Ben Casnocha

Ben Casnocha is an award winning entrepreneur and author from Silicon Valley. He is coauthor with Reid Hoffman of the #1 New York Times bestselling career strategy book The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career. He is also author of the book My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley which the New York Times called "precocious, informative, and entertaining." He has written for Newsweek, the American Enterprise Institute, and the U.S. State Department.

In addition to his writing, Ben is a technology entrepreneur. He founded Comcate, Inc., a leading e-government software company, at age 14. PoliticsOnline named him one of the "25 most influential people in the world of internet and politics." He also incubates and advises internet entrepreneurs at Wasabi Ventures. BusinessWeek named Ben "one of America's top young entrepreneurs." And dozens of outlets have covered his work including CNN, The Economist, and CNBC.

Finally, Ben is an accomplished public speaker. He has spoken at dozens of universities and organizations around the world. From community colleges in the Midwest, to large companies in Indonesia, to government groups in Cyprus, to MBA students in Philadelphia, Ben has experience leading inspiring conversations about entrepreneurship, careers, and the future.

• 6. Principles of Entrepreneurship: Start Up Your Company

  Thinking about starting a company? This talk will whip you into action. In this inspirational keynote, Ben explains the origin of his own entrepreneurial journey, shares practical lessons learned from his business successes and failures, and ends with a call to action for everyone to take action. Learn the principles of entrepreneurship, and then get going!

• 5. How to Build Silicon Valley in Your Region: Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship

  Entrepreneurship is the engine of economic growth, job creation, and innovation. Places like Silicon Valley have long been an entrepreneurial hub - but great entrepreneurs can thrive anywhere, if the conditions are right. From Athens to Santiago, from Zurich to Marrakesh, from Jakarta to Nicosia, Ben has addressed passionate local leaders who want to spark entrepreneurship in their own community. In this keynote, Ben explains the secrets behind Silicon Valley and how to make your region a place that can give birth to the next Google.

• 4. If You Don't Find Risk, Risk Will Find You: How to Take Intelligent Risk in Life

  Risk tends to get a bad rap. We associate it with things like losing money in the stock market, or riding a motorcycle without a helmet. But risk isn't the enemy - it's a permanent part of life. In fact, being proactively intelligent about risk is a prerequisite for seizing breakout opportunities. Risk is the flip side of every opportunity and career move. And while you can't predict all the risks you'll face, you can build up your resilience to the unpredictable. In this keynote, Ben Casnocha explains how every individual can develop a strategy for taking the intelligent risks that are essential to leading a spectacular career.

• 3. How to Attract and Retain Entrepreneurial Employees

  Wages are stagnant. Global competition for jobs is fierce. The career escalator that used to naturally propel workers up the ranks in a corporation is now jammed at every level. As the world of work has changed, so has the relationship between employee and employer. The best and brightest professionals today are not looking to work at a company for life. Rather, they loan their talent to a corporation for as long as they feel it makes sense. They don't expect conventional job training, but they do expect tremendous professional growth. And when they leave your company, they expect to be part of your firm's alumni network. When employees are the "start-up" of themselves, how a company attracts and retains top talent must change. In this keynote, Ben Casnocha explains how the new career landscape should affect your firm's recruiting and retention of the best employees.

• 2. The Start-Up of You for Individual Professionals

  Wages are stagnant. Global competition for jobs is fierce. The employer-employee pact is over; job security doesn't exist. The career escalator that used to naturally propel workers up the ranks in a corporation is now jammed at every level.
  
  In a keynote based on his #1 New York Times bestselling book with LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Ben presents a blueprint for how to thrive in this new economic landscape. The key: learn to think and act like an entrepreneur. In other words, move up that jammed escalator by running your career like it's a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.
  
  You don't need to start your own business, but you do need to adopt the mindset and learn the skill set of entrepreneurs.
  
  Why? Start-ups - and the entrepreneurs who run them - are nimble. They invest in themselves. They build their professional networks. They take intelligent risks. They make uncertainty and volatility work to their advantage.
  
  These are the very same skills professionals need to get ahead in today's fractured world of work.
  
  In this keynote, you will learn the Silicon Valley strategies that can jump-start you career. From crafting flexible career plans, to building genuine professional relationships, to finding breakout opportunities. This is a bold guide to thriving in a world where every professional must be the entrepreneur of his or her own life.

• 1. The Start-Up of You for Students

  Students are graduating into a dismal economy. Wages are stagnant. Global competition for jobs is fierce. The employer-employee pact is over; job security doesn't exist. The career escalator that used to naturally propel workers up the ranks in a corporation is now jammed at every level.
  
  In a keynote based on his #1 New York Times bestselling book with LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Ben presents a blueprint for how to thrive in this new economic landscape. The key: learn to think and act like an entrepreneur. In other words, move up that jammed escalator by running your career like it's a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.
  
  You don't need to start your own business, but you do need to adopt the mindset and learn the skill set of entrepreneurs. Why? Start-ups - and the entrepreneurs who run them - are nimble. They invest in themselves. They build their professional networks. They take intelligent risks. They make uncertainty and volatility work to their advantage.
  
  These are the very same skills new graduates need to get ahead in today's fractured world of work.
  
  In this inspirational yet practical keynote, students will learn from a generational peer the entrepreneurial strategies that can kick-off their careers no matter their industry of interest. From crafting flexible career plans, to building genuine professional relationships, to finding the breakout opportunities that can transform their career. Students will feel empowered to confront the extraordinary economic challenges facing their generation.

• 
  February 2012

  The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

  Here, LinkedIn co-founder and chairman Reid Hoffman and author Ben Casnocha reveal a revolutionary new blueprint for how to survive and thrive in this new career landscape. How? By learning to think and act like an entrepreneur. In other words, the secret to moving up that jammed escalator, they say, is to run your career like it's a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you. A groundbreaking guide to flourishing in the world we live in today, the Start-Up of You empowers each one of us to be the founder of and CEO our own career, and take control of our professional future.

  
  
• 
  May 2007

  My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley

  Ben Casnocha discovered he was entrepreneur at age 12 and hasn't slowed down since. In this remarkably instructive book, Ben dissects the entrepreneurship "gene," explaining that everyone has inherited it if they have an idea to make the world a better place. In Casnocha's case, he found a better way for city governments to communicate with constituents on the Web. Six years later, Comcate has dozens of municipal clients, a growing staff, and a record of excellence. This book is the story of his start-up, but also a conversation with his mentors, clients and fellow entrepreneurs about how to make a business idea work?and how to have the time of your life trying. From Pat Lencioni to Marc Benioff of salesforce.com, Ben has won over the best and brightest of the business world. Now it's your turn!