When I think back to grade 11 I shake my head. School was a place I went to practice my stand up routine. Turning over my dad’s couch cushions for quarters to buy hot dogs at 7-11 had become a daily routine. Mortified when a girl would make eye contact with me.
That year my closest uncle welcomed his first son. I remember holding little Matthew in my arms at the hospital, then meeting up with friends at the beach in Stanley Park and crushing beers.
Today Matthew is the age I was then. He is crossing the chasm into adulthood and I am astounded by his confidence and the contrast between us at that age. He seems to carry more of the drive and less of the mischief I did at his age.
Over the last year Matthew has been communicating with me a lot for advice on entrepreneurship and soaking it up like a sponge. He has forgone hot dogs at 7-11 to save his wages working at the back shop of Marine Drive Golf Club and made a princely sum speculating in junior gold and silver stocks.
This summer Matthew completed his Grade 12 math course by correspondence, and launched a new web site, Matthew’s Millions, and podcast, Behind Success. Youth is a powerful door opener and Matthew has been kicking down doors of billionaires and CEOs across Vancouver for advice and interview guests.
He landed an awesome interview with Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon - I’m still waiting for Chip to respond to my interview request.
From billionaire Tom Gaglardi, owner of the Dallas Stars hockey team, Matthew learned how the Gaglardi family built a massive real estate and hospitality empire after a brush with bankruptcy in the 1980s. Gaglardi shared keys to successful real estate investing in their exclusive interview.
Mining has been a partial focus for Matthew’s podcast. Mining engineer Jamie Keech opened up about his career journey in a fascinating interview. In Matthew’s first podcast, where he interviewed me, I was so disarmed by him that I may even have been a decent interviewee. Former Goldcorp CEO David Garofolo is the subject of Matthew’s podcast next week.
In many ways Matthew is a typical teenager. He has bad hair and questionable hygiene. But if you’re looking for a refreshing young take on investing and business, give his podcast a listen and watch out for him, he’s going places.
Subscribe to Matthew’s Behind Success podcast on iTunes, get on the Matthew’s Millions email list, and follow him on Instagram and Twitter now!
