Ben Drury

Overview

Ben Drury is a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor based in London, United Kingdom. He co-founded Yoto, a company dedicated to creating screen-free audio players for children, aiming to provide a safe and engaging environment for kids to enjoy music and stories without the distractions of digital screens. Prior to Yoto, Drury founded 7digital in 2004, a digital music services company that went public in 2014. Under his leadership, 7digital became a significant player in the digital music industry, offering a range of services including music download stores and streaming solutions. Drury's entrepreneurial journey began in 1996 with the creation of dotmusic.com, a venture that attracted over 1.8 million unique users per month by 1999. This early success led to his recruitment by BT Group in 2000 to head up their broadband music efforts. In 2003, he facilitated the sale of dotmusic to Yahoo! for approximately £3.3 million. Throughout his career, Drury has been recognized for his contributions to the tech and music industries, earning accolades such as the Young Gun award in 2006 and the Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award in 2007. His investments as an angel investor include companies like Causaly, Permutive, and Pimoroni. Drury holds a BSc (Honours) in Physics with Philosophy of Science from King's College London. As the CEO and co-founder of Yoto, Drury oversees the company's growth and development, bringing innovative products like the Yoto Player and Yoto Mini to markets including the UK, France, North America, and Australia. Yoto's mission is to inspire independence and creativity in children by providing hands-on and screen-free access to music, audiobooks, podcasts, and more. The company has achieved significant milestones, including being named one of TIME Magazine’s best inventions of 2020. Drury's leadership is driven by a passion for education and music, aiming to create products that blend technology seamlessly into the real world to enhance children's learning and entertainment experiences. Drury's extensive experience in the digital music and technology sectors, combined with his commitment to creating engaging and educational products for children, underscores his dedication to innovation and quality. His work continues to influence the development of screen-free audio solutions, reflecting his belief in the importance of balancing technology use with real-world interactions for young audiences. His ongoing involvement in angel investing further demonstrates his commitment to supporting and nurturing innovative startups across various industries.