About me
Think of this as my personal Wikipedia page, except I'm the only editor and there's no fact-checking. One day this might be all that's left of me. Future historians are going to be very disappointed.
My life story:
ages 0-10: The Kiwi Kid Era. Barefoot. Backyard. Long summers.
ages 11-18: The Awkward Era. Pokémon. Dragon Ball Z. Drama club. The real world starts soon.
ages 19-20: The Music Era. Studied jazz. Played 100+ weddings (to pay rent). First trip overseas, caught the travel bug. Left NZ.
ages 21-23: The Wandering Era. Locked in my high-school sweetheart (now wife). Read every business book. Tried 12 businesses, all failed. Travelled to 30+ countries chasing life's answers.
ages 24-27: The Nomad Era. Started a publishing company. Became a ski addict. Four years out of a suitcase. Often broke. Then found my people.
ages 28-29: The Covid Era. Covid sent me home (Queenstown, NZ). Discovered acquisitions, bought my first business. Got into running. First time I slowed down.
ages 30-33: The Big Kid Era. Started YouTube. Made a tropical island home. Took the dream trips. Started another company, it hit. Best era so far.
ages 34+: The Current Era. Ask me in 2030.
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Current Era
ages 34+: The Current Era. Ask me in 2030.
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Big Kid Era
ages 30-33: The Big Kid Era. Started YouTube. Made a tropical island home. Took the dream trips. Started another company, it hit. Best era so far.
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Covid Era
ages 28-29: The Covid Era. Covid sent me home (Queenstown, NZ). Discovered acquisitions, bought my first business. Got into running. First time I slowed down.
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Nomad Era
ages 24-27: The Nomad Era. Started a publishing company. Became a ski addict. Four years out of a suitcase. Often broke. Then found my people.
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Wandering Era
ages 21-23: The Wandering Era. Locked in my high-school sweetheart (now wife). Read every business book. Tried 12 businesses, all failed. Travelled to 30+ countries chasing life's answers.
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Music Era
ages 19-20: The Music Era. Studied jazz. Played 100+ weddings (to pay rent). First trip overseas, caught the travel bug. Left NZ.
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Awkward Era
ages 11-18: The Awkward Era. Pokémon. Dragon Ball Z. Drama club. The real world starts soon.
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Kiwi Kid Era
ages 0-10: The Kiwi Kid Era. Barefoot. Backyard. Long summers.
The Backstory
I grew up in New Zealand, which I appreciate more as an adult: natural beauty, not many people, a funny accent, and a laid back culture that doesn’t let anyone take themselves too seriously.
Before entrepreneurship got me, music did. I studied jazz, played in wedding bands, and taught guitar.
Jazz school gives you taste, reps, improv, and a high tolerance for looking stupid in public. If you’re a non-muso wondering, yes, it’s exactly like this.
I got hit with a severe case of wanderlust: 50+ countries, half-baked business ideas to survive, and plenty of lessons I would not have learned by staying put.
Eventually I built NonFiction, a boutique publishing company for entrepreneurs and CEOs. We grew it into a 20-person publishing house and produced dozens of bestsellers.
Many of those authors did not just want a book, they wanted more clients. So Masterclass Coaches was built to teach: offers, paid ads, funnels, courses, coaching, consulting, and sales calls. We bootstrapped it to $1M.
Then I was pulled into the world of micro-acquisitions and buying small internet businesses.
Eventually I bought Drum Magazine, a distressed 33-year-old media brand, turned it around, and made it profitable again.
I love finding strange internet assets and rabbitholes, adding distribution, and turning them into cashflow, attention, or fun software.
Strange in the same direction
The beauty of the internet is that it enables curious nerds of all kinds to find each other.
You can be an odd outlier in your city and friend group, then find a whole pocket of people strange in the same direction.
Over the years I have made many wonderful friends online, from travel, to music, to business.
I especially like hearing from people building with technology, making media, buying tiny internet businesses, assembling talent networks, or exploring strange little cashflow machines.
If any of that sounds like your corner of the internet, say hello.