ENTREPRENEURIAL EDGE
WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE?
Q&A with Busprenuer, Matthew McElligott, who is also a cofounder of BullsnBears, Student Investor and The Money Tree
magazine.
THE Money Tree (TMT): What team where you on and
what was your role?
MATTHEW MCELLIGOTT (MM): I was team lead for Pela24.
I was doing the business sides of things but also helping out in
the development where I could.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
The first StartupBus toured the USA in 2010. Since then,
more than a dozen buses a year have visited a variety
of cities all over the world. In the aftermath of other
StartupBus tours each year, participants have not only
founded successful companies but also identified new
employers, employees, co-founders and business partners.
With this first initiative having come to an end, it’s yet to be
determined what the future holds for these start-ups and their
participants. One thing’s for sure, the connections made will
have a deep impact on Africa’s tech scene and the lives of
each of those who embarked on this journey.
StartupBus Africa 2014 is already accepting applications on a
rolling basis – and space is extremely limited... so apply ASAP!
Go to www.africa.startupbus.com
To get a sense of what it’s like on the bus,
check out this video:
http://youtu.be/vvzPg-wxpYg
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TMT: What experience did you have before the StartupBus
that got you chosen to be a participant?
MM: I am currently involved in four different start-up companies
in sectors ranging from the financial industry to the low-cost
smartphone manufacturing industry to the software and app
development industry.
TMT: What do you think was the greatest experience on
the bus?
MM: The best experience I got out of the bus was being able
to work with a diverse group of people from all over the world.
This has enabled me to create a great network of people across
the globe.
TMT: Were there any problems or difficulties on the bus?
MM: Yes! Most difficult was having no wifi or power for most
of the bus trip, which made it extremely difficult to actually get
stuff done. A lot of the teams had to resort to programming on
pieces of paper and then transferring the code as soon as we
got power back.
TMT: Would you do it again or recommend other people
to apply?
MM: I would definitely go on the bus again. They are planning
to do another African one in 2014 so I highly recommend
people apply for it.