- One of the UK’s most successful young entrepreneurs.
- Started his own digital media agency aged 11.
- 16 years old and employees 15 full time members of staff and has over 500 influential clients.
- Remarkably confident, experienced speaker who is well grounded and keen to help other young people follow his lead.
Ben Towers is a young British next generation entrepreneur who started his own web design company at the age of just 11. He has grown and developed his businesses to cover branding and a thriving social media consultancy which is now a part of another agency following successfully exiting the business aged 18.
Widely acclaimed by the British business community, he’s been named NatWest Entrepreneur of the Year and dubbed one of the UK’s most exciting
entrepreneurs by Sir Richard Branson.
It all started when Ben designed a website (using lessons from YouTube) for a family friend for £50. He learned more and built increasingly more advanced
sites. He hired his skills out via peopleperhour. com, and as the business grew he took on a freelance designer to take care of developing whilst he looked afterthe management side, all before he started his GCSEs.
Along the way, Ben hit a number of barriers; his bank account was frozen after too many transactions were processed for a children’s account (and he wasn’t
allowed a business account), this led him to lobbying the banks and becoming the first person in the UK to get a business bank account under the age of 18.
Whilst doing his exams he had to fire a member of staff for not responding to clients. Before his 18th birthday, he was running a fully fledged SME with a team of 26 designing sites and working on national and international social media campaigns for companies including QuickBooks, Pot Noodle, Champneys and Virgin.
Faced with focusing on his business or taking on A Levels (due to UK law), Ben compromised and became an apprentice is his own business, which meant
having an employee review his work! By doing this Ben became the first on record to employ themselves in this way.
Far from being a disadvantage, his age is a key strength in his understanding of the social media landscape (he’s roughly the same age as Google). He has an insight into what’s new, what’s fading from popularity, and who’s using what platform.
Now also a mentor to new entrepreneurs, Ben topped The Times’ global Super Teen Power List and is an advisor on the CBBC series Pocket Money Pitch (a
Dragons’ Den for young entrepreneurs). Alongside his unusual entrepreneurial story, Ben also speaks about the wider world of technology and content from
the view of someone who has effectively known little else.
He considers disruption from new technologies and new ways of doing business. He looks at the expectations of the millennial generation as consumers and employees with insights into the potential lifespan of the likes of Facebook and Instagram.
Business wise Ben’s main focus is on a new worldwide health movement with the vision of inspiring his generation to live healthier and happier lives. This new business is currently preparing to launch a cutting-edge app to help young people achieve their health goals and connect with others.
England
