A Personal Journey Through Events, Leadership and Identity with Craig Mathie

In this episode of Event Matters, David Watt is joined by Craig Mathie, Co-Founder of Project 30 – an event production and project management business delivering work across some of the UK’s biggest sporting, cultural and brand-led events.

Craig’s route into the industry began at Bournemouth Sevens, where he worked his way from the bottom of the ladder to Managing Director under the mentorship of entrepreneur Dodge Woodall. That experience shaped not only his understanding of events, leadership and commercial delivery, but also his belief in culture, teamwork and backing young talent.

But this conversation goes far deeper than operations and production. Craig speaks openly about the personal journey that led to the creation of Project 30, including his struggles with sexuality, mental health and the counselling process that ultimately changed his life. What emerged from that period was not only a new sense of self, but also a business built around authenticity, people and purpose.

The discussion explores the realities of scaling a modern events business, why small teams can outperform much larger organisations and how Project 30 has built a reputation for delivering major projects across events including Glastonbury, the Ryder Cup, Henley Royal Regatta and the Champions League Final.

Craig also shares his thoughts on leadership, culture and the future of the events industry, particularly the importance of creating environments where younger generations genuinely want to work and grow.

Expect insights on:

• Why authenticity has become one of the most valuable assets in modern business
• The lessons learned from growing up professionally at Bournemouth Sevens
• How counselling and self-development shaped the creation of Project 30
• Why culture and team dynamics matter so much in high-pressure event environments
• The importance of balancing commercial thinking with operational delivery
• How small teams can outperform much larger agencies when trust and accountability are right
• Why live events will become even more important in an increasingly digital world
• The challenges and realities of scaling an independent events business
• Creating a workplace culture that supports wellbeing, family life and long-term growth
• Why enjoying the process matters just as much as achieving the outcome

This episode is an honest and thoughtful conversation about leadership, identity, resilience and what it really takes to build a business people want to be part of. Craig’s openness, ambition and belief in the power of people make this one of the most personal and insightful conversations on Event Matters so far.

Host: David Watt, Partner at Kershaw Partners
Guest: Craig Mathie, Co-Founder, Project 30

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Kershwell Partners podcast Event Matters. Conversations about the realities of running, growing and scaling event businesses today. This podcast is for established event business owners who want clarity, confidence, and a different perspective on the road ahead. Our aim is to keep these conversations open, informal, honest, practical, and even sometimes a little bit informative. So you can walk away with fresh insights and ideas you can put into action in your own business. I'm glad you're here, so let's get started. This week I'm joined by Craig Matthew, co-founder of Project 30. Craig's story is one that goes well beyond events and business, and this is a conversation that at times gets quite personal. Based in Bournemouth, Project 30 has quickly built a reputation for delivering across the board festivals, brand activations, and live experiences. But this isn't simply a story about projects, clients, and growth. It's about culture, leadership, and building a business that genuinely reflects who you are. In this conversation, Craig shares how his time at Bournemouth Sevens shaped his approach to events, partnership and performance, and why launching Project 30 became part of a much deeper personal journey. We talk openly about mental health, identity, and the experience that ultimately inspired the name of the business itself. We also explore what it takes to build a team, create the right culture in high pressure environments, and why, in an increasingly digital world, the power of bringing people together has never been so important. If you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you subscribe to the podcast. You'll get new episodes before anyone else and keep up with the stories shaping our industry. This is Event Matters, and this is Craig Matthew. Hi, Craig, um welcome to the Event Matters podcast. Great to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Thank you so much for inviting me along. It's yeah, as you said, really great to be together.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Well obviously we have a little bit of a backstory because obviously the first time I met you was, I'm gonna say, 10, 11 years ago when I was running pubs on wheels and you were very much ensconced at Bournemouth Sevens at the time, weren't you?

