Tag Archives: web entreprenuer

Full circle: consulting, Silicon Valley start-ups, co-founding the TSA, venture capital, and back to Kearney

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Ben T. Smith, IV

Full circle: consulting, Silicon Valley start-ups, co-founding the TSA, venture capital, and back to Kearney. The story of how I ended up around Kearney for 25 years from a small town in Alabama.
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Building a Shopping Solution

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I have been involved in ShopCo Holdings just about two months now as the Chief Executive Officer.   I figured it is about time I start sharing a bit about it. ShopCo Holdings is a company backed by 12 large US Media companies … Continue reading →

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Victor Belfor, Ben Smith: Backing A College Dropout Might Be Your Smartest Investment Strategy

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

  I recently invested in two companies whose founders either had little interest in school as students or who dropped out of grad school: MixRank and Influitive. Both management teams are driven, hard working and well prepared for the difficult road … Continue reading →

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The less discussed, other sinister plot at groupon. – surya says too much. – surya says too much.

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

For all the critics from the sidelines of any game, politics, business, investing, startups, parenting, charity, and even football.  Some people are hitting Groupon now. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the … Continue reading →

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Victor Belfor, Ben Smith: We’ll Trade 100 Employees For One A-Player | peHUB

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

Mark Zuckerberg famously commented that a great engineer is worth a 100 average engineers (something every developer knows deep in her heart). He was talking about A-players, and in our opinion the worst thing any startup can do is accept … Continue reading →

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peHUB » Doug Kilponen, Ben Smith: First They Ignore You, Then They Want To Buy You: Managing The Startup-Big Company Relationship

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Ben T. Smith, IV

Every entrepreneur has met them. Big company executives with big company swagger. They ignore you. They dismiss the business problem you spent your life solving. They think they can crush you. Then the tables turn. They push for strategic relationships. … Continue reading →

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How to Blow Up an Ecosystem (and Prosper Within One)

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Ben T. Smith, IV

How to Blow Up an Ecosystem (and Prosper Within One) Are you a part of an ecosystem or do you plan to destroy one? You must decide before plotting a path to success During the four years we spent building … Continue reading →

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peHUB » Will Startup Jumpers Hit It Big? Silicon Valley’s Latest Debate Is Portfolio vs Persistence

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Ben T. Smith, IV

When gambling on high-risk startups, the more bets you place the better, right? Maybe not. There is an unspoken discussion going on in Silicon Valley now about the value of “Portfolio” versus “Persistence,” especially among people who have never started … Continue reading →

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peHUB » Why Great Entrepreneurs Take Big Risks And Sometimes Get Fired

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I never met a great entrepreneur who was afraid of failure. Or who didn’t take over-sized risks to win big. This is why many get fired. I spent the first 10 years of my career at A.T. Kearney, a long … Continue reading →

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peHUB » Ben Smith: Silicon Valley Is A Multi-Inning Game, Relationships Are How You Play

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Ben T. Smith, IV

I heard two things recently. “Silicon Valley is a multi-inning game, relationships matter.“ And. “I am all business, I don’t care about relationships.” The first statement came from a seasoned venture capitalist with 20 years of experience. His point is … Continue reading →

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