Show me Ben's latest blog posts
Here are Ben's latest articles on automotive technology, SaaS strategy, and performance optimization:
The Real Thing
This is the story of how a morphine-addicted Confederate war veteran's patent medicine, brewed in a three-legged pot in his Atlanta backyard, became the most recognized brand on Earth. It's a story of marketing genius and catastrophic blunders, of secret formulas and perpetual contracts, of world wars and cola wars.
The King of 57th Street: Bill McDermott and the Lost Art of Enterprise Sales
In the world of enterprise software, where billion-dollar deals are won and lost in boardrooms, Bill McDermott stands apart. He didn't learn to sell by studying case studies at business school. He learned by walking into buildings uninvited, memorizing doormen's children's names, and refusing to be outworked by anyone. This is the story of how a teenage deli owner from Long Island became one of the most successful enterprise software CEOs in history—and why he believes the lost art of human connection is the key to winning in the age of artificial intelligence.
The Accidental Grocer: How Joe Coulombe Built Trader Joe's
The story of how Joe Coulombe transformed a struggling convenience store chain into Trader Joe's—a beloved cultural icon built on wine, tiki culture, and serving the overeducated and underpaid.
The Gentle Monster: How an English Teacher Built a Billion-Dollar Eyewear Empire
A story of how one man's vision transformed a pair of glasses into a global cultural phenomenon.
The Crow in Paris: How Rei Kawakubo Built a Fashion Empire on Ideas
A story of how a reclusive artist built a global fashion empire by challenging the very idea of what clothes could be.
The Line That Wouldn't End
Porsche's story is a study in contradictions that somehow resolve into one of the most durable brands on earth.