About me
Everything I’ve done in my life has led me to building TryHackMe - successes, but more importantly, failures. I’ve poured the last seven years obsessively into shaping both the product and the company. I started TryHackMe in 2018 because learning cyber security was really difficult, and there was nothing out there offering guided, hands‑on learning. Before that, I built plenty of sites that went nowhere (5 failed, 1 I was forced to take down). TryHackMe was different because, at first, I built it largely for myself. It was never meant to be a business - it only became one when people started getting real value from what I’d created.
Its controversial, but I don’t believe in work life balance, or a typical 9-5. If you want to understand more about how I like to work, read “Working at TryHackMe isn’t for everyone”. No one ever became successful working 40 hours a week. I want to work with the best people possible - people who are deeply dedicated to their craft and choose to put in insane hours because they love what they do.
Books
Here’s a list of books I’m currently reading or have finished. This is just from mid‑2025 - I still need to add the rest at some point.
Growth Levers and How to Find Them
Amp It Up (my favourite)
Steve Jobs by Waater Isaacson
Elon Musk by Waater Isaacson
Understanding Michael Porter: Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy
My favourite newsletters
Investments
Here are the funds and companies I’ve invested in - tend to do one a year
MKT1 Fund II - June 2023 - investing in early stage B2B companies
Perplexity AI (Series D) - Nov 2024 - conversational search engine that uses LLMs to answer queries
Codedex - Feb 2025 - gamified way to learn coding for kids and adults
Where else to find me
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/springben
Twitter: x.com/0x8445
