Press & Media Kit
Resources for journalists covering Summit Exterior Services. Everything on this page may be used freely with attribution.
About the founder
Ben Bell founded Summit Exterior Services as a junior at Apex Friendship High School with a mission to bring reliable, personal outdoor care to his Holly Springs neighbors. He is President-Elect of North Carolina's largest DECA chapter and a three-time DECA International Career Development Conference qualifier. He runs Summit year-round alongside school: free on-site estimates, the owner on every build, and a phone number customers can text at 9 PM and get an answer.
Fast facts
- Founded
- 2026, by Ben Bell at age 17
- Based in
- Holly Springs, NC (family home)
- Service area
- 9 towns plus surrounding communities across southern Wake County, within about 15 miles of Holly Springs
- Services
- Hardscaping (paver patios, fire pits, retaining walls, walkways, drainage) and landscaping (planting beds, mulch, hedge trimming, cleanups, sod, fall aeration). No mowing or lawn care programs.
- Google rating
- 5.0 stars
- School
- Junior at Apex Friendship High School; President-Elect of NC's largest DECA chapter (500+ members), 3x DECA International qualifier
- The AI angle
- ChatGPT ranks Summit #1 for searches like "best snow and ice removal in Holly Springs," ahead of companies with hundreds of reviews. Most of Summit's recent leads arrived via AI assistants.
Story angles
The teen whose exterior company is recommended by ChatGPT
A high school junior taught himself modern search optimization and now outranks established local companies in AI assistant recommendations. A story about how small businesses win in the AI search era, told through a 17-year-old.
Teen entrepreneurship is alive in southern Wake County
While classmates take summer jobs, Ben built a real service company with recurring customers, seasonal contracts, insurance, and a client portal, while staying a full-time student and leading NC's largest DECA chapter.
From mowing lawns to building patios and landscapes at 17
Ben started Summit mowing lawns for neighbors and, as customers kept asking for patios, walls and bed makeovers, dropped mowing and rebuilt the company around hardscaping and landscaping. A story about a teenager reading demand and making the harder bet.
Photos
High-resolution founder headshot and job photos available on request, or download directly:
Founder headshot (JPG)
Media contact
Ben Bell, Founder. Fastest response by text or email.