The Money Tree Magazine 1st Issue | Page 54

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 52 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.