In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Ben Jen, CEO of Ben Jen Holdings and principal investor. Ben shares a personal story about leaving a pre‑medical path to follow his true interests, emphasizing the importance of pursuing what you enjoy. He offers practical advice for entrepreneurs seeking capital, stressing the need for a clear, concise value proposition and a well‑crafted pitch that goes beyond storytelling. Ben advocates for creating and maintaining your own business plan rather than outsourcing it, viewing it as a living guideline for founders, investors, customers, and employees. Reflecting on personal balance, he advises his younger self to slow down and enjoy life. He discusses happiness, noting that wealth alone doesn’t bring fulfillment; instead, giving back through mentorship—especially to high‑school entrepreneurs—has been rewarding. Ben recommends "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries for its lean, MVP‑focused principles, and shares his favorite quote from Steve Jobs about vision pulling you forward when you care about your work. The episode concludes with Ben’s contact information (LinkedIn and benjenholdings.com) and a brief sponsor and production note.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Ben Jen with us. He's the CEO of Ben Jen Holdings and a principal investor. So welcome to the show, Ben Jen.
Thank you.
Of course, man. Thanks for joining us, and we'll dive in. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Spanish? I originally went to college as a pre-med student, and clearly that did not work out for me. I quickly realized that I liked the idea of going to medicine, but it wasn't the correct career path or choice for me, so I guess the best advice that I can give or the best story that I can give is that just go with what you enjoy. Go with what you feel comfortable with. Awesome.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So I work with a lot of entrepreneurs that are looking to raise capital, and I have a lot of entrepreneurs that come to me, and I've heard the best pitches and I've heard the worst pitches as well. For the people that don't have the greatest pitch, you know, a lot of people aren't clear as to what they're looking for. I think it's important for people to Come up with a clear and concise value proposition. Why would investors invest? What is it that you're looking to do? A lot of people get wrapped up in telling their story and at the end of the story, they don't really have a clear path as to what they're trying to do with this company. So just some general pieces of advice for entrepreneurs looking for capital.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice?
So not necessarily industry-specific, Again, because of the fact that I work with a lot of entrepreneurs, especially for those going into business the first time, I tell people to go and create a business plan yourself. A lot of people, they think it's this astronomic task that's hard and difficult, and it is. You're essentially creating a sort of a guideline for you to follow. This shouldn't be looked at as some sort of like a task that's tedious and, you know, a burden to you as a business owner, but you should look at it as something that, you know, that this is a guideline that you could follow as a business, something that you could, you know, something that for you to follow, for investors to follow, for your customers to follow, for your employees to follow. And yes, you know, businesses do pivot from time to time, and it's important to keep it up to date. But, you know, I think the best piece of advice is, you know, do it yourself and don't try to outsource it to someone. Because, you know, other people don't understand your vision and they don't understand what it is that you're trying to convey. So it's important for entrepreneurs to, you know, just get into it and do it on their own.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
It's probably to slow down a bit and probably to try to enjoy life along the way. I'm still moving at a million miles an hour and it would even benefit me now if I were to slow down from time to time.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
So I've noticed that as an entrepreneur, I've started many companies. I've actually started 16 companies and I've exited 8 of them successfully. And I've come to realize that money and wealth doesn't buy happiness. And I found that giving back to the entrepreneurial community as an investor and as a mentor has, you know, helped in a lot of ways. You know, I work with a lot of— right now I work with a lot of high school entrepreneurs, you know, in providing them feedback and giving them, you know, telling them about a bit about my experience. And just guiding them on, you know, how to run their startups properly and how to run their businesses properly.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
The best book that I've read and that I tell others to read is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. He brings up a lot of valuable lessons for entrepreneurs that are looking to try to, you know, bootstrap their businesses. Especially since entrepreneurs don't have a lot of resources to play with, important to run on as lean of a model as possible, especially if you're trying to build up your minimal viable product or your MVP.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is, "If you're working on something that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed, the vision pulls you," and that was said by Steve Jobs. And I, you know, a lot of people complain about, you know, they really hate their work and they don't like what they're doing. I mean, if you truly don't like what you're doing, maybe it's time to stop and, you know, take a look in the mirror and think about what it is that you really do care about and, you know, just do something that you really like to do.
Yes, man. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Probably the best place is LinkedIn or via my website at benjenholdings.com.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Sure.
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