A listing of overly nice things people have said about the blog, or about my books or me.
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On The Blog
“Ben Casnocha consistently has original, helpful and interesting content. He has a useful blog, because he takes the time to write helpful, interesting posts with applicable information. He doesn’t just make top whatever lists on concepts he has no experience with. He takes ideas and concepts he has experience with, and turns them into posts with value.”
— Alex Mann, entreprenuer and blogger
“A Top 25 Blog in Silicon Valley.”
— San Jose Business Journal
“Ben is one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking business bloggers I’ve come across, and I’ve been following his work for years now.”
— Josh Kaufman, PersonalMBA.com
“Ben’s intensely thoughtful writing, without a doubt, motivates and inspires students reading his work, or listening to him speak, to re-evaluate their own education and career goals and aspirations.”
— Paul Mahon, PlanetGapYear.com
“Ben Casnocha is one of the brightest minds in the online world.”
— TypePad — Featured Blog on TypePad.com
“His blog is a thoughtful meditation on life…from someone so young, a vibrant player who is not strutting and fretting his time on the public stage, but making a sincere statement about what life signifies in this new online medium.”
— Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times
“Not everything Ben writes is short by any means, but everything he writes is lively. I’m only about thirty pages into his book, but it reads with the same pace at which you can imagine him running through an airport, and you realize you’re following along, caught up, and not even panting.”
— Dale Ducatte, Business Analyst, Georgia Pacific
“After reading a handful of his blog posts, who wouldn’t want to meet and/or hire the guy?”
— Colin Marshall, film critic and blogger
“His writings are usually more thought-provoking than informative, which in an increasingly information dense world is rare.”
— Scott Young, productivity expert
“Ben’s blog is history in the making. He is young, extremely well accomplished, tireless and a thinker. Interestingly, for someone so accomplished already he is also multi-dimensional. So often you meet people of extreme success and they really only have one vertical in their lives where they have focused. This is not the case with Ben, and it’s clear to me, he is one to watch.”
— Kylie Sachs, Ascend Venture Group, LLC
“What gets me about Ben’s blog most of all isn’t the breadth of knowledge — which I guess anyone decently smart can get from reading — but the adult-type perspective in a lot of the entries, about ambition, and about what he doesn’t know, for example.”
— Jeremy Blachman, author, Anonymous Lawyer, screenwriter
“He’s a brilliant guy who, though I don’t always agree with him, keeps me coming back to his blog more than any other, simply because it captures my imagination and intellectual curiosity on a daily basis. If my blog can be half as interesting and engaging as his, I’ll have succeeded.”
— Cameron Schaefer, pilot, United States Air Force
“I recommend you ‘follow’ Ben Casnocha — he is young, brilliant and already wise. His blog provides a lot of insight.”
— Jeremiah Owyang, analyst, Forrester Research
“Ben is great and so smart. His blog is one of my must-reads.”
— Justine Musk, novelist
Of Ben
“Ben is one of the foremost thinkers of his generation. He is a true intellectual. He’s a cross between Socrates, Descartes, Milton Friedman, and Shaquille O’Neal. I recommend getting to know Ben.”
— Auren Hoffman, CEO, Rapleaf
“Ben is one of the mentors at TechStars. He’s such an impressive guy in so many ways… Ben is always a tremendous help to our companies. He gets them to think critically about their businesses and frequently suggests new angles for them to consider. He’s just a fantastic resource at TechStars.”
— David Cohen, Founder and Executive Director, TechStars
“Ben is a provocative and engaging conversationalist, a skilled and prolific writer, and all-around thoughtful guy. I definitely recommend him!”
— Benjamin Abram, Venture Analyst, The Westly Group
“I met Ben in Shanghai during his escapade around the world in 2006. I found Ben to be a very inquisitive guy well-versed in topics ranging from business to politics. He is already a successful entrepreneur and accomplished best-selling author. Ben’s curious nature, voracious reading habits and wide range of interests convince me the best is yet to come.”
— David Cummins, Analyst, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund
“Ben is an incredible entrepreneur who is one of the rare few who also thinks about the big picture beyond the Valley.”