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Yeah, absolutely. I think so. It's amazing. I mean when we're reflecting on how that time has passed and uh yeah, where we are now, it's yeah, amazing. Yeah. Truth comes from that is that uh you're never too far from people you've met in the events industry, and uh those networks kind of cross back over over time, don't they? So uh yeah, yeah, a real proof in that.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Inevitably that's always the case. You know, obviously Bournemouth Sevens was an amazing period of your life. So uh how important was that chapter in your life in shaping the way you think about the events world and business in general? Because obviously since then you moved on, but working for people like Dodge Woodall must have been a pretty amazing experience.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, it was. I'm so very thankful for the kind of time that I spent at Bournemouth Sevens. Like that kind of small business environment led by an entrepreneur is like it's just the most incredible place to learn your craft. And I was very fortunate that it was an environment that that asked a lot of me and all of the colleagues that I was lucky enough to work with, but also gave kind of so much opportunity and responsibility. I've reflected on it significantly since I remember Dodge saying to me that as long as you're good enough, you're old enough, and age was never a barrier, and actually being able to kind of progress through a company as I did, and kind of starting right at the very bottom of the ladder and then working my way through to the top was such an amazing journey. And having now gone on to do other things and built a network in other places, I really reflect on the skill set that I was able to develop from my time there and still very lucky to count Dodge and Flair and lots of other people that I worked with as good friends who I can call on in times of need and so on and so forth. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Yeah. As a fellow podcaster that Dodge is, I mean, you know, he's verging on influencer territory now. But what was he like to work for? Was he a good man to be around? Because sometimes entrepreneurs are uh kind of can be a bit sort of like, whoa, let's do this, let's do that. But was he like that or was he quite sort of level-headed?

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah, I think the um podcast has been a tremendous success. And I remember that was he kind of was born out out of COVID and a really difficult time. And I think that kind of reflects Dodd really. He kind of takes adversity and turns it into something really positive. He's unerringly positive and really struggles to even try and be negative, actually. So as a leader of a business, I think that's a really inspiring place to work with. And I think also he knew exactly what he was good at, but he also knew kind of very quickly weren't his areas of strength. And he had an innate ability to find people to fill those gaps and to kind of trust in those people. So when I think about the people I was lucky enough to work alongside, they were all kind of spotted and found by Dodge. And yeah, he had a real innate ability to firstly sell and promote. He's a promoter to his core, but actually then to build teams to deliver on his vision, which it's one of an awful lot of people that I've met that you just take bits of and you learn and you develop and you grow. And then yeah, I feel very lucky to have worked at Bournemouth Sevens, to have spent my time working for Dodge. And also Fleur, his wife, who gets very little of the limelight, is never on podcasts or never really talked about, but is the backbone of that that side of the business, certainly financially, and and making sure everything is above board. So I think in any business, you're constantly working with teams who you have your front man, you have your your team behind the scenes, you have all those kind of different kinds of components. And as an owner and uh or a co-owner of a young business now, I like I credit a lot of my time and desire to be that entrepreneur from the time that I spent learning from an entrepreneur as well. And so many of Mike's former colleagues have gone on to do their own thing and run their own business. So it's a pretty good breeding ground for ambitious uh people, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

