Ben Stokes

Board Member

2024 - Current

Founding Partner

2021

Chasing Rainbows: Empowering LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurship 🌈 🚀 Unicorn-Builders | 🤝 Acquisition Experts | 💥 Driving Success Our game-changing fund ignites LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship. We've achieved unicorn status with an early investment and facilitated successful acquisitions. With LGBTQ+ founders receiving less than 0.5% of VC funding, we lead the change. Our comprehensive support empowers diverse businesses to soar and attract acquirers. Join us in reshaping entrepreneurship, fostering inclusivity, and achieving greatness. 🌐 Connect: calendly.com/chasingrainbowsvc Together, let's empower LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs! 🌟🌈

Co-Chair StartOut Programming Board

2021

Programming Board & Mentor

2019 - 2021

Programming Board and Active volunteer mentoring and coaching entrepreneurs within the StartOut organization.

Advisor + Mentor

2020

Mentor at the Australian Landing Pad in San Francisco, assisting Australian founders in San Francisco take their startups and scaleups global, with particular focus on the US. Austrade's San Francisco Landing Pad helps advise on market entry and go to market strategies, business development, growth, scaling operations, customer acquisition and customer success. For more information, visit https://www.austrade.gov.au/landingpads/locations/san-francisco.

Angel Investor

2017

Angel Investor - with a focus on helping underrepresented founders get early access to capital.

Sales Operations Consultant

2016

Designed and implemented sales operations plans, metrics, processes, systems, and policies strategies quickly to deliver growth, restructure segments, create additional channels, regional expansion, and Transition sales deliver new sales leadership strategies and approaches. Develop sales coverage and enablement plans and programs based on data, analytics, and insight. Leverage full capabilities of your systems for better productivity. Sales operations program development to reflect company culture through communications, coaching cadence, employee enablement, coverage models, incentives, and sales meetings. Acted as an interim sales operations executive.

Queensland Committee Member

2022 - 2023

Deliver brand-aligned local events and pride activations to raise funds and awareness and which engage local stakeholders Promote the availability of scholarships and assist with scholar and mentor selection Support the management team to develop and maintain relationships with existing and prospective donors and partners to raise funds Foster productive relationships with local scholars, mentors, and alumni.

Head of Crowdfunding

2021 - 2021

Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2022’s (GGHK) unique combination of sport, arts, culture, fun and community brings together diverse groups of people to experience moments of joy. It will create unity and positive attitudes that will last a lifetime in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond under our tagline “Unity In Diversity”. GGHK will take place on 11-19 November 2022, first time in Asia. We are expecting 12,000 participants, 75,000 spectators and 3,000 volunteers from 100 countries. There are 36 sporting events planned including new events Dragon Boat Racing, Dodgeball, eSports, and Trail Running, Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Festival Village, and Arts & Culture events with daily performances, a Gala Concert, LGBTQ+ art exhibitions, and a variety of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gay Games. Everyone is welcome to participate regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, or background. GGHK is organised and funded by the community, participants, commercial partners and sponsors. Supporting organisations include the Equal Opportunities Commission, BrandHK, InvestHK and the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Building on the success of the last Gay Games held in Paris in August 2018, GGHK will have an estimated economic impact of HKD 1 billion (USD 128 million), comprising 300,000 hotel room bookings and associated consumption revenue, and millions of pictures on social media.

CEO + Founder

2017 - 2021

SocialTable is a social networking platform originally founded in Australia which has scaled globally, with events on every continent. Originally designed as a social dining platform, it now includes a virtual networking platform used by both organisations and individuals. Built on the premise of radical inclusivity, the platform removes unconscious bias completely by engaging participants through personal storytelling, and having an emphasis on building empathy. A matching algorithm uses science and data analytics to create meaningful connections between participants. SocialTable has a full logistics back-end with global partners to deliver wine/beer/spirits/tea and other products directly to participants' doors, no matter their location. The company has grown and scaled globally, with events running on every continent. The team has grown and scaled to meet needs. SocialTable was accepted into the StartOut Growth Lab, RBL1 Accelerator and was a finalist in She1k’s CShark in Singapore. www.socialtable.co

Sales Director + Enterprise Account Executive

2016 - 2017

Competent Sales Director responsible for building out the Enterprise Sales Strategy and Team. Consulting with large enterprises and engaging them in a solution-based sales cycle. Presenting the value of the Lever Talent Acquisition Suite to senior C-level executives, Recruitment Teams, and Heads of Talent. Closed Lever’s largest 3 customers. Creating and managing a strong pipeline of business and leveraging relationships to gain further traction in the marketplace – growing both revenue and market share. Written and edited blog posts for the Inside Lever blog. Director of Lever Hues, and creating the Diversity and Inclusion strategy for Lever. Spoken at 3 conferences, and chair round-tables for upcoming leaders in HR. Grew team from 10 staff to 35 staff, with a turnover of $10M+ ARR. At Lever we really walk the talk when it comes to talent. We put a ton of thought into how we hire and onboard people, as well as how we help them grow in their careers. Even the way we work everyday will give you a sense of collaboration and what we like to call, 'The Founder's Mentality'