Ben Way: How an Entrepreneur Bounces Back

What’s the Latest Development?

When Ben Way lost the 33 million dollars he had secured as part of a dot com project, he also lost his house, his car and his girlfriend. But he has come through the experience to shine in the world of solar energy, proving himself a capable (and tested) entrepreneur. Today, his solar energy company, Freetricity, is one of the largest in Britain. Having operated for only two years, the enterprise turned over $20 million last month. The company is currently raising half a billion dollars to enter the American solar energy market. 

What’s the Big Idea?

One of Way’s longer term projects is something he calls Arc Island, a floating island the size of Manhattan where Way wants to create a new society “with no overarching authority or political rules.” By putting the idea on Kickstarter, an online platform for funding creative ideas, the project has already received $25,000 in investment. Way says his investors are currently divided between dreamers and doers, i.e. those who have the vision and those who have the technical and engineering know-how to build a gigantic floating island. 

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