Ep 100: Interview w/Ben Cooper – How To Make An Impact On Your Industry And The World

Ben is an award-winning entrepreneur whose insights have made an immeasurable impact on the emerging smart textiles market. Prior to Flex, Ben founded IoClothes, the first B2B industry platform providing tools, resources and key insights for the emerging area of smart textiles, apparel and footwear. Before that, Ben was a founding member of VF Corporation’s Global Innovation Center where he led research and testing initiatives for the North Face, Timberland and Vans.

Earlier in his career, Ben co-founded the “smart” infant monitoring start-up, Sensible Baby, which gained international recognition for its innovative approach to disrupting the juvenile product space. Prior to that, he was the Lead Footwear Project Engineer for the US Army and successfully led many fast-paced multi-million-dollar development efforts for the United States Department of Defense.

Ben received a B.S. in Biomedical Physics from Northeastern University and M.S. in Biomechanics with high distinction from Boise State University.

Selected Links From The Episode

Connect With Ben Cooper:

Sensible Baby Coverage – Bizjournals.com

Mass Challenge – A Global, Zero-Equity Startup Accelerator

Startup Weekend – Startupweekend.org

Guy Kawasaki – American marketing specialist, author, and silicon valley venture capitalist

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller

The Pumpkin Plan by Michael Michalowicz

Show Notes

(1:39) – Ben tells us the first way he ever earned money

(3:18) – Early signs of entrepreneurship for Ben – How he reverse engineered a competitors product in elementary school

(5:17) – The Ben Cooper origin story

(8:34) – Ben talks about his experience with StartUp Weekend (Boston) and Mass Challenge.

(22:10) – Ben talks about transitioning out of his first startup

(24:43) – Ben’s second startup – ioClothes.com

(30:55) – Why Ben doesn’t look back on his startups with any particular eye on a mistake he made.

(33:40) – Ben’s definition of success.

(37:30) – Books that have helped Ben along the way.

(45:13) – Advice Ben would give to young individuals

(49:32) – Ben gives us the outlook for the future

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