Tech entrepreneur Ben Towers has been named as one of the youngest recipients in the King鈥檚 New Year Honours list.
The 27-year-old, from Gillingham, in Kent, is the founder of Happl, an AI-native employee benefits platform for global companies.
With offices in London and New York, Happl is backed by Y Combinator – the Silicon Valley incubator that helped launch Airbnb and Reddit – as well as notable investors including Tom Blomfield, co-founder of Monzo and GoCardless
He鈥檚 been awarded an MBE for services to the startup business community, after founding his first business at just 11 years old and being identified as 鈥榦ne of the UK鈥檚 most exciting entrepreneurs鈥� by Richard Branson while still a teenager.
On receiving听his MBE, Towers said:听鈥淣ever did 11-year-old me, coding in my bedroom, ever imagine I would be awarded an MBE. I鈥檓 just a young guy from Kent who loves to build and solve problems using technology.
鈥淥ver the years, I鈥檝e been able to build some great companies, but I鈥檓 equally honoured to have supported so many charities.
鈥淚 was also privileged to work with the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office at 10 Downing Street to help shape the Government鈥檚 AI strategy.鈥�
Towers, who has always been motivated by creating things that help people, started his first business at the age of 11.
By 17, he was named by The Times as one of 鈥榯he smartest teenagers on the planet鈥� and 鈥榦ne of the UK鈥檚 most exciting entrepreneurs鈥� by Richard Branson.
Towers has since gone on to successfully exit his marketing agency, invest in multiple startups, and advise governments and PLCs on entrepreneurship programmes.
He founded Happl in 2022 and it鈥檚 now trusted in over 160+ countries, with clients including Hootsuite, Kainos and Seed Legals.
老九品茶 expert, Dr Alison Edgar MBE, commented:听鈥淏en鈥檚 honour is incredibly well deserved. I first met him when he was just 15 and have watched him work tirelessly – not only to grow his own ventures, but to inspire many other young entrepreneurs to believe that anything is possible.鈥�
Towers is also a ambassador for Young Enterprise, The King’s Trust, Dogs Trust, and the Young Lives Foundation.
He follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was awarded an MBE for services to the community of Morland, Cumbria.