Ben Casnocha
Founder of Satori Experiences
Ben Casnocha
Founder of Satori Experiences
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Co-Founder and General Partner
2017 - Current
Village Global is a network-native VC firm with ~$500 million AUM, chaired by Reid Hoffman and backed by industry luminaries like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. We lead pre-seed and seed rounds across all categories. When you join Village, capital is just the beginning. We help you go faster with an incredible founder community, expert advice, and game-changing introductions. Come build with the best network in tech.
Founder & Curator
2021
I host an annual, off-the-record intellectual retreat for ~75 academics, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and journalists. Satori = "instant enlightenment" in Japanese Buddhism.
Co-Founder
2019
More people have been forced to flee their homes by conflict and crisis than at any time since World War II. The refugee issue is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises today. New Anchor is a 501(c)(3) charity that I co-founded and serve on the board of that's devoted to refugee resettlement issues in the Bay Area, especially focused on housing for new arrival refugees and asylum seekers.
Author
2013 - 2016
Co-author of The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, in which we describe the changing landscape of employment and show how companies can recruit, train, and retain entrepreneurial talent. The book has been adopted by thousands of CEOs around the world as an essential framework for their recruiting and HR efforts. I was named "one of the most influential people in the talent industry" in 2016.
Chief Of Staff
2012 - 2014
I helped conceive, then built up and ran a new organization to amplify and extend Reid Hoffman’s strategic priorities. Working out of the LinkedIn and Greylock offices for almost two years, as Chief of Staff I was involved in many of the decisions Reid made across the different areas of his work: LinkedIn (where he’s co-founder/executive chairman), Greylock (the venture capital firm where he’s a partner), his non-profit foundation, assorted public intellectual projects, and political/civic work. I also strategized and executed new, proactive initiatives to increase Reid’s impact in Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., and beyond. I hired and managed a team of employees who supported all of the above efforts.
Chief Of Staff
2012 - 2014
Office of Reid Hoffman
CEO
2010 - 2012
Collaboratively conceived, wrote, published, and marketed "The Start-Up of You" with Reid Hoffman. The book won critical acclaim from magazines like Fortune and The Economist and from people such as Steven Johnson, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Cuban, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Gayle King, and others. It also achieved sustained commercial success (#1 New York Times bestseller). Over two years of full-time work, the highlights include: * Collaboratively conceived the thesis and key supporting ideas of the Start-Up of You that formed a 100 page book proposal. * Pitched major publishers in-person in New York with our agent, drove decisions on the auction process, engaged in extended negotiations with our preferred bidder, and ultimately sold worldwide rights to Crown Publishing Group. * Drafted with Reid more than 120,000 words of original content, iterated through hundreds of drafts of chapters, assimilated and incorporated feedback from dozens of early readers, and -- collaboratively with Reid and our tireless editor -- assembled it all into a final coherent book. * Led decision making on a range of internal publishing decisions including galley design, artwork, blurbs, audiobook, foreign rights in a dozen countries, publication schedule, excerpt rights, etc. * Developed a marketing plan, staffed and budgeted the campaign, and directed dozens of initiatives including the processing of bulk orders, a video trailer that now has over 700k views, social media outreach, mainstream media publicity, original editorial, speaking engagements, and online community development. Worked with a talented team across a range of entities including LinkedIn and Greylock who helped plan and execute all of the above and more. * Worked closely with Reid on other projects throughout.
Mentor
2007 - 2012
TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program that operates in Boulder, CO; New York City; Seattle; and Boston. In 2007, I helped David Cohen, founder/CEO of TechStars, market the program and select the very first class of entrepreneurs. Since then, I have helped out some of the companies that go through the program on an as-needed basis. I also am the honorary chair of the annual ping-pong tournament at the end of the summer in Boulder.
Partner
2008 - 2011
Wasabi Ventures is a different kind of venture capital firm made up of three distinct, but connected aspects: venture funding, start-up advising, and incubation.
Keynote Speaker
2007 - 2011
I have delivered hundreds of speeches at companies, universities, and governmental organizations around the world. Topics include talent management, HR, entrepreneurship, technology, career strategy, and globalization. Learn more at http://www.casnocha.com/speaking “Ben Casnocha is a dynamic and engaging speaker. After he spoke at our HR summit, we received a ton of great feedback on him. He presented multiple concepts to HR leaders on how to engage employees in today’s marketplace. Ben’s message is thought-provoking and encourages HR Professionals to challenge themselves to transform their organizations to attract and retain top performers. I highly recommend Ben as a keynote!” — Teri Harrell, Dancik International "Ben gave several presentations to a wide variety of local audiences in Surabaya, Indonesia. Everyone who participated in these presentations, from business students to businesspeople, and from public health students to members of the community interested in learning more about entrepreneurship, came away from the events with newfound insights on how to live a more fulfilling life. His ability to communicate cross-culturally at just the right level for each audience was impressive.” -- Daniel Phelps, Economic & Political Officer, U.S. Consulate Surabaya, Indonesia "I highly recommend Ben to any organization looking for a well prepared and thought-provoking speaker...His presentation was exactly what our audience needed to hear. To conclude his address, he provided insightful answers to some tough questions asked in the audience Q&A period. Ben also brought a comfortable yet high-energy style to the discussing to keep us all engaged throughout the presentation." — Eric Olson, Vice President, Education Strategies, National Retail Federation