Ben Lang is an 18-year-old internet entrepreneur.
His entrepreneurial journey began at age 14 when he started his own eBay business. He’s the founder of EpicLaunch a popular blog for young entrepreneurs. Ben’s also the founder of MySchoolHelp, a site for students to find and share notes from their school. You can connect with him here.
Tell us a little about starting your own eBay business at the age of 14.
It started off when my grandfather handed me some camera equipment to sell for him on eBay.
The sale went very well and I got a solid commission. I decided to try selling more of family’s items and from there expanded to neighbors and eventually anyone. The business grew as I learned how to market my services online by making a website, advertising on Craigslist and utilizing social media.
For more information, here’s a video on the business.
What difficulties do you run into as a young entrepreneur, and how do you overcome them?
At first it was difficult to build trust, especially at the age of 14.
Many people were hesitant about sending me their items or even meeting me in person. But once they realized that I could do the same job as someone double my age they were fine with it.
The older I got and the more businesses I got into, the more trust I was able to gain.
What do you enjoy about living in Israel?
I recently moved to Israel only about two months ago.
I lived here in 9th grade for one year and lived here another year when I was born. A few years ago I decided that instead of going to college upon finishing high school, I’d join the Israeli army. So here I am, preparing to join in March.
In the meantime I’m working at an awesome startup called Wibiya, which was acquired by Conduit a few months ago.
How do you believe the online world will change in coming years?
I think the online world is going to change primarily due to its devices over the next few years.
First off, data enabled phones are going to be dominant everywhere soon. Eventually tablets are also going to overtake computers.
We’re also going to see internet enabled TVs, cars, fridges and almost every gadget becoming more and more popular. Due to this phenomenon everyone in this world will have access to more and more of these devices changing the way we all behave.
How do you stay motivated each day?
I love working on startups which is how I stay motivated each day.
It’s a great feeling having users use your products and know that you’re making an impact.
What do you do with “spare” time?
I enjoy hanging out with my friends in my spare time. I’m also very much into running, skiing, tennis and biking. Working on a bunch of startups though doesn’t leave too much spare time unfortunately.
Thanks so much for the interview! If anyone has any questions feel free to reach out to me, I’ll certainly answer.
"You’re such a smart boy!" were his first accolades heard. So, it’s no wonder that this phrase became the title of his business, Smart Boy Designs.