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Ben Jay; CEO Sound Nation Ltd
“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself” – George Bernard Shaw

Twenty-six-year-old serial entrepreneur Ben Jay’s meteoric rise to the top is an inspiration. His story is both a compelling reminder of the power of dreams and a sobering wake up call to everyone out there blaming life for the hand they’ve been dealt. Because, when the chips were down, through sheer hard work, dedication and sacrifice, Ben Jay cashed in big time.

Like a lot of self-made businessmen, Ben struggled with authority at an early age and dropped out of school when he was fifteen. But, although he left without any A–levels, Ben did leave with a dream: music.

With his heart set on a career in the music industry, Ben’s desire led him to a local music studio, where he enrolled in a work experience program and soon developed a keen interest in the technical side of music production.

Showing off his entrepreneurial tendencies early on, Ben set up a home studio, producing music, beats and samples and sold them online to artists and companies. Ben also set up a series of successful music events at local clubs and, on top of his blossoming online business, the cash soon started rolling in.

As a talented young beatboxer and DJ, Ben was snapped up by a touring agency and toured Europe extensively, working with big name acts like Aphex Twin, Foreign Beggars and the Human Beatbox Championships. Things were going well but temptation soon reared its ugly head.

It was a case of too much too soon and, lured in by the seedier side of the music industry, Ben’s party lifestyle and recreational drug habits quickly spiraled out of control. One thing led to another and Ben soon found himself caught up in a world of petty crime and dead-end possibilities.

Ben’s family tried to reach out and help him get his life back on track but he just wouldn’t listen. He felt like he’d failed and just didn’t care enough to change. And Ben was all set to become just another underachieving burnout. Just another statistic. Just another glorious waste of potential… Something had to give.

When he turned twenty, Ben had had enough. He was sick and tired of his lifestyle and sick and tired of wasting his creativity, talent and desire. Nobody else was going to do this for him, he had to stand up and make the change. So Ben made a promise to himself that by the time he turned twenty-one, he would have turned his life around. And, against the odds, Ben kept that promise.

But change didn’t happen overnight. Ben knuckled down and worked hard, paying his dues with odd jobs at meat factories and call centres, all the time saving money for his dream. And it felt good.

At this point, Ben approached the Prince’s Trust for help and advice. Ben’s Trust mentor David Klaasen – who inspired and left a huge impression on Ben – told him to put together a concrete business plan and to secure a consistent cash flow. Through a series of monthly meetings, David also helped Ben flesh out his business ideas. And a month later, Ben was awarded the maximum loan available of £4,000 – which he paid back in full.

In 2007, using the money he’d been awarded, Ben put together Prime Loops Ltd. He designed the website look and product covers himself. He contacted websites, artists and blogs. He sat down with website developers. And, with his heart burning with desire and his head swimming with ideas, Ben locked himself away for a whole year, creating hundreds of sounds and uploading them to his website, gearing up for the big launch.

Sacrificing his social life, Ben worked on Prime Loops seven days a week, for fourteen hours a day, focused on one end goal: success. Ben felt creativity pulsing through his veins again and loved every second of it. He had become a one-man production line. He felt reborn.

Still, he felt nervous as well. What if it all came to nothing? What if the website was a huge failure? But despite these doubts, Ben stayed focused and kept believing. He kept working on his dream.

Ben remembers the night he launched the site in 2008: “I was so nervous that it was going to be a huge flop. I stayed up all night, just waiting for that first sale to flash up on my system. And when it did, I was absolutely ecstatic. I did about three laps of my bedroom and had to sit down. It was amazing. I’m so glad I kept going and didn’t give up.”

Prime Loops was a huge success and Ben realised he had a fully-fledged business on his hands. He moved to London, set up an office and music studio and nine months later, Prime Loops had become one of the leaders in the field. Everyone’s using Prime Loops’ samples, from bedroom musicians to Lady Gaga, Skrillex, Beyoncé and Chris Brown. And Ben’s dream of working in the music industry has become a reality.

Since 2008, Ben has also launched Prime Plugins, Prime Beats, an innovative app development division, and the holding company for all his ventures, Sound Nation. He now has just under 20 people working for him and, in four years, has made more than £2.5 million. He also plans to launch a number of new business brands and music companies in the next few months.

Desperate to give something back, Ben is also a big fan and advocate for youth music projects and dedicates a lot of his free time to mentoring young entrepreneurs, working closely with a number of charity organisations that support youth development.

Ben wants his story to serve as an inspiration and warning for all the young kids out there dreaming of bigger things. Don’t let your potential go to waste. You can turn your life around and make something better of yourself, as long as you keep believing. Don’t give up. Don’t give into temptation…

“A key motivation for me personally, and one thing that kept me going, is the thought of going back to the lifestyle I had before. In fact, it keeps me going to this day.” – Ben Jay, CEO of Sound Nation