When Ben Lamm was in middle school, his mother asked him to mow the lawn while she ran errands. She returned to find a neighborhood kid finishing the weeding. Ben, playing video games, explained: "I gave him part of my allowance, so we both win."
No one could argue with his entrepreneurial instincts. In high school in 1999, Lamm taught himself Macromedia Flash—before it became part of Adobe—and sold his first website for $20,000. As a Baylor University freshman double-majoring in accounting and finance, he told a professor they'd become business partners. The professor didn't even know his student's name. Less than two years later, that professor worked for Lamm's first startup.
Lamm's mindset sets him apart. Unlike many serial entrepreneurs, he's a hybrid of Type A drive and Type B ease—competitive, energetic, and ambitious, yet naturally social, authentic, and relaxed enough to show up for investor meetings in a T-shirt, flip-flops, long hair, and a scruffy beard.
"Work and life are complicated enough without that extra layer of trying to be who you're not," Lamm says.
© JOHN DAVIDSON
For every successful entrepreneur, failed projects are part of the game. Lamm, however, has been an outlier. Each of his first four startups achieved massive success before lucrative exits.
First came Simply Interactive, an e-learning software company he launched in college. Then Chaotic Moon, an Austin creative studio that grew to over 200 employees and $50 million in annual revenue before Accenture acquired it. Team Chaos, a game development firm, sold to Zynga. Conversable partnered with Whole Foods and Pizza Hut, using AI-driven software for social media customer interactions.
"I know a lot of people like to say they're product people, but I'm more of a brand guy," Lamm says. "A lot of startups won't spend time on branding—they're obsessed with revenue. You want a story that resonates, not a five-point mission statement." True to form, Lamm spent six months perfecting Hypergiant's brand before its February 2018 launch.
If successful, Hypergiant's impact can't be overstated. At its core, it's building the internet for space data streaming—timely as NASA eyes a Moon return and visionaries like Jeff Bezos invest in space travel. Today, signals to Mars take eight minutes. Hypergiant's goal: eight seconds.
"We wouldn't be advancing society if we weren't a curious species," Lamm says. "We're destined to go to the stars. I believe we'll become an interplanetary species, with permanent residents on the Moon and Mars in our lifetime."
COURTESY OF HYPERGIANT
In its first 14 months, Hypergiant created nearly 150 jobs and launched three subsidiaries, including Space Age Solutions for custom AI and Applied Sciences for trend-driven AI products.
Hypergiant emerged from the AI revolution; Conversable clients pushed Lamm toward AI solutions. Space success will hinge on advanced AI.
"We believe AI will be as transformative as—or more than—the internet," Lamm says. "Look what the internet did for the world."
After four exits, the stakes are higher. Hypergiant is built for the long haul.
"Every prior business was, 'Here's the market opportunity, something I'm passionate about, how we brand to own the category, adapt products, build culture.' Hypergiant is different," Lamm explains. "I'm not planning to sell. This is my legacy—a potential trillion-dollar business, the rest of my life."