— Chris Yeh, VP, PBwiki
“I will bet my reputation as a judge of talent that Ben will be a future star of some kind. He is already a star. And someday he will own you.”
— Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University, “Economic Scene” Columnist, New York Times
“Ben is a very humble and interesting guy, and he’s hard not to like.”
— Penelope Trunk, author, Brazen Careerist
“Ben’s wonderful–smart and reflective and focused…he’s a large scale thinker, and very interested in what others can teach and share.”
— Susan Mernit, former VP, Yahoo
“Ben’s a very interesting, thoughtful, and tall guy who seems like he was born fully aware of himself.”
— Chris Madden, Costa Rica real estate broker
“You heard it first here: I predict that Ben Casnocha will become a U.S. senator if not president of the United States.”
— Marty Nemko, career columnist for U.S. News and World Report, named “Best Career Coach in Bay Area”
“With few people can a conversation cover so much ground so quickly.”
— Stan James, founder, Lijit Networks, Inc.
“Ben is a cheerful, nice guy with a good sense of humor with a wide range of interests (these qualities may sound a bit dull, but to my mind, there’s NO HIGHER praise).”
— Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
“His insight, confidence, passion are palpable and his book is awesome.”
— Andy Sack, venture capitalist at Founders Co-Op, Seattle
“From the several times I’ve met him and interacted with him online, I found Ben to be a grounded person of good character.”
— Bernard Moon, VP, Lunsford Group
“It’s time to officially declare Ben Casnocha a Wunderkind.”
— Bryan Caplan, George Mason University, author of The Myth of the Rational Voter
“Ben’s generous spirit and dedication to growth and learning (his way) has earned him a wide circle of friends who have, in turn, enriched the world of many others – including me.”
— Kare Anderson, Say It Better communications
“Ben is a fascinating guy who has a lot of catalyst qualities. He likes thinking of new ideas, likes connecting people, and naturally builds communities.”
— Ori Brafman, author, Starfish and the Spider and Sway
“Ben is the man. A well-versed and intellectual entrepreneur, Ben is wise beyond his years.”
— Nat Turner, co-founder and President, Invite Media
“He’s remarkably well rounded and thoughtful. I’m a big fan.”
— Seth Levine, Managing Partner, Foundry Group
“Ben has an amazing ability to speak with authority on a wide host of topics due to his insatiable intellectual appetite and well-rounded interests. Ben is an engaging speaker with the ability to captivate an audience on issues ranging from ethics to entrepreneurship to chess and romance. He is able to combine his prodigious experiences with uncommon wisdom for an electrifying effect.”
— Greg Nance, American Investment Fellows
“Ben has accomplished more in 20+ years than most people do in 50. He’s a published author, a world traveler, an entrepreneur, and an authentic and avid networker. Ben is one of those people whose invitations you look forward to, because he tends to attract interesting people. He’s passionately curious, a voracious reader and deeply engaged in the world. I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
— Susan Etlinger, Managing Partner, Horn Group
“Ben is an amazing guy — totally engaged in the complexities of life, curious about everything, and able to facilitate complex subjects at a single bound. I enjoy talking to him and consistently learn more than I expected. Buy him a drink. Buy him a company!”
— David Zetland, Economist, University of California, Berkeley
“Ben is going to be a great leader. I expect incredible things from him. He is going to change the world.”
— Shervin Pishevar, CEO, Social Gaming Network
“Ben is a thoughtful entrepreneur and an insightful writer. We met in South America when he was scouting the continent for a possible move and I greatly enjoyed his company and conversation. He’s a genuine intellectual and a great student of life.”
— Nathan Labenz, CEO, Stik.com
Of His Books
“You will enjoy this provocative, honest, and fun romp through an entrepreneurial achievement, which will leave you determined to embark on your own enterprising endeavor – and inspired to find your own way to make a difference.”
— Marc Benioff, CEO and Chairman, salesforce.com
“This is a remarkable book for so many reasons. First, it is over-flowing with incredible advice and perspective. Beyond that, it is written with the kind of style and grace that you usually find in a great essay or novel. If you have any interest in entrepreneurship – or business, for that matter – you’ll definitely want to read this.”
