Mission. Driven.

Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful tools we have to scale solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

This belief has shaped my professional journey across sectors and continues to guide my work today.

My Current Work

Fractional Startup Operator

I partner with founding teams to bridge product, market, and funding strategy across the climate, ag, and deep tech sectors. My clients include startups in airborne wind energy, recycled cotton textiles, P2P EV charging, precision ag computer vision, and coastal restoration. I bring leadership, technical fluency, and entrepreneurial grit to help solve complex problems or lead high-priority initiatives.

Hardware Prototyping Studio at First Flight Venture Center

I run the Hangar6 hardware prototyping studio at First Flight Venture Center, a prominent deep tech incubator in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. I help startups quickly turn concepts into hardware prototypes, solving complex technical challenges that stand between innovative ideas and market-ready products.

My Entrepreneurial Journey

Pioneering Shared Economy Housing with OpenDoor

As co-founder and CEO of OpenDoor, I helped pioneer the co-living industry, addressing urgent social issues like urban housing affordability and the loneliness epidemic.

Under my leadership, OpenDoor scaled to 19 properties and 40 staff across the Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle, raising $8M in funding and—as a first mover in the space—laying the foundation for an entirely new category of community-centered, shared economy housing.

A collage image of Ben Provan's leadership at OpenDoor coliving

OpenDoor Community Member Testimonials

OpenDoor Brand Video

Keynote presentation @ UDIA Developer Conference

NBC logo with a colorful peacock feather design and black text reading 'NBC'.
Los Angeles Times logo in black text on a white background.
NPR Marketplace logo with red, black, and blue blocks and white text.
Wall Street Journal logo in black text
Black sign with white text that reads "GREEK".
San Francisco Chronicle logo in black text
The Guardian logo in black and grey text.
Morning Edition logo with blue and orange text and a small white circle.
Illustration of a computer monitor displaying a line graph with data points and a bar chart in the background.
Forbes logo in black text.
CNN logo displayed in red text.
Logo of The Christian Science Monitor with black background and white text.

Commercializing Early Clean Tech at Achor Innovations

Long passionate about sustainability and climate solutions, I served as the first employee and Head of Commercialization at Achor Innovation, an early clean-tech startup (founded 2007) that converted agricultural waste into renewable biogas.

This early foray into clean tech gave me the startup “bug,” inspiring me with how business can make a significant impact in solving societal challenges through scaling novel technologies. Achor was acquired by its primary licensing partner Verliant Energy in 2013.

A collage image of Ben Provan's leadership at Achor Innovations

Rooted in Engineering and Product Design

My foundation is deeply technical. In 2005, I earned a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University, specializing in robotics and autonomous systems. I worked on early autonomous vehicles tech for DARPA’s Grand Challenge and developed swarm micro-robots for Mars exploration.

At Bose’s New Ventures group—an entrepreneurial division within the company—I designed and prototyped pre-market consumer products beyond Bose’s traditional audio line, including a linear motor for an automotive active suspension system. These experiences sharpened my skills in design-led problem-solving, rapid prototyping, and hardware innovation.

A collage image of Ben Provan's experience at Bose Corporation and Cornell University