Who am I?
My name is Ben Fox, and I am a serial entrepreneur who loves to read. I live in France with my amazing wife and 8-year-old son, Calico Jack (named after the pirate).
I can remember the exact moment when I learned to read. I was trying to read The Snow Baby and jumping from word to word. There was this magical moment when the words came alive, and it all clicked. It was one of the most amazing feelings in my life. I read 100+ books a year, and I thank my parents for making books a massive part of my life.
Please don't mistake me for a crazy dreamer.
Here is my LinkedIn profile, where you can see my background as an entrepreneur. Over my career, I have started and grown numerous companies. One of the largest companies grew to 55,000 clients with 130 team members spread over 18 countries.
This is a bootstrapped passion project that I hope to work on for the rest of my life. I have big goals for Shepherd, and my aim is to eventually rival Goodreads in scale (but in a very different way as I don't want to be a book-tracking website).
Why am I creating Shepherd?
I want to create an experience that is like wandering the aisles of your favorite bookstore.
As a reader, I am incredibly frustrated with online book discovery.
When I look for a new book online, it feels soulless. Online bookstores sell books like toothpaste or underwear. Something about that is profoundly wrong.
A book is an experience, and the process of finding a book is part of that experience.
I love wandering around bookstores and letting random books capture my attention. Nothing will ever replace the "bookstore experience," but I want to reimagine online book discovery with more serendipity and delight.
Shepherd has 3 goals when it comes to readers:
- We want to help readers find books they will LOVE (not just like).
- We want to create fun and unique ways for readers to explore and discover books.
- We want to create a strong reader community around sharing what you LOVE to read.
I've got a longer breakdown here if you want to learn more. And more info on why I am passionate about these goals as a reader.
Authors deserve a better book website.
Book marketing is utterly broken.
I have a longer post coming on this topic, as the entire system is broken.
Authors need more places where they can meet readers who would be interested in their book.
Amazon's book results are mostly ads, and Goodreads does nothing for authors. There are almost no places where authors can market their books to readers without paying for ads. To help authors, we need a strong and independent book ecosystem.
How do we connect books to the most interested readers?
We need to help authors connect with readers interested in their book. And if their book has that magic spark, I want to help them meet more readers. I don't want to live in a winner-takes-all book market where we are stuck with the same big-brand authors.
How will Shepherd help authors?
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Shepherd will create features to help authors get their books in front of the most likely readers for their book (and do so in a way that delights readers).
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Shepherd will create a platform for authors and book lovers to build a fan base around book recommendations. Not only is that great for readers, but it will create thousands of book recommendation channels for authors to reach different slices of readers.
We launched in April 2021, and we are just getting started.
Books build better people and increase respect for complexity.
I want to improve the world by increasing our understanding and empathy for complexity.
Humans are at their best when they appreciate the complexity of civilization, nature, society, and their fellow humans. And books are one of the best ways to feed this attribute.
One of the biggest global problems is that people are losing trust in the institutions that run our society.
Some politicians tell us that there are easy and simple solutions to large and complex problems. They pander to this simplistic nonsense to gain power. This is reminiscent of the rise of fascism in the early 20th century and is terrifying. I think books are one way to fight this trend.
If someone feels that immigration will be "solved" with a wall, they need to read a book to understand the complexity of immigration. If someone thinks the E.P.A. is causing more harm than good, they need to read a book that shows them what the river and air was like before the E.P.A. If someone thinks the American university system is fixed by forgiving $10,000 in debt, they need to read a book to understand how utterly broken the current system is (and how it could be fixed).
As the site grows, I want to do more to challenge readers to learn about these complex issues so that they are not fooled by politicians trying to gain power at any cost.
I feel powerless. I want to do something to improve the world on a bigger scale.
We live in a time when social media algorithms only reinforce existing worldviews and propagate overly simplistic solutions. A book is one of the best ways to help us see the world through different eyes and understand the hidden complexities we are surrounded by. We need a lot more of both of those things right now.
I want to impact the soft culture in the USA and globally over the next thousand years. I want to play a role in creating cultural values that will create a better world for our children, their children, and so on. I am tired of feeling powerless, and Shepherd is a vehicle to help create a better world.
