# Ben Tossell

> Ben Tossell is a British founder, creator, and investor who built Makerpad (sold to Zapier in 2021), launched Ben's Bites - the AI newsletter that reached 162,000+ subscribers - six weeks before ChatGPT dropped, and now heads Developer Relations at Factory.ai. A self-described 'technical, non-technical person,' he has never written traditional code yet scouts for both Sequoia and a16z and has backed companies like Supabase, Pika Labs, and Gamma.

- **Role:** Head of Developer Relations at Factory.ai
- **Organizations:** Factory.ai, Ben's Bites, Makerpad (acquired by Zapier), Product Hunt (former)
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** International Business with Mandarin, University (UK), Study abroad, Chinese University (exchange)
- **Known for:** Landed Community Programs Manager role at Product Hunt through pure volunteer contribution - no formal application, Built Marketing Stack to #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt with 1,500+ votes, Grew Makerpad from 0 to $30K/month in approximately 2 months of full-time focus

## Career timeline

- **2013-2014** — Social media manager at TBG Digital (later Sprinklr), running Twitter and Facebook ads for major UK brands
- **2014-2015** — Sole salesman at mobile bar-ordering app startup in London - made zero sales in two months; returned home in debt
- **2015** — Discovered Product Hunt and online startup community; began volunteering in MakerHunt Slack, transcribing ~50 AMAs to Medium
- **2015** — Co-built Marketing Stack with Mubashar Iqbal - became #1 Product of the Day with 1,500+ votes
- **2015-2017** — Community Programs Manager at Product Hunt (role obtained via community contribution, not traditional application)
- **2018** — Built newCo screencasting/tutorial business teaching no-code; reached $6K MRR; shut it down after spreading too thin
- **2018-2019** — Head of Platform at Earnest Capital (Tyler Tringas's fund)
- **2019** — Launched Makerpad in February, validated with 15 paying customers at $15 each via a single Typeform email to 800 people
- **2019** — Went full-time on Makerpad in September when MRR hit $30,000
- **2020** — Raised $350,000 from Calm Fund, Andrew Wilkinson, Balaji Srinivasan, Sahil Lavingia and others; grew to 10,000+ members
- **2021-03** — Makerpad acquired by Zapier in its first-ever acquisition; deal initiated by a random Twitter reply Wade Foster happened to see
- **2021-2022** — Led Makerpad within Zapier; joined Zapier's AI team to explore the space
- **2022-10** — Launched Ben's Bites newsletter - 6 weeks before ChatGPT's public release
- **2023** — Ben's Bites reached 100,000 subscribers in ~13 months; became a 7-figure business
- **2023** — Early angel investment in Factory.ai; continued scouting for Sequoia and a16z
- **2024-03** — Launched Ben's Bites 2.0 with AI education pivot, 300+ tutorials, 10,000+ people taught
- **2024-10** — Ben's Bites two-year anniversary: 162,000+ free subscribers, 500th digest published
- **2025-09** — Joined Factory.ai as Head of Developer Relations

## Achievements

- Landed Community Programs Manager role at Product Hunt through pure volunteer contribution - no formal application
- Built Marketing Stack to #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt with 1,500+ votes
- Grew Makerpad from 0 to $30K/month in approximately 2 months of full-time focus
- Raised $350K from high-profile angels including Balaji Srinivasan, Andrew Wilkinson, and Sahil Lavingia
- Completed Zapier's first-ever acquisition in March 2021
- Launched Ben's Bites 6 weeks before ChatGPT - became the first major daily AI newsletter
- Grew Ben's Bites to 100,000 subscribers in 13 months
- Built Ben's Bites into a 7-figure business in under 9 months
- Simultaneously scouts for both Sequoia and a16z
- Portfolio includes Supabase, Pika Labs, Gamma, Flutterflow, Etched, and others
- Built Ben's Bites AI education platform with 300+ tutorials reaching 10,000+ people

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Joined Factory.ai as Head of Developer Relations, having been an early investor since 2023
- **2024-10** — Ben's Bites celebrated two-year anniversary with 162,000+ subscribers and 500th digest published
- **2024-03** — Launched Ben's Bites 2.0 with major pivot to AI education, 300+ tutorials
- **2023-11** — Ben's Bites crossed 100,000 subscribers, 13 months after launch

## Links

- Website: https://www.bentossell.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tossell-70453537/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bentossell
- GitHub: https://github.com/bentossell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bentossell/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-tossell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27