Ben Webster (businessman)

Ben Webster (businessman)

Donald Colin Webster, known as Ben Webster (1930-1997) was a venture capitalist who started Helix Investments in 1968, making investments into dozens of early stage companies, including Corel, Geac, Mitel, and OpenText.

He was also somewhat of an eccentric, funding treasure hunts and research into the paranormal and the anomalies. He was also an avid sportsman, bobsledding, working out and doing yoga.

According to the Princeton Review:

Ben died of cancer Dec. 13, 1997, in Toronto. He was the scion of one of Canada's most prominent families. He was an outstanding venture capitalist who began his career by introducing Velcro, a Swiss invention, to North America. This coup in the late '60's led him to form Helix Investments. Its investments in Canadian communications, computer, and electronic companies were extremely profitable. As his brother Lorne has said, "His average was always good...he didn't have any big misses."

Ben was also a mystic. He invited friends to seances and explored telepathy and reincarnation. He received the Dalai Lama and entertained parapsychologists. His world was eclectic.

He came to Princeton from Lower Canada College. Here, he majored in mechanical engineering, was on the "Tiger" business board, the Presbyterian Student Council, and Quadrangle Club. Ben roomed with Lans Holden, Howie Parks, Lou Kelly, John Mott, Fred Riehl, and Bruce Huber.

Ben is survived by his sons Ben '86, Colin '88, and Samuel '92 and daughters Alexandra '90 and Victoria '99.

Hal Urschel's eulogy said, in trenchant part, "Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why?' Ben, you dreamed things that never were and said, 'Why not?'"


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