Category Archives: Startups

Sourcerer – An intelligent profile for software engineers

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Ben T. Smith, IV

Notes on my latest deal: Sourcerer – An intelligent profile for software engineers. Continue reading →

Posted in Deals, engineering, Investments, Silicon Valley, Startups | Comments Off

8 Steps to Bring Less Stress When Acquiring a Small Business

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I recently wrote a piece for Entrepreneur.com, “How to Acquire a Small Business (and Keep Employees Happy)” to offer some framework for the purchase of a small business — a move that requires a different strategy. Small companies are difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in Deals, Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged acquisition, Entrepreneur, facebook, instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, whatsapp | 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

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 →

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

Wanderful Media raises $5 million in new funding round

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

It’s been an incredible year for the retail and e-commerce industries, especially when it comes to discovery shopping. For Wanderful Media, 2012 will be defined as a year of building, and the theme for this year will be delivering. We’ve … Continue reading →

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

2012: A Year of Building

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Ben T. Smith, IV

If you think about it, every year takes on a character, or theme, of its own depending upon goals we’ve set, decisions we’ve made and unplanned events that take place along the way. 2011 was driven by a few great … Continue reading →

Posted in Investments, Personal, Silicon Valley, Startups, Wanderful Media | Tagged Accelerator Ventures, alabama, Associated Press, CEO, investment, mobile, newspapers, Online advertising, silicon valley, Stanford, Startups, tablet, technology, venture capitalists, Wanderful Media | Comments Off

Wanderful Acquires iCircular to Enhance Local Discovery Shopping

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

Yesterday Wanderful Media ™ announced the acquisition of iCircular from TheAssociated Press. iCircular is the mobile-phone equivalent of the stacks of coupons and other promotions inserted into print editions of weekend newspapers. We’re making a bet on mobile and tablets … Continue reading →

Posted in Silicon Valley, Startups, Wanderful Media | Tagged advertising, Associated Press, Discovery shopping, ecommerce, Find n Save, iCircular, Mass media, mobile, Newspaper, Online advertising, shopping, tablet, Wanderful | Comments Off

Wanderful Media Adds Dave Thomsen as EVP of Product and Design to Growing Management Team | Marketwire

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

As Doug and I set out to build Wanderful Media, we decided to do some things very differently than MerchantCircle. One of them was putting design at the core of the company DNA. The addition of Dave Thomsen as a … Continue reading →