Ben Goldberg, 34, is the president and founder of experiential marketing agency Food Truck Promotions. He’s based in New York City.
My career journey:
I started my food truck journey by owning and operating a food truck for two years in New York City. This eventually inspired me to get into the promotional side of using vehicles for marketing. Now, just three years since the birth of Food Truck Promotions, we’ve partnered with some of the biggest brands across many different industries.
What my day-to-day looks like:
Since Food Truck Promotions is an in-person company, my day-to-day involves a lot of face-to-face collaboration and direct management of my team. I also meet regularly with stakeholders across three sister companies, so I’m always communicating across many networks of people to make sure my team has the resources they need to go above and beyond for all of our clients.
My greatest career accomplishment:
Getting the opportunity to produce an international promotion was something very special for me. It’s always exciting to see a project’s evolution from ideation to execution, but there was something extra special about seeing one of our projects come to life overseas in London.
Just three years ago, Goldberg founded Food Truck Promotions after "owning and operating a food truck for two years in New York City," he explained. "This eventually inspired me to get into the promotional side of using vehicles for marketing."Photo: Courtesy of Ben Goldberg
My leadership style:
I directly manage three people, but we have a team of about 20 full-time staff that I collaborate with regularly, and I try to have a positive leadership style to support and encourage my team. I never want to lead by fear—I want my employees to know that I trust them to know and do what's best. I want to encourage collaboration, and foster a culture of growth and success for all involved.
What inspires me:
Growing this great company that I am fortunate enough to run is what most inspires me. Work has always been my creative outlet, and it challenges me to think outside the box, find innovative solutions, and bring new ideas to life. Working in events also gives me the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on clients and on the cities that we operate in, and it’s very inspiring to watch the amazing ideas that our team comes up with and see them grow professionally and personally, since many of them have been with us for several years.
My most memorable event:
We recently put on a promotion for the Philadelphia Eagles around the NFL playoff season, and even though I’m a Giants fan, I loved seeing how excited and rowdy the Philly fans were to advance into the Super Bowl.
A time I averted a complete event disaster:
I was on my honeymoon in Aruba, and at 7 a.m., I got a call telling me that three of our vehicles were totaled only three weeks before a huge holiday promotion. I got working on this problem right away with my team, and we were able to source three brand-new vehicles and meet the deadline. Acting fast and solving the issue was really the only way to handle the stress of potentially letting a client down. Thankfully, everything worked out, and the promotion turned out to be a huge success for the brand.
Since its inception, Food Truck Promotions has earned "more than $15 million per year in sales"—an impressive stat Goldberg said couldn't have been done without the help of his team.Photo: Courtesy of Ben Goldberg
Some impressive stats I’m responsible for:
While my team is fundamental toward everything we have accomplished, as the leader of the team, I’ve helped our company more than double our growth over three consecutive years. As a combined company, we’ve brought in more than $15 million per year in sales during this time frame.
The advice I would give my younger self:
Talk less, listen more. From a young age, my mom always taught me to surround myself with people who have different strengths and skill sets. I’ve put this idea into practice, and it has helped me tremendously in business. Once you find great people, it is all about empowering them and giving them the resources they need to maximize their potential.
My ideal day OOO:
Hanging out at home with my wife, Jen, and our new golden retriever puppy, Waffles.
What’s next for me:
Right now, we are in the process of building out a client-focused showroom where we can show clients our unique experiential vehicles in-person, which will better allow them to envision their marketing campaigns in a tangible way. I am super excited to see that come to fruition and to watch the natural evolution of our company and the amazing people that power it.
BizBash's 2023 40 Under 40 list is sponsored by VDA, a Massachusetts-based experiential marketing and event design agency that specializes in custom live, hybrid, and virtual experiences designed to drive business growth through client collaboration and creative thinking.
