Episode 48: Ben Williams, Co-Founder Reelio Labs, Navy Veteran

Ben Williams, Navy Veteran, Co-Founder Reelio Labs

Background

Ben Williams is a Navy Veteran and Co-Founder of Reelio Labs. Ben grew up outside of Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a Navy ROTC Scholarship and was also a member of the Track and Field Team.  He was commissioned upon graduation in May 2001. Ben served on the USS Bunker Hill and served on VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) teams during the invasion of Iraq.

Becoming An Entrepreneur

After leaving the Navy, Ben went to work at Lockheed Martin and co-founded Open Sky Energy Systems on the side. I asked him what were the challenges of building a business while he had a “day” job. Ben said:

I would turn that around and say what wasn’t a challenge. Everything about it was hard. But,…I was on such a substantial learning curve that things I was learning in either one (job) reinforced the other. So, it was actually a great help. I think it ended up making both of them more successful more quickly.

Ben has been active in helping Veteran Entrepreneurs (He and I met at TechStars Patriot Boot Camp) and has always been open  helping and connecting people.

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