For the last three years, it's been Project 30. So let's talk a little bit about that. Why Project 30? And obviously, when we had talked before, you said it was quite a personal journey, this, that something you really wanted to set out to do after Bournemouth seventh.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, no, absolutely. And I I've spoken about this a few times, but I think it's kind of so important to us as a business, and and I think why I wanted to kind of found Project 30. So it was around 2017 the idea kind of first came to mind for me, and I was 30, and I had a really long-held struggle kind of with my sexuality that had been going on for something like 10 years, and I was gay and I really didn't want to be, and I really hadn't come out or spoken about it very much, but I'd known for some time that that's kind of where I was, and it kind of killed me like it was well, it didn't kill me, it was slowly killing me from the inside. And I was doing well in business. I'd not long become MD of Sevens. I was 29 and everything kind of professionally looked from the outside like it was going incredibly well, but actually inside I was really struggling, and I kind of got to this point around Christmas of 2017 where I was with my parents for Christmas and I was at home and just on their bed and just crying my eyes out. I just really kind of reached like the bottom of where I wanted to be. And so I went for counselling and it was the single hardest and best thing I've ever done. And I speak quite a lot about mental health and the importance that we need to put on being honest and being the truest version of ourselves. And because I'm as a project manager by trade, I needed to work on like on a plan for how I got out of the place that emotionally and mentally I was in. And that project was called Project 30, and it had various pillars as all good projects plans do, and they were things like being comfortable in my own skin, going on to find a boyfriend, get a dog, buy a bigger house, and set up a business. Yeah, pretty robust pillars. Really fortunately, I subsequently saw the benefit of counselling. I I came out much more publicly. I've spoken a lot about the journey to being comfortable with your sexuality and how that is and how that works. I'm now married to Dan, who is just the most amazing husband that I could ask for, with a cockpoo called Teddy. Fortunately, a slightly bigger house and a business. And when I was kind of conceiving the business, it was the only thing I could call it. I wondered for a long time whether the name would matter, whether it would resonate. But actually, I think the currency of our times is authenticity. And being honest and open has led me to be the professional I am and the person I am. So that's why it's Project 30. Coincidentally, Paul, who's my business partner, when we actually formed the business, he'd just turned 30. So there was a really lovely kind of synergy to it there. And yeah, it's like our business is very much the two of us driving forward. And I've talked about my story quite a lot, but the reality is that there's both of us kind of driving on, and the amazing team that we're lucky to have working for us as well. So yeah, I just wanted to be the best version of myself, and I wanted professionally the business to be the best version of us, and that's kind of what drives us to deliver events and deliver the best events and the work that we can do, really.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Yeah, and it was interesting. So in that period of time, and then obviously the leader from 2017 to 2020, which was obviously an incredibly difficult time for everyone. Did you have counselling and therapy all during that time, or was it something that was building up? And the 30 pillars, as it were, is that something that came from the counselor, or was that something that you developed yourself or you came up with as a plan?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yeah, no, I was only in counselling for about six months, maybe eight months actually, but six or eight months. And for me, it was the catalyst to change. It took me a while to kind of let my barriers down. I'd kind of have them pretty robustly up. Historically, the only thing I'd probably ever let them get down was when I'd had a drink. So it was kind of quite nice to be able to do that in a honest, open, and safe environment. And and I would say to anyone who's struggling, counselling, unfortunately, by nature is quite expensive, but it's the best money you can possibly invest in yourself. And the pillars were me. I designed the pillars. The counsellor, his name is Anthony, he just allowed me to talk. He's but he said so little. It's mind-boggling that the skill that's involved in creating an environment where you're happy and prepared to do that. So I designed the pillars, they were the things that I knew I inherently wanted, and there were no smart targets, they weren't designed, they were just broadly like they were like, this is where we want us to strive for and go on to. So for as long as we're doing this, uh then Project 30 will have that at its roots. And like I said, I I love talking about it because I think it's important for people who maybe are going through similar things, and sometimes you just need to hear someone talking about it to go, I should maybe do that too.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Yeah, I mean, I think just as an aside, and rather and not that I want to turn event matters into a sort of therapy session, but I think it is the ability to, as you say, you know, lay yourself completely out there and say, listen, I'm not working, I'm not fully functioning, I'm not doing all the things I should be doing. And a great counsellor, a great therapist will say very little and they will let you find the solutions, let you try and work it out. And I think that's very much the case. And by the time things, the fact that you devised the whole project 30 is kind of amazing. So when you set up the business, did you have a clear vision? Because obviously all these things were still going on your head, but did you have a vision or like you want to do? So you when you set this up? 23 you set this up. What end of 22?

