Ben Lamm is the CEO of Hypergiant. Ben Lamm is a thought leader, influencer, visionary, and successful entrepreneur. Ben provides the leadership and energy that has inspired the creation of Hypergiant. Ben Lamm joins other leading CEOs and Founders taking part in our Leader Roundtable Interview Series. The DotCom Magazine editorial team has recently awarded Hypergiant our Impact Company of 2019 award, and we are delighted to have Ben join us for our Leader Round Table Interview.
The Hypergiant story is very interesting, and we are very excited to not only interview Ben about his very successful business and entrepreneurial spirit, but also put Ben through our popular speed round as well. Ben, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day for this interview, and answering some questions about leadership, your vision, and your passion.
1. What is the “elevator pitch” for Hypergiant?
Hypergiant Industries is the AI industrial complex for leading global enterprises and governments. The solutions, products, and companies we create support our customers on their mission to speed beyond norms and realize the future we were promised.
2. Many of our readers are just starting to build a company. What advice can you give CEO’s just starting out regarding keeping a company moving forward, and please tell us the key to your company’s success?
Especially as a new entrepreneur, you need to be able to negotiate the fine line between moving with a market when you’re off and holding true to your vision when you think you’re right. There will be times when your product or company will go against the business trends of the moment, and you need to develop an intuition and determination for when to stick with your original plan. At the same time, you need to develop a certain flexibility around your vision, so you don’t ignore important market signals or customer demands. It’s like walking a tightrope.
Honestly, I attribute a lot of my success to learning this lesson early. While Hypergiant has strong guiding principles, we also have the skillsets to be agile when new opportunities arise.
3. For other entrepreneurs seeking to build a business as successful as yours, what advice can you give them when times get a little challenging?
Being an entrepreneur can seem very lonely. There’s a lot of responsibility, and it can feel like no one else understands what you’re going through. However, you have to realize that you’re not in this alone. Even when you’re fulfilling what feels like the sole responsibility of being a business owner, you have a team at your disposal. You can and should lean on them for support.
4. How important is the commitment to client satisfaction at Hypergiant, and how do you make sure your customers will become raving fans of your company?
Customer satisfaction is obviously the lifeblood of any business, and the best lead gen will always be your customers referrals. Our work is very collaborative with
our clients — we understand the challenges they’re facing, as well as the unique opportunities available to them, and then we build something together. That’s how we ensure success. Our work is never just transactional. Instead, we have relationships that cultivate trust and get results time and time again.
5. What is the one thing Hypergiant does to have great communication with their customers?
It’s all about how you start a relationship. If you come into an introductory meeting with a client with clear intentions and goals, it’s much easier to get satisfying results later on. You need to start as you mean to go on and make customers feel like they’re part of a partnership from the outset. Trust is built over time by setting and managing expectations and consistently delivering on those expectations.
6. In today’s fast changing business environment, how do you stay abreast of things?
I would actually rephrase your question. In order to succeed in business, it’s not about staying abreast of current news; it’s about being able to see what comes next. That’s why our tagline at Hypergiant is tomorrowing today. I make sure to continually look for what’s next in terms of business, news, and trends, and I get a lot of help from the network I’ve built over the years. I surround myself with smart people who are just as obsessed about the future as I am, including journalists whose job it is to tell the stories that we’re going to care about tomorrow.
7. What is your “Why”? Why do you get up in the morning, and how do you keep yourself at peak performance to lead Hypergiant?
I think some people are born with the impossible-to-ignore desire to innovate. Being an entrepreneur for me is not a choice. It just feels like it’s a part of me that’s inexplicable and engrained.
In terms of staying in peak performance, I will say that if that innate drive is in you, you need to hone it. Carve out time during the day to check in with yourself and reflect on what your gut is telling you. For me, I like to keep early morning and late nights just to myself to brainstorm and strategize for my next project.
8. Can you recommend a book that has had an influence in your career? How did it influence you?
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is incredible. It’s a book about drive and ambition against insurmountable odds, and leadership and success even in the face of failure. When I read it as a new entrepreneur, I found it to be very motivating.
9. When communicating with your staff, can you tell us the most important thing you do so that they are able to carry out the objectives that you set forth at Hypergiant?
Whenever I communicate with my team, I try to give them directions that empower them to drive the company both in terms of brand and overall success. It’s about inspiring them to see your vision and then giving them clear goals, so they can really own the actual action and move forward autonomously.
10. In one sentence, can you give some advice to fellow entrepreneurs wishing to build a company as exciting as Hypergiant?
Know what you stand for.
We would like to have some fun and do a “Speed Round” with you! We will ask you ten more questions that we want you to answer in just one to three words only. Here you go!
1. In three words or less, What makes a successful CEO?
Vision, ambition, and perseverance
2. Describe your business in one word?
Smart
3. Describe your customers in one word?
Forward-thinking
4. What one attribute do you look for when hiring an employee?
Passion
5. What is the one word you want your customers to say about your company?
Unafraid
6. In three words or less, describe your passion?
Changing the world
7. In three words or less, describe what it takes to be successful?
Sacrifice
8. In three words or less, describe your first year in business at Hypergiant?
Surpassed all expectations
9. In three words or less, describe how running a successful company has changed you?
Trusting my instincts
10. What is the one word that you believe has the most power in the English Language?
Love
Ben Lamm, Thank you so much for sitting down with us at our DotCom Magazine Leader Round Table. We very much appreciate the time you spent helping others learn more about what it takes to be a leader. We hope your interview helps our readers, and we wish you, your family, and of course Hypergiant, nothing but the best.
Thanks again!
Ben Lamm, CEO of Hypergiant, The Leader Roundtable Interview Series
