About

In this day and age it’s not good enough to be solely a thinker, problem solver or inventor. You need to be street smart, and you need to know how to protect yourself in this highly competitive world.  The mission deep within VC or Bust is to help entrepreneurs to establish themselves as professions. Doing so requires an in-depth knowledge of how a board works, and what good board dynamics achieves within a business. They need to know the ins and outs of shareholders agreements and company constitutions. VC or Bust is here to educate as well as offer a sound board for entrepreneurs.

Only once you have become a “professional” entrepreneur will you have the tools to sell to investors. In this post-crisis world investors needs are changing. They no longer wish to gamble on good ideas. They want a solid business foundation backed by founders that have experience and the know how to make a business thrive. VC or Bust will explore the needs and trends of investors (VC and angel) offering delectable delight for budding entrepreneurs wanting to take their idea to the market.

The story behind Glenn Matthews (editor of VC or Bust):

It was late 2006, I was at the height of my young career as a Structural Engineer and as I sat in a coffee shop located in a southern suburb of Sydney, Australia. I contemplated how I was going to tell the General Manager of my employer of nine years that I was leaving the company.

Less than a year earlier I had won the prestigious award of Young Professional Engineer of the Year. My company had entrusted me as the manager of a new office on the South Coast of NSW, Australia and were preparing the paperwork that would introduce me as a shareholder of the company. What’s more, I was months away from a substantial bonus, yet there I sat, squirming and sweating with nerves, wondering how to tell my boss, a person whom I had come to admire over the years, that engineering life was no longer for me.

My General Manager, Paul thought we were sitting down for one of our usual deep conversations about business, directorship and my future in the company. However, I feel he sensed my nerves and opened the conversation with “so what’s new?”

I couldn’t hold it in. I looked him in the eyes then glanced down at the table “Paul, I’ve got something to tell you”.

As I raised my eyes I witnessed Paul’s face drop from a smile to adopted a look of “uh oh”. “Go ahead”, he gulped.

“I’ve decided to move on from the company”. There was no tact to my delivery what so ever. Like a band-aid over an injury I ripped it straight off – no beating around the bush, I delivered the message point blank and held my breath, preparing for what was to follow.

I loosened the cringe from my face and raised my head. Paul looked at me with a sympathetic face, sighed, and said “I knew it would happen sooner or later”.

Paul had become accustomed to my uniqueness – what now I understand to be my entrepreneurial spirit. As a full time employee I never liked doing things the conventional way. Sure I was full of energy, keen to learn, open to explore opportunities; but that’s where my similarities to other employees ended. I was always the one with crazy ideas, wanting to change the future of the company and impatient with a slow paced board of directors. I could never understand why companies would allow politics within the board override progress and development. I was most definitely naive to the real world of business, and to a certain extent I still am.

That conversation with my General Manager, Paul set me forth on a new path in life. I could no longer have the certainty of a regular pay check, no security knowing I would always have a team of fellow engineers to rely upon. Admittedly, I wasn’t ecstatic about being an engineer; don’t get me wrong, I had some fun times, but overall the industry left me tired, stressed and unfulfilled. The maths, the day to day grind and especially the thought of being somewhere near the bottom of the commercial food chain transformed my passion for the industry from a high to being down-right bored.

Leaving a very secure, reasonably well paid career was a difficult decision, one that I didn’t take lightly. However, once made I felt relieved.

January 2007, I cleaned out my desk, attended several fair well drinks and left the company, never to return – my days as a full time structural engineer were over.

The following three years were filled with new business adventures: I founded a property development company in Sydney, Australia and another one in Wanaka, New Zealand. I Lent a hand in developing a modular home system for use in remote mining towns. I increased my property portfolio to over 30 properties, traveled to 38 countries, moved to the US and then took my business online, co-founding an online music entertainment company and an online live streaming company.

Over the years I have been involved in raising capital for number of companies and trusts. I remember clearly my first try at a business plan, be it a very poor attempt. I remember it so well because of the struggle and torment I went through to piece it together.

I personally don’t have all of the answers, but I can lend my experiences to those who might have the time to listen.

Sincerely,

Glenn Matthews