Founder · Operator · Growth & Marketing Leader

Ben
Grynol

Three-time founder and operator with 20+ years scaling companies from 0→1 through acquisition and public markets. Built growth systems, content engines, and teams across health tech, food delivery, retail, and consumer hardware — driving billions in GMV across 28 countries.

20+Years scaling
3Startups co-founded
28Countries operated
100M+Content views
Ben Grynol
About

Builder.
Generalist.
Operator.

Ben Grynol is a three-time founder and growth leader with 20+ years scaling companies across marketing, sales, operations, and product. A scrappy generalist with depth as a specialist.

He has been an operator in 0→1 growth through scale at Levels, SkipTheDishes, and Top & Derby — joining each in its earliest days and helping drive through significant milestones including acquisitions and publicly traded companies.

A rare combination of business and design thinking, Ben has co-founded companies that shipped physical products to 23+ countries, built content engines generating 100M+ content views, and created growth frameworks used across the startup ecosystem.

He is also an expert at creating, producing, distributing, and scaling written, audio, and video content — having built multimedia machines from scratch with lean teams that punch far above their weight.

Ben has operated internationally across 28 countries spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Ben Grynol
Ventures
LevelsEarly Operator · $100M+ revenue · Active
SkipTheDishesEarly operator · $3B+ GMV · $7.6B merger · Exit 2016
Top & DerbyCo-founder · Exit 2016
EQ3Global Store Planning & Design
ThistenCo-founder · Inactive
BonafideCo-founder · Inactive
Framework

A System
for Growth

Growth is the blend of sales and marketing — every initiative that drives acquisition, conversion, retention, and expansion. Most people treat it as a collection of tactics. The best growth orgs treat it as a system built on pillars, powered by mechanics.

The 14 Pillars — Where we grow
01
Brand & Creative
Assets, Campaigns, Activations
02
Paid Media
OOH, CTV, Meta, YouTube, Google, TikTok
03
Partnerships
Paid, Brand, Affiliate
04
Content
Editorial, Multimedia, Advertorial
05
Digital Media
Owned distribution, Social channels
06
Earned Media
PR & Communications
07
Website & CRO
Main site, Landing pages
08
Product Marketing
Content, Web, Lifecycle
09
Market Research
UX/UI, User interviews, Feedback
10
Lifecycle
Email, SMS, App triggers
11
Community
Engagement, UGC, Superfans
12
Referrals
Awareness, Mechanics, Incentives
13
Sales
B2B2C, B2B, Enterprise
14
Data & Analytics
Funnel intelligence, Attribution
Loops · Levers · Boosters — How we grow
Loops
Compounding Systems
What you build that grows itself over time. Scales with usage. Becomes more efficient as it grows. Predictable once tuned. Referrals, SEO, community, lifecycle personalization.
“Does this get stronger as we grow?”
Levers
Scalable Inputs
What you can dial up with resources — usually money or effort. Linear or semi-linear scaling. Controllable. CAC-driven. Paid ads, paid partnerships, influencer placements, sales headcount.
“If I double spend, what happens?”
Boosters
Spike Drivers
Short-term attention spikes. High variance. Hard to repeat consistently. Useful for momentum, not foundations. Big podcast features, PR hits, viral moments, launch events.
“Is this durable or just a spike?”

Use levers to feed loops.
Use boosters to accelerate loops.
Prioritize building durable compounding systems.

Companies

Where I’ve
Operated

Levels
Levels
Early Operator · Active

Joined as an early operator and built the growth engine from the ground up. Led content, community, partnerships, lifecycle, and performance marketing. Co-hosted and produced 280+ episodes of the Whole New Level podcast. Built a lean multimedia content machine generating 100M+ content views and a 700K email list with 80%+ open rates.

Health TechDTCContent0→1
As seen in
TechCrunch Wall Street Journal New York Times Fast Company The Verge Men’s Health First Round Review
SkipTheDishes
SkipTheDishes
Early Operator · Exit 2016

Part of the early team that helped grow SkipTheDishes from a scrappy startup to one of Canada’s most significant exits — scaling to $3B+ in GMV and 2,500 employees over five years, culminating in a $200M acquisition in 2016 and part of a $7.6B global merger in 2020. Led brand campaigns including the NHL Taste Buds video series.

