Ben T. Smith, IV

Who is Ben T. Smith, IV?

Ben T. Smith, IV, is the Chairman and Co-Founder of MerchantCircle, the largest social network of small business owners online today. Ben is a serial entrepreneur, investor and business advisor in the social networking space with a deep understanding and appreciation for small, family-owned businesses.

Ben is one of the pioneers of the social networking category as the co-founder of Spoke Software. He has served in advisory and interim executive roles for more than 10 businesses, and serves on the board of directors for a number of early stage companies and is an investor in over 25 internet companies.

Ben began his career as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney, where he was one of the youngest partners in the firm's history, selected as one of the most influential consultants in the world in 2002 by Consulting News and helped spearhead EDS and Kearney's venture development efforts.

A native of Fairhope, Alabama, Ben spent the majority of his younger years learning the ins and outs of a number of family businesses - from his first job at Daphne Pharmacy, the locally-owned pharmacy, to learning from his family’s experiences running Original Bens Jr., a famous BBQ pit founded by his grandfather that is still one of the best BBQ places in the south.