Ben White
Ben is one of the best known technology
entrepreneurs in the UK and has co-founded three businesses,
helping to grow them all into market leaders, each with revenues in
excess of $100m.
In 2000 Ben and his brother Jos founded MessageLabs.
Ben served as the CEO until 2006 where he built the company into a
global market leader in messaging security and a true pioneer in
the exploding Software as a Service industry.
Ben was recognised by the European Technology Forum's UK
Technology Innovation & Growth Awards as 'Technology
Entrepreneur of the Year' for 2006 and in December 2005 was ranked
in the top ten of Management Today's list of the UK's top 100
entrepreneurs.
"I sold my most recent company Messagelabs two years ago which
was the third business I have founded and sold creating over a
billion dollars in share holder value. However all of this could so
easily have never happened. I struggled massively at school,
largely due to my dyslexia not being diagnosed. The result meant I
could not compete or take part academically which in turn
completely undermined my confidence."
“However the support, encouragement, guidance and mentoring I
received from my parents at this difficult time was crucial and was
definitely the reason I managed to get on the entrepreneurial train
in the first place."
The reason the Trust and in particular the
Enterprise Program works is that you provide young entrepreneurs
with guidance, support and encouragement at a time when young
people who have likely taken several wrong turns have decided they
now want to take their life in a better direction. The key
therefore is to provide them with help at the right time when they
are ready and receptive.