Ben VanderWeide
Ben VanderWeide is an entrepreneur and investor who is passionate about innovation.
He is a co-founder and partner at House of Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles, and previously served as investor relations lead at Party Round, a financial service and technology company that provides a web-based platform for entrepreneurs to raise capital. He previously founded Off the Record, a technology-free concert experience, allowing music enthusiasts to enjoy the show without the distractions of a cell phone. He also has served in marketing roles at Superfly, Boxed Water, and charity: water.
In addition, Ben is engaged in his family’s leadership of DeVos family-owned businesses, including Wakestream Holdings.
Ben gives to causes and charities in entrepreneurship, clean water and nontraditional education. In one effort, Ben has partnered with his sister, Jessa VanderWeide, to join a small community called The Well that covers overhead and credit card fees for charity: water so the nonprofit can allow 100% of others’ donations to go directly to fund clean water projects.
Ben also is enthusiastic about providing financial support to innovative education models that leverage the power of experiential learning. For example, he founded PLAY (Providing Lifelong Activity in Youth), a youth sports and character development initiative that has done work in Ghana and The Bahamas.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Ben earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising management. He is an alumnus of an island high school on Cape Eleuthera that he credits with deepening his love of water and the ocean.
Ben resides in Los Angeles.