I must thank Brian Reese for writing in his blog about Ben Casnocha.

I was amazed to hear that at 19 Ben had started two companies and written a book.

His book is appropriately called My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on his Journey Thorugh Silicon Valley.

The New York Times called his book “precocious, informative, and entertaining.” He founded Comcate, Inc., an e-government software company, at age 14.

BusinessWeek recently named Ben “one of America’s top young entrepreneurs.” He writes prolifically on his blog which the San Jose Business Journal called one of the “Top 25 Blogs in Silicon Valley.” Ben has given speeches at more than a dozen universities including Duke University, The Wharton School, and Boston University.

What struck me was the importance Ben placed on mentors in his life.

He writes: A famous Harvard Business Review article published in 1979 reported that mentored executives earned more money at a younger age, were better educated, were more likely to follow initial career goals, and had higher career satisfaction. This isn’t all that surprising—experienced practitioners transferring wisdom is bound to do something!

Advertisement