How Matthew Stafford built a global network of 4000+ entrepreneurs in 46 cities, hosted the coolest YC event ever, and became an angel investor in 13 companies
Matthew Stafford was working for a government-backed program connecting investors and founders when he had an idea of conducting founders' dinners. 9 years back, almost to this date, he conducted the first 9others dinner in Central London. That dinner has led to 100s of other dinners in 46 cities around the world and has connected 4000+ entrepreneurs. It later led to Matthew's angel investments and laid the foundations for Dot Matrix Group.
But Matthew's entrepreneurial journey didn't start here. It started much earlier when he was in school selling recorded TV programs to his friends or selling t-shirts to pubs, right after college, or hosting a Y Combinator event in London which was never about to happen in the first place. Matthew's journey is the journey of hustle. When he was out of depth, he tried. When he was disappointed, he tried. When he failed, he tried. In many ways, it's a simple story. In other ways, it's an astounding journey of a boy who dreams.
Listen to the episode here ->
The podcast is also available on Apple podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and all major podcasting platforms. Show notes available in description wherever you’re listening, Please 5 stars on Apple Podcast. It helps me reach more listeners :)
Here are the resources I went through during researching Matthew -
The Purse Podcast Episode #12 - Matthew Stafford talks about his angel investments and his investment philosophy. This is the most comprehensive study of his portfolio and I relied on this episode to learn about Dot Matrix Group
The Back Yourself Show with Tom Fairey Episode “April 21st“ - Tom Fairey does an excellent job of going deep into Matthew’s early ventures, from his t-shirt company to the few jobs Matthew held over the years.
dotmatrixgroup.com - The official website of Matthew’s syndicate lists all his investments and the stories behind those companies.
I’ve been working on a few Twitter threads from Atomic Habits and other resources I’ve consumed this week. Will start posting them soon. You can follow me on Twitter here ;)