Ypulse Interview: Ben Casnocha
Posted by anastasia on 05-29-2007
Ben Casnocha is an old soul. I met him for coffee the other day and came away feeling he was wise beyond his 19 years, but also wondering if his early adventures in entrepreneurialism (he started his first company when he was 12!) somehow denied him the opportunity to just be more of a kid or regular teen. Adding to his list of achievements, Ben just published his first book, My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley. I did a short email interview with Ben about the book and his perceptions of his own generation.
Ypulse: Your success is not typical of most teenagers. What made the difference for you? Where did you get your drive/inspiration? How did you balance your life as an entrepreneur with your life as a teen? Could you still relate to your peers?
Ben Casnocha: I think teens are all successful in different ways. When you achieve success in business you gain a little more visibility. For me, I’ve always been entrepreneurial, but the turning point came when a teacher in sixth grade made me memorize the Apple Computer "Think Different" TV campaign. The closing line was, "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." This fired me up. As for the balancing act, this is something we all struggle with, whether it's school and business or family and business. For me, I recognized that there were going to be challenges and tradeoffs. I think a sense of self-awareness about what you're getting into is important. I could still relate to my peers — although not as fluidly as some of my friends. Playing basketball really helped.
YP: What role did your own comfort level/experience with technology play in launching your company? What was it like explaining the concept for your company to older government employees? [Ben's first company, Comcate, created a way for city governments to communicate with constituents on the Web]
BC: It makes a huge difference. The accessibility of technology is empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs. As the old New Yorker cartoon goes, on the internet, no one knows you’re a dog. It’s always a challenge for someone for whom a given activity comes naturally to explain how it works to someone for whom it’s unintuitive.
YP: Everyone keeps asking me whether or not your generation is losing their social skills? Do you think there is any truth to this? Is there an experience or anecdote where you learned when it was more appropriate to speak face to face vs. digitally?
BC: think it's partly true. But what's really happening is that the social skills demanded of my generation are changing — there is such a thing as online social skills. Those are important. Will people hunched over at their computer all day lose their ability to make chit chat at the cocktail party? Perhaps, but this says more about the person than the technology. Technology is just a tool — if you let it take over you life, it will. In general, though, I think the "scary" parts of technology's use are overblown.
YP: What do you think are the most important issues or challenges facing your generation today?
BC: To what extent will we accept the world for what it is versus what it can or should be. We should always try to improve our lives and the lives of others — we should strive to make the world a better place. I hope this is kept at the forefront of the collective psyche of my generation. As for challenges, I think questions about technology and the role it plays in our lives will be a defining one. Particularly as it relates to artificial intelligence and the occurrence of a smarter-than-human computer (aka "the singularity"), we will have many an ethical question to debate.
YP: Do you see any downside to creating "Brand Me"?
BC: If it's not authentic and genuine, then "Brand Me" is stupid. You should live and be who you want to be, and then make sure that's how the world actually perceives you (branding).
YP: Which mentor had the biggest or most impactful influence on you and why?
BC: Many have. I believe mentors are critically important for intellectual growth, emotional encouragement, and practical knowledge. At some point your mentoring relationships will become bidirectional — this is where the magic really lies — when you are teaching your mentor as much as s/he is teaching you.
YP: What is your favorite business book and why?
BC: Don’t have any single favorite. Many business books are really good. But most are really, really bad. I suggest 2 or 3 out of every 10 books you read, if you're in business, should be a "business book." My blog has a listing of all the books I've read.
YP: Anything else you think Ypulse readers should know?
BC: Entrepreneurship is a life idea, not just a business one. I talk about in my book how anyone can be CEO of their own life. If Ypulse readers take away any one thing, I hope it's that life can be glorious when you carve your own path! Think different!
