013. Wanderful Media recently announced raising an additional $9 million from our existing investors, bringing our total funding to $36 million. This additional … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged Discovery shopping, funding, mobile, newspapers, Online advertising, Online Shopping, Retail, Startups, tablet, technology, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

The Dumb Things We Say in the Startup World

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I recently co-authored an article, “The Dumb Things We Say in the Startup World” with Mark Menell, a former partner at Rustic Canyon and the past COO & CFO of ShopRunner. Having worked together on several ventures, Mark and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged advice, business, lessons, pandodaily, relationships, Startups, tips | Comments Off

Take Two! The Find&Save Experience Just Got More Personal & Social

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

This week we unveiled our new Find&Save® local discovery shopping platform at the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) mediaXchange Conference in Orlando. This represents the culmination of many months of GSD or Get Sh*t Done. The Wanderful Media team consistently … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged advertising, digital, Discovery shopping, Find n Save, find&save, mediaXchange, mobile, naa, newspaper ads, Retail, shopping, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

Wheels up! Wanderful Media is headed to Orlando

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I am looking forward to speaking with Dave Thomsen (EVP of Product & Design) at the NAA mediaXchange this Monday, April 15 in Orlando. Our session, “The Reinvention of Local Discovery Shopping,” will be our formal introduction of the completely … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged advertising, Brick and mortar, find&save, findnsave, local sales, newspaper ads, retail stores, shopping, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

Why Brick & Mortar Retailers Will Live Forever

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I contributed this article in SiliconANGLE to address discussions that have been circulating around the future of traditional retail. In a recent Pando Daily interview, Marc Andreessen predicted the death of traditional retail, and is quoted as saying, “Retail guys … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged Apple Store, Brick and mortar, Discovery shopping, E-commerce, Marc Andreessen, Online Shopping, Retail, Retailers, shopping | Comments Off

Six Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Employees

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

In the spirit of National Employee Appreciation Day, I’d like to share this article about some of the ways I show appreciation to employees. Over my years of managing people and teams, I’ve learned that when you show people appreciation, you get back … Continue reading →

Posted in Relationships, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged business, Company, Employment, google, GSD, Management, relationships, Trust, Wanderful Media, Work | Comments Off

Love the Ones You’re With. Why Startup Success Depends on Relationships | SiliconANGLE

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I recently wrote this post with Doug Kilponen, COO at Wanderful Media. Having worked together on two different startups over the course of several years, it has become clear to us that loyalty is the secret ingredient for success. The media … Continue reading →

Posted in MerchantCircle, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups, Wanderful Media | Tagged Blekko, business, CodeGear, Loyalty, merchantcircle, Odeo, Startups, Team, Topix, Twitter, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

Pinterest – Pinning Down Its Value For Retail | MediaPost

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

This is a great piece I wrote with Ron Adams, VP of National Sales at Wanderful Media. The Wanderful team is focused on connecting local retailers with consumers, and we see a huge opportunity for retailers to capitalize on areas … Continue reading →

Posted in FindnSave, Silicon Valley, Startups, Wanderful Media | Tagged Discovery shopping, Online advertising, Online Shopping, Pinterest, Retail, Retailers, shopping, Startups, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

Retail is not dying… just transforming.

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

By Seema Sud and Ben T. Smith, IV VHS was going to be the cinema killer in the late ‘70s; and yet, 30 “DVR, Blue ray and big screen TV” years later, cinema is more popular than ever and the … Continue reading →