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.
Success Quote
- “Practice not-doing and everything will fall into place.” – Lao Tzu
Book Recommendation
- “Leadership and Self Deception” by Arbinger Institute
- “A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Building a Great Business” by Ari Weinzweig