First-Time Entrepreneur Ben Wright: Gone Global

CEO of the Year finalist relies on intuition and his team, achieves revenue and profit goals

Find a need and fill it: That's one surefire way to build a great brand. When Velocity Global CEO Ben Wright realized domestic companies had a growing need for international employees but didn't want to incorporate on foreign soil, he founded a PEO firm with a network spanning 187 countries. Wright's company is currently a leading provider of global employment services growing to nine offices worldwide in just four years while experiencing tremendous year-over-year employee, revenue and profit growth.

If that sounds like a big undertaking for a first-time entrepreneur, it is.

Chaotic – that's one way to describe the launch phase, Wright admits. He was "starting from scratch," he says, creating a new category, building a professional service that didn't yet exist. Without competition, there was no easy way to gauge success, so Wright relied on intuition – and his team.

DESIGNING THE IDEAL EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENT EARNS DENVER COMPANY ACCOLADES

“Put a driven, committed and creative team together, and you’re able to achieve great things,” he says. Velocity Global was founded on several core values, including empowerment. Wright empowers his team to make – and own – their decisions, and he holds them accountable for outcomes.

Off the clock, the executive supports First Descents, an outdoorsy nonprofit for young adults with cancer