Investing in Ideas You Believe in feat. Ben Mayberry ’76

Owl Have You Know

As a seasoned entrepreneur, investor and mentor, Ben Mayberry ’76 has seen a lot of change in the Houston business sector over the last 50 years.

Beginning his career in the technology sector, Ben went on to co-found companies like BSG and Winston Sage, and has been deeply involved in the Rice Business community through mentorship and recruiting. Ben has also served as the president of the Rice Alumni Association and has been a judge in the Rice Business Plan Competition for two decades.

Ben joins Owl Have You Know co-host Brian Jackson ‘21 to discuss his incredible career journey, commitment to Rice, involvement in the Houston Angel Network, approach to mentoring entrepreneurs, and the many lessons he’s learned over the course of his 50-year career.

Episode Guide:

00:00 Introduction to Ben Mayberry

01:07 Early Career and Entrepreneurial Spirit

02:42 Building and Managing Teams

05:46 Mentorship and Advice

07:36 Winston Sage Partners and Business Ethics

09:43 Houston Angel Network

14:33 Rice Business School Involvement

22:32 Life Lessons and Final Thoughts

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Why Ben thinks Houston is the easiest place to do business

26:29: There's not one pivot point in my career I can point to, other than deciding to work for myself at some point. Then the decision points along the way that I've made. And, fortunately, I never made a decision that was so devastating that it, you know, shut me down. The most fun job I think I had of all was when we decided to open our other offices at BSG, and I was in charge of opening our remote offices. I just learned a lot about how you do business around the country. I learned how to negotiate with New Yorkers, people in Atlanta, Dallas, et cetera. The most important thing I've found is Houston is the easiest place to do business.
28:08: In Houston, people are generally welcoming to people that come from somewhere else because it's been a melting pot for so long.

Why meeting in person matters for entrepreneurs

28:52: If you want to get together with other entrepreneurs and bounce ideas off of them, or even build teamwork within your group, I think two things. Number one, within a company, it's important to have functions where you get together occasionally. We used to have quarterly meetings where we'd bring everybody into a central location, and it's not inexpensive. And once a quarter, we're also bringing the leadership from various places and having a strategy session all together. And certainly, you can do it by Zoom, but there's nothing like getting together, going out, and having a few drinks that night or dinner or whatever. Now, for someone like you, who—you're in Houston and nobody else is—you need to make a list of people you're going to have lunch with every day. Don't have lunch in your office. Go out three or four times a week and have lunch with somebody that's different and new.

Why listening matters for entrepreneurs seeking success

07:23: Each entrepreneur is, especially if they're in a startup, unique. They have some traits in common. They're generally stubborn. They don't listen as well as they should, and so you have to figure out if they're willing to listen at all. If not, you move on. If they're willing to listen, then you're able to give them advice, and it's based on—do they like—and a CEO doesn't have it all. They may be technical, they may be good at sales, they may be good at marketing, but they're rarely good at all of those. So you've got to figure out where their weakness is and attack that, and help them understand that's really where they need help.

Show Links:

• Transcript
  
  

Guest Profiles:

• Ben Mayberry | Rice Business