What type of world do I want to help build?
A world where science and scientists are respected and science is recognized as the best way to understand the physical world around us, where justice is accessible to the rich and poor, where healthcare is affordable for everyone, where critical thinking and financial skills are taught in schools, where citizens have a vote in how they are governed, where meritocracy is actively pursued and respected, where democracy is recognized as the best form of government that we currently have, where being poor is not seen as a moral failing, where political corruption has adverse outcomes, where starting and running a business is accessible and not full of overly burdensome licenses and needless bureaucracy, where college and vocational education are low cost so that everyone who wants to better themselves can, where labor and workers have a fair say in the economic system, where people are free to express their views without governmental punishment, where the environment is protected from pollutants that harm human/animal/plants, where religion helps you find *your* meaning in the world rather than personal beliefs forced upon others, and where taxes are fair for both the wealthy and poor.
I don't think any of those things are partisan.
They are about us creating a world we want for our kids and future generations after that. And we need to have respectful discussions about what each of those things means and where we can meet on them. I will write and expand more as the project gets further along as well.
Who are your guiding stars on this project?
Anthony Bourdain is one of my guiding stars for this project. He is someone I've always admired. He epitomizes the ethos that humanity is similar and every human has something to teach us. I also admire his constant soul-searching while not letting it hold back his day-to-day actions. He is missed.
Khan of Khan Academy sums up a lot of what I hope to do with this project with this quote: "If you believe in trying to make the best of the finite number of years we have on this planet (while not making it any worse for anyone else), think that pride and self-righteousness are the cause of most conflict and negativity, and are humbled by the vastness and mystery of the Universe, then I'm the same religion as you."
And, of course, Wikipedia has done so much to help people learn and is an excellent source of truth in this world.
Where can I learn more?
Always feel free to email me; I am an open book!
Here is more info about Shepherd:
- The business model
- How sharing book recommendations will help you sell your book (with sales data)
- Our marketing plan
- A blog/newsletter that I update every two weeks about building Shepherd.
- A monthly newsletter for authors that shares traffic and other data.
Huge thanks to...
My family and friends for advising me and testing countless site versions. My brother for giving me fresh eyes on the project and helping me understand authors better. My wife for helping me with visuals and grammar checks. And my parents who instilled a love of reading :).
Want to help us build features faster?
I launched a membership program for authors and readers if they like what we are building. 100% of the money goes toward developing new features and I hope to hire a full-time developer in 2025 (currently, we only have one part-time developer).
Comments
7 comments
Dear Ben, you have created a wondrous universe where the dwelling is good. I am proud to be part of your project, and I look forward to be guided by the Shepherd in the New Year. Best wishes to all, Leopoldine.
Dear Ben,
This is wonderful! I share those ideals too, and I am happy to know there are other people like me in this world. Wherever we are, whatever our circumstances or identities, we are all individuals sharing the same human experience. Life would be outstanding if we all acknowledged our shared humanity. Since we are all born one day and will die one day, for that reason, we should treat each other with respect and consideration.
This is a great project, and I am proud to be part of it.
Keep it up.
Ben,
Your invitation came out of the blue. Surprised and delighted by the scope of your project I eagerly dived in. I did my research. I composed and submitted my list and sent it in. The process was super simple, responses were timely and communications most gracious. I am impressed with what you are doing for both authors and readers. Wishing you great success in the future!
Thanks John :), working on more every day!
Hello Ben and the Shepard team. Thank you for reaching out to me. I look forward to working with you. I'm passionate about literature, about educating, inspiring, and of course entertaining people. Thank you for the work you do!
Having spent most of my adult life promoting the value of “reading a good book” to teenagers, I am looking forward to coming on board! Good luck!
Thanks, Ed; my ultimate goal is to help readers find books they love, not just like. One of the things I've run into when reading readers (especially younger ones) is that they stop reading if they hit a few books that are misses and delay jumping into another book. My overall goal for readers is to connect them with a book they will love, both through better book recommendations from readers who match their Book DNA + get them excited about that book and infuse it with meaning whenever possible.
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