MarketplaceExit 2016$3B+ GMV$7.6B Merger
As seen in
The Globe & Mail TechCrunch
Top & Derby
Top & Derby
Co-Founder · Exit 2016

Co-founded a design-driven home healthcare brand producing walking canes and compression socks that challenged the stigma around aging and disability. Sold in 23 countries. Approved as a Class I Medical Device by the FDA and Health Canada. Inducted into the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum permanent collection. Two successful crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

DTCHardwareFDA Approved23 Countries
IDEA Award ’14 — IDSA Design Patent Cooper Hewitt Collection
As seen in
Fast Company The New Yorker Globe & Mail New York Mag Azure Financial Post Uncrate Designboom
EQ3
EQ3
Global Store Planning & Design

A vertically integrated furniture brand with in-house manufacturing and direct-to-consumer retail generating $80M+ in annual revenue across stores in North America and internationally. Shaped how the brand showed up physically across every market.

Thisten
Thisten
Co-Founder · Inactive

A real-time transcription platform built to make audio and video content universally accessible. Grew to 70,000+ users and 20,000 monthly actives, with a customer base that included Shopify, Amplitude, and Adobe.

Bonafide
Bonafide
Co-Founder · Inactive

A DTC apparel brand designing and manufacturing men’s and women’s wakeboard and streetwear. Built from scratch with an emphasis on product quality and a community-first approach to brand building.

