Beverage entrepreneur and author Ben Weiss

Ben Weiss is an American entrepreneur who founded the beverage companies Bai Brands and Crook & Marker. He is the author of Basementality: How This Entrepreneur Drove His Fight Against Big Sugar and Rose from the Basement to a $1.7 Billion Brand, and is the host of Billion Dollar Idea on Fox Business Network.

Early life

Weiss was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised on Staten Island. He graduated from Boston University with a finance degree in 1992 and then pursued an interest in entrepreneurship that he developed as a child.[1]

Career

In 1994, Weiss started his first business, a venture with Godiva Chocolatier to sell coffee in movie theaters, and later created the Chocolixir frozen chocolate beverage for Godiva's retail stores.[2] His other early ventures included a coffee distribution business and a café in Queens, New York.[3]

In 2009, Weiss founded the antioxidant beverage brand Bai in the basement of his Princeton, New Jersey, townhouse.[4] Weiss built Bai into one of the fastest-growing brands in the beverage industry as a lower-calorie alternative to soda without artificial sweeteners.[5] In 2016, Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced a cash purchase of Bai for $1.7 billion.[6] Weiss departed Bai in 2017 after the acquisition.[7]

In 2019, Weiss founded Crook & Marker, an organic alcohol beverage line that competes with hard seltzers to challenge established alcohol brands.[8]

In 2020, Weiss released his book Basementality, which covers his entrepreneurial career. The book includes a foreword by singer Zac Brown and endorsements from entertainer Justin Timberlake, journalist Katie Couric and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. Following the publication of Basementality, Weiss frequently speaks on entrepreneurship and innovation at colleges and universities.[9][10][11]

In 2022, Weiss's show, Billion Dollar Idea, debuted on Fox Business Network as part of its new primetime lineup. The show features entrepreneurs competing in a variety of challenges to win an investment from Weiss.[12]

Personal life

Weiss lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife, Danna, who co-founded Bai,[13] and his children, Jack and Shayna.

Bibliography

  • Weiss, Ben (2020). Basementality: How This Entrepreneur Drove His Fight Against Big Sugar and Rose from the Basement to a $1.7 Billion Brand. Sun Owl LLC. ISBN 978-1-7347325-0-4

References

  1. ↑ Tague, Katherine (2020-10-21). "Bai Beverage Founder Ben Weiss: Bring The Fight". FOX News Radio. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  2. ↑ "A Soft Drink Rises, Bai5, as Soda Slides". New Jersey Monthly. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  3. ↑ Brown, Dustin. "Starbucks has nothing on Brewed Awakening – QNS.com". qns.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  4. ↑ How This Founder Started a Billion Dollar Beverage Company From His Basement, retrieved 2021-06-29
  5. ↑ Rogers, Taylor Nicole. "Bai founder Ben Weiss built a $1.7 billion beverage empire from his basement, and now he's trying to do it again. Here's how". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  6. ↑ "UPDATE 3-Dr Pepper Snapple to buy antioxidant drinks maker Bai for $1.7 bln". Reuters. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  7. ↑ Bruno, Giovanni. "Dr Pepper Snapple's Bai Brands CEO Ben Weiss Leaving". TheStreet. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. ↑ Ross, Katherine, Crook & Marker Founder on Future of Hard Seltzer, retrieved 2021-06-29
  9. ↑ "Ben Weiss and the Bai Brand Story". Princeton University Media Central. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  10. ↑ "Ben Weiss". The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  11. ↑ "A Conversation with Ben Weiss". Georgetown Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  12. ↑ "Media Relations | Fox News". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  13. ↑ "We've Got the BAI | Princeton Magazine". Retrieved 2021-06-29.
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