How an Idea to Improve Live Chat Built a Multi-Million Dollar Company

Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Olark, a tool that brings a hassle-free live chat to your website. Olark is a Y Combinator startup that was founded in 2009. Today, Olark has over 5000 customers in 151 countries and has grown into a multi-million dollar business.

Key Talking Points

How Ben launched his first business, a web hosting company in some guy's basement when he was still in high school.
Where the idea for Olark came from and what Ben and his co-founders did to figure out if they could be successful.
How the team did consulting work building software for other people in order to fund their own software business.
Why Ben and his co-founders rejected an acquisition offer that they received ‘out of the blue' very early on.
How the team effectively positioned Olark despite having a lot less functionality than all of its competitors.