Ben Grynol on set
Content

Podcasts, Writing
& Video

Featured Episodes
Seth Godin
#36 — Building community, tribalism & People Like Us Do Things Like This
Acquired — David Rosenthal
Special Drop: David on Levels’ Podcast
Nik Sharma
#71 — Growth levers & performance marketing
Johann Hari
#207 — The importance of flow states and how to reclaim focus
Dr. Chris Palmer
#186 — Brain Energy: Does food affect mental health?
Eli Schwartz · Mike Haney
#104 — SEO and organic growth strategy
DTC Pod
Using Experiments to Unlock Growth
Character Podcast
Character — Show Page →
All Podcast Episodes
#1The origin story of A Whole New Level
#2From selling cars to building rockets (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#3The road trip that changed it all (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#4The juice cart (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#5No turning back (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#6Laying the rails (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#7Trust the process (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#8The raise (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#9Swimming upstream (Sam Corcos & Ben Grynol)
#10Food for thought (Casey Means & Ben Grynol)
#11One billion data points (Andrew Conner & Ben Grynol)
#12NPS Unicorn (Mike Haney & Ben Grynol)
#14Founder dynamics (Sam Corcos, Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#15History of product at Levels (David Flinner & Ben Grynol)
#16The path to Levels (Josh Mohrer & Ben Grynol)
#18Productivity: Distractions & context switching
#19Pursuing podcasts, affiliates & influencers (Tom Griffin & Ben Grynol)
#20Creating a movement through community (Dorothy Kilroy & Ben Grynol)
#23Mindset & metabolic health (Mike DiDonato & Ben Grynol)
#24Perseverance, grit & performance (Mike Barwis & Ben Grynol)
#26Nutrition & kids — A parent’s perspective (Kelly LeVeque & Ben Grynol)
#29Mental models and heuristics (Sam Corcos & Ben Grynol)
#31The future of hardware for continuous glucose monitoring (Josh Clemente & Ben Grynol)
#33Inbox zero & time management (Sam Corcos, Casey Means & Ben Grynol)
#34Growth experiments & playbooks (Wiz Abdulla & Ben Grynol)
#36Building community & tribalism | Seth Godin
#38Mainstream media vs. the creator economy
#44Creating engagement in a world of ever changing attention (Ali Spagnola & Ben Grynol)
#46Running a playbook for international expansion (Andy Schabelman & Ben Grynol)
#50Changing the economics of an industry (Austen Allred & Ben Grynol)
#52What is a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI)?
#55Traveling the world, becoming a software engineer
#62The podcast about the podcast
#70Creating a digital media strategy
#71Growth levers & performance marketing | Nik Sharma
#73Giving and receiving feedback in a remote-first environment
#83How one community call brought Michelle to Levels
#85When should startups focus on getting press?
#92Data insights from 1.9 million food logs
#94Lifecycle, email & the strongest growth levers today
#95How do you think about Growth? | Rachel Sanders
#99How to make a real impact in the community
#103Starting a New Zealand software company
#104SEO & organic growth strategy
#106Big Food, Big Sugar & how they affect metabolic health | Dr. Robert Lustig
#117Making a multimedia machine | Tony Milio
#128All things in marketing attribution
#134Startup operations, infrastructure & scaling
#140Non-technical SEO: High-quality content always wins
#145Big Ag feeds into Big Pharma | Dr. Robert Lustig
#158From Google PM to Levels Co-Founder | David Flinner
#165The creative process in a remote & async environment
#170Unlock your superfans | Dorothy Kilroy, Airbnb
#174Biomarkers, Biological Rhythms, and Bloodwork | Dr. Azure Grant
#181How to create & scale helpful content
#186Does food affect mental health? | Dr. Chris Palmer (Brain Energy)
#194Personal growth as a CEO | Sam Corcos
#195Video content creation & journalistic integrity | Cleo Abram
#197Building a brand in the DTC space | Nik Sharma
#205Gastrointestinal health, metabolic health & fertility | Dr. Robin Rose
#207Flow states & reclaiming focus | Johann Hari
#210Pregnancy & metabolic health | Dr. Azure Grant
#256How quickly can you change your metabolic health? | Dr. Lustig
#258What are glucose & insulin and why do they matter?
#259What being “postdiabetic” means | Eric Edmeades
#260Why high insulin drives fat storage | Dr. Lustig
#262How lifestyle changes affect metabolic health
#263How macronutrients affect blood sugar
#264Aging, menopause & muscle loss | Dr. Lustig
#266How and why to eat an anti-inflammatory diet
#280How biosensors offer greater accessibility | Dom D’Agostino
—Building a Health Tech Brand with Zero Hard Selling
—How Levels built a 700K email list with 80% open rates
—Always Be Testing — Growth Experiments to Performance Marketing
—Entail AI — Growth Strategies in Health-Tech
Medium · Levels Health
Building an NPS Unicorn: How We Plan to Impact 1 Billion People Through Member Experience
Medium
The Five Factors of Performance
Medium
Breaking Down Density in Marketplaces
Medium
Mental Game: All of Us Have It, Only Some of Us Use It
Medium
People Hire Products & Services to Solve Their Problems
Medium
Common Questions About Manufacturing
Medium
The Broken Window Theory
Medium
What Many People Get Wrong About Probability & Risk
Medium
Embracing Constraints to Innovate: The Thomas Edison Vision
Medium
It Takes Disruption to Be Disruptive
Medium
The Key To Writing Good Emails
Medium · All writing
bgrynol.medium.com →
Thought Leadership
Demand Curve · Growth Summit 2021
DTC Growth with Nik Sharma, Shaan Puri & Ben Grynol
Levels YouTube
Levels — Metabolic Health & Blood Sugar Explained →
Inside Levels
Inside Levels — CGM, Labs, Dietitian & App Support →
Top & Derby — Product & Brand Films
Top & Derby · Indiegogo
The Chatfield Walking Cane — Original Campaign Film
Top & Derby · Kickstarter
Compression Socks — Kickstarter Campaign
Top & Derby YouTube
Top & Derby — Brand Films →
SkipTheDishes — NHL Taste Buds
Calgary Flames
Matthew Tkachuk & David Rittich — Taste Buds
Winnipeg Jets
Adam Lowry & Brandon Tanev — Taste Buds
Edmonton Oilers
Darnell Nurse & Oscar Klefbom — Taste Buds
Comms — Deep Work & Async Communication
Comms · Short
What Is Deep Work and Why Does It Matter?
Comms · Short
What’s a False Dopamine Loop and How Does It Kill Productivity?
Comms · Short
What Is Inbox Zero and Why Should You Maintain It?
Comms · Short
3 Ways To Get To Inbox Zero
Comms · Short
How Can I Maintain Good Communication Hygiene?
Comms · Short
Why Should I Focus on Hotkeys?
Top & Derby canes
Top & Derby compression socks
Contact

Let’s work
on something
interesting.

If you want to talk growth, build something interesting together, or just connect — reach out.

LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/bengrynol Twitterx.com/bgrynol Writingbgrynol.medium.com