How a Night Sleeping on an Air Mattress Changed Benji Rogers's Life
Benji Rogers is the founder and president of PledgeMusic, an online music platform that allows artists to pre-sell, market and distribute recordings, music videos and concerts directly to their audience. He's an independent musician from London, who has been making his own records since 1999.
He founded PledgeMusic in 2009 as a way to engage directly with music super fans who drive the bulk of spending in the music industry. He came up with the idea for PledgeMusic while lying on an air mattress in his mother's spare bedroom. Almost 6 years later, the company has over 50 employees and has offices strategically around the world to support artists and fans.
In 2013, he was recognized on Billboards 40 Under 40 Power Players list and in 2014 at MUSEXPO International Music Awards he won Digital Executive of the Year.
In this episode we talk about:
- Why entrepreneurs should meditate. And it's not just about being less stressed.
- Benji's moment of insight and how he came up with the business idea literally overnight.
- Why sharing your idea and being will to ask (seemingly stupid) questions is important.
- Why you should expect to face more rejection and what you can do about it.
- How Benji became a startup advisor and the first thing he tells other founders to do.
- And the hardest thing he wishes he'd known 6 years ago when he started the business.
Success Quote
- “Good enough never is” — Debbie Fields
Book Recommendation
- “Meditations: A New Translation” by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays (Translator)
Links, Resources & People Mentioned
Contact Information
- Benji Rogers – @BenjiKRogers
- Omer Khan – @omerkhan