Ben Weisfeld | Founder & CEO of Ten Toes

Ben Weisfeld is the Founder and CEO of Ten Toes, an award-winning agency, and has helped some of the biggest names in sports reach new heights.

In this latest instalment of Industry Insider, we’ll delve into Ben’s inspiring story, exploring his career path, his passion for building a thriving company culture, and his vision for the future of the sports industry.

Tell us about yourself, what do you do in your current role and what roles have you done previously?

I’m Ben Weisfeld, the Founder & CEO of Ten Toes. I’ve been named one of the 40 under 40 Leaders in Sport, and my team has won several awards, including Sports Industry Young Agency of the Year and Agency Of The Year at the Football Business Awards.  

Before starting Ten Toes, I worked as a communications strategist in London and New York for Anomaly, a marketing agency. Over my career I’ve collaborated with big names like Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Beats by Dre, Google, and FIFA plus many more.  

Even from day one at Ten Toes to where we are now it’s been a process of evolution. From a major focus on talent to a great breadth of type and scale of client – I’ve overseen our capacity to evolve and scale. It’s always been lots of little steps, guided by a bigger vision which has got us to where we are today.

What three words would you use to describe your role?

Diverse, global & headache-inducing

“Normal” isn’t a thing in sport so what does an “average” week look like for you?

Every day is different therefore no two weeks are the same which is incredibly exciting. My core focus is always on ensuring we are serving existing clients exceptionally well and on the wider growth of the business across all verticals and geographies.

As part of that I prioritise building relationships with clients, partners and across different parts of the wider marketing world.

How did you end up where you are right now?

I started Ten Toes aged 28 after working as a communications strategist for six years at the global agency Anomaly. I learned a lot during that time, but I wanted to create something of my own.

After an unusual introduction to my first Ten Toes client from a gynaecologist in New York, I took the plunge and went off to start my own shop.

When did you know you wanted to work in sport?

I’ve always loved sports but didn’t realise I could make a career out of it until I started working in the marketing industry.

I saw a need for a more strategic and creative approach to sports marketing and took the gamble to fill that gap.

What is your number one focus when it comes to your work?

Build and scale a company which is made up of incredible people delivering brilliant results for all our clients. Profit is the key driver and reputation is the multiplier.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?

Hard to answer this without sounding cliche but it’s to trust your gut and instinct. The answer might not always be immediately obvious but if you’ve got the right processes and structures in place then you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to get to brilliant work.

What are you most excited about in the sport industry?

I’m most excited about the upcoming Men’s World Cup in the USA. Given the rapid growth of interest in soccer, it will be exciting to see how the country responds to hosting the tournament, as well as how advancements in tech will help improve the wider global fan experience.

From a Ten Toes perspective, the tournament also presents a huge opportunity for the agency. With FIFA and two large global brands already signed up as clients to our US office, we’re well-positioned to grow exponentially as soccer experts in the US market.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about the industry, it would be to make it more diverse and inclusive. We need to create more opportunities for people from all backgrounds to ensure sport remains an industry for everyone to cherish. 

At Ten Toes, we are proud of our diverse team and I think having team members from all walks of life is a real asset for us as an agency, as it should be in sport more generally.

Sport is a hectic industry, what do you do to switch off?

Watch NFL. It’s the one sport I really enjoy that we have yet to have a client in. So Sunday nights are my switch-off time.

If you were to give a piece of advice to someone wanting to do your role, what would you say?

Relationships are everything.

How to connect with Ben Weisfeld

You can connect with me on LinkedIn.

Thanks for reading our Industry Insider feature with Ben Weisfeld! Join over 2,200 sport professionals who receive our weekly newsletter here.