| Ben Way | |
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Ben Way in 2008 |
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| Born | Benjamin Peter Bernard Way 28 September 1980 Exeter, Devon, England |
| Residence | London, England ; Miami, USA |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Net worth | £10 million (US$16 million) |
Benjamin Peter Bernard Way (born 28 September 1980) Ben Way is an English entrepreneur best known for his appearance on Secret Millionaire, he started his first company at the age of 15.[1] He went on to raise £25 million in his teens[2] making him one of the first dot com millionaires.
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While growing up in a village in Devon, his parents separated[3] when he was young. He has a sister, Hermione, and was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age.[4]
Ben started his first company ‘Quad’, a computer consultancy, at age 15.[5] At the age of 19 he raised £25 million from Jersey based venture capitalist to create an online shopping comparison technology called Pulsar.[2] 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.[6]
He won "New Business Millennium Young Entrepreneur Of The Year" in 2000 which was given to him by Gordon Brown.[2] After receiving this award he went on to advise both the White House [2] and the UK government[2] on technology as well as joining the internet incubator NetB2B2 PLC as a non-executive.[7] After this he headed up technical and environmental investments and due-diligence for the Rotch Property Group.[2] During this time he also lectured for Imperial College.[8]
He currently runs The Rainmakers, which he started in 2004[6] an innovation and incubation company, through this he got involved with a number of start up companies, including the online mentoring company Horsesmouth,[9] language learning company FriendsAbroad[10] which was sold to Babbel.[11] During this time he was also chief innovation officer for Brightstation Ventures a $100m technology VC fund[12] started by Dan Wagner and Shaa Wasmund.[13]
He is involved in a large number of start-up companies such as GoDine the restaurant booking service, FuelMyBlog [12] the blogging product review service, Truevoo [13] the iPhone apps store review service, an SME advice service called Smarta [14][6] as well as a graduate recruitment company called Brave New Talent [15].[14]
In March 2009, Ben used social networking site Twitter to form a team to develop a new online delivery service, SendSocial [16],[15] which allows people to send parcels without revealing personal details.
He also has involvement in a number of green start-up companies including bio fuel producer LeafLog[16] and a green plumbing Company called Go Green Plumbing[17] he launched a renewable energy company Freetricity Free Solar Panels that takes advantage of the UK governments feed in tariff scheme to provide solar power for free.[18]
He is the founder of Viapost [17], an online postal company.[19] The POIP service allows printing of documents over the internet which are then sent by Royal Mail. As part of an investment deal by Conduco PLC,[20] the management put the company into administration (insolvency) and created a Phoenix company the company is still trading.[21]
He is involved in his sister's production company Newspepper [18][22] which covers a large number of UK tech sector events.
In 2009 the Rainmakers opened a USA branch[23] through this they have got involved in a number of US start-ups including Traffic Spaces [19] the ad management platform and BoostCTR [20] the Google adwords optimizer.
His current companies are listed on the Rainmakers website MakingRain.com.[24]
In 1999, he was featured on Britain's Richest Kids on ITV.[25] After this he appeared on a number of television shows including Big Breakfast,[26] partly due to some unusual restrictions on his personal life.[27]
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.[28]
In 2008 has appeared on a Channel Four, 3 Minute Wonder on Robotics[29] and as a "Web Guru" on Sky News.[30]
He has written for a number of publications including The Telegraph,[31] City AM [32] and a chapter in How to be a Teenage Millionaire.[33]
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 who has been ditched 4 times on the show.
He has been involved with a number of charitable organisations, most notably his support of the Pedro Club[34] and a youth club from Hackney which he gave money to through the Secret Millionaire. He is also the patron of Social Firms[35] an organisation 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,[36] Ice Edge Awards,[37] Make Your Mark[38] and Unlimited Awards[39] as well as having been an advisor to the charities Edge[40] and Nesta.[41]
In 2006 he stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate in Bayswater Ward in the City of Westminster.[44]