— Patrick Lencioni, New York Times bestselling author, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
“Ben is a pretty impressive connector in his own right. It’s so great how Ben is already approaching relationships and thinking about building a strong, distinctive personal brand. Read…this new book.”
— Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author, Never Eat Alone
“I was blown away by how much learning Ben has packed into his (relatively) short entrepreneurial life – and how engagingly and effectively he passes it on in this book. This is such a fun read that you won’t even realize how much you are learning. A must-read for first-time entrepreneurs, but equally enjoyable for fellow travelers who have already been down these roads.”
— Heidi Roizen, Managing Director, Mobius Venture Capital
“This is an inspiring perspective on the dynamics of succeeding in Silicon Valley. You may as well read this book today, because sooner or later we are all going to end up working for Ben.”
— Chris Sacca, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Google Inc.
“A disarming story of the ups and downs of a business from startup to sustainability, filled with reflections on practical business and personal issues facing any entrepreneur. I recommend it to my students as a refreshingly honest account of the rollercoaster ride of startup entrepreneurship.”
— Deborah Streeter, Professor of Personal Enterprise and Small Business Management, Cornell University
“This book is extraordinary. I predict it will be a New York Times bestseller. While the world is filled with inspiring stories, there are few as insightful, enlightening, and powerful as Ben’s.”
— Brad Feld, Managing Director, Foundry Group Venture Capital
“This book is a candid, hilarious, and surprisingly profound entrepreneurial guide-cum-autobiography…Casnocha has an easygoing, articulate and humane voice that already puts him in the upper echelons of ‘business’ writers.”
— Stephen Silberman, Editor, Wired Magazine
“What makes his book interesting…is that it bypasses the rah-rah, self-congratulation common among the young entrepreneur set, instead capturing, with remarkable lucidity, the complexities of trying to balance being a teenager and running a business. It also replaces the generic advice endemic to the genre (‘follow your dreams and it will all work out’) with practical mediations on issues such as the role of luck in big successes and the proper care and feeding of mentors.”
— Calvin Newport, PhD Candidate, MIT; Author, How to Become a Straight-A Student
“My Start-Up Life is the best gift you can buy your teenage son or daughter…It will give them confidence in their own abilities and courage to take on new challenges. But you might want to buy two copies as you’ll find yourself getting just as much out of it. Ben’s crisp writing and interesting anecdotes gave me a sense of adventure and fun while learning a great deal about business. It is Harry Potter meets Good to Great.”
— Auren Hoffman, CEO, Rapleaf; Chairman, Stonebrick
“What’s…jaw opening is the level of wisdom and self-awareness he displays. A simply written yet remarkably direct, honest, and, yes, a bit heart-wrenching account about a lost teenagerhood.”
— Booklist, Barbara Jacobs, American Library Association
“Do read Ben’s terrific book.”
— Richard Florida, Bestselling author of Rise of the Creative Class
“If you’re thinking of starting a business, you’ll learn exactly what it takes to build a successful organization. If you’re already in business, you’ll learn something new that will make you even more effective than you already are. And if you would simply like to read how one American teenager took a road less traveled — and found himself in the process — then you’ve come to the right place.
— Peter Economy, Bestselling author of more than a dozen books
“My Start-Up Life is the best memoir I’ve yet seen on the start-up experience.”
— Shel Israel, co-author of Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
“If you like business, you will like this book. It’s written in a style that is engaging and easy to read. It embraces the emotional paradoxes that entrepreneurship can bring – the moments of self-doubt, the triumphs of self-confidence, the pain of failures, and the realization that those failures are only temporary. It’s filled with great advice, and avoids any kind of magic bullet hocus pocus business thinking.”
— Rob May, BusinessPundit.com
“Ben’s book is fun, and insightful, and gripping. That I have to force myself to put it down in order to make it last longer – like a textual chocolate milkshake – is as ringing an endorsement as I can imagine for a book.”
— Jackie Danicki, Director of Marketing, Qik
“Right off the bat, this book oozes Ben’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge, understanding, and growth.”
— 800CEOREAD.com
“I really enjoyed Ben’s book. He and I share a very similar philosophy about learning and business.”