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Did you set yeah? So um I left Sevens in October 22, and um, we launched kind of properly in January 23. When I left Sevens, and for me, I I've had the very best time at Bournemouth Sevens, but I was just ready for a change. I'd probably known that for a little while before I left, um, but the COVID happened and it became about surviving personally, professionally, uh, and as a business. So we delivered a couple of shows in 21 and 22, and it just felt like the right time. And I had a really honest conversation with Dodge and said, I've loved every minute of my time here, but I I'm just ready to go on. I didn't have any kids or kind of dependents, and therefore the free and and I've been well paid at sevens, so I had a bit of money in the bank, and actually it then meant I was as well placed as I could be to go out and take that punt. Reality is I didn't know what I was gonna do. I knew I wanted to work uh like I love events, like I'm a passionate events person. I think they are the power of bringing people together for whatever reason, for whatever cause, um, it is untold. And I love it, and I will always love it and will always want to do it. So I knew that, but I didn't know what that journey would look like. I also think to a certain degree, I knew I was good at my job at sevens, but I also didn't know whether I was any good at it outside of that sphere. And you go, well, actually, I'm I'm really confident that I know what I'm doing here, and then you go out into the wider world and you and you go, and I just knew that I just had to try and I had to go out there. I'd seen a lot of reproduction companies and they were all kind of quite small businesses, like one and two people, five people, and achieving a huge amount, delivering huge shows with big teams of freelance support and contractors and all those kinds of things. And I was like, that's what I want to do. And I wanted to break out of the bubble, I guess, a little bit of the world I was operating in and work on some different shows and develop that skill set. So and yeah, I I kind of ran into the opportunity without knowing what it was going to be. And to a certain extent, in a world where like I I hear a lot about strategy, I think we're kind of developing one a bit at the moment, but actually, this first kind of couple of years for me has been a bit of just suck it in seed, which doesn't sound like the best conceived plan, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

And obviously, too, you you talked about Paul Ashus, your business partner. Obviously, you know, you you bring very different strengths or complementary strengths to the business. How important has it been to have that balance in building up Project 30?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Absolutely fundamental. And I think I thought it would be important, and it that isn't a patch on how important it has turned out to be. So, Paul and I, our relationship has changed. So he worked for me effectively, and when he joined Bournemouth Sevens, I was the events director and he came in as a junior events manager and and kind of worked his way up. And to a certain extent, I was able to play my own role in him developing his skill set and how he worked. So we were in a relatively similar way, and we certainly did at Sevens. But when I left Sevens, he became their MD and he took my role, which was an absolute no-brainer at the time because he was the obvious candidate for the role, because A, he's very good, and B, he really, really cared about it. And I think that passion piece, as I mentioned, is unsurmountable in terms of a skill set and a capability. But actually, since we've been working together in this business, I've realized how different we are and how important that is because we tackle situations slightly differently, we bounce off of each other, we can present alternative views and opinions on things. I'm quite a deep thinker, I'm quite sensitive, I can let things bother me and sit with me for quite a long time. And Paul is very good at going, What are you doing? Stop it, and like just being very matter-of-fact and so on and so forth. So you just come across all of these situations where you have the importance of dynamism and like being able to work hand in hand together, but bringing slightly different skill sets to the table and different approaches. And I think that has been invaluable to this point, but I also think it will be invaluable to us moving forwards. And who knows where we'll get to financially? But I I'm absolutely adamant that I'd much rather have half of something with a partner that I love working with and that we're working together than than all of something, which would be a smaller end product. And yeah, so for me it's been everything, and he's a very close friend. He was one of my best men at my wedding, and so we have that kind of fundamental friendship at the core, but also professionally we know how to get the best out of each other, and that's been a real pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

It's so important to have that in a partnership by the sound of things. You're both devoid of any ego, and therefore you kind of because as you say, you you know, you're the more sensitive type and he's the more matter-of-fact type. What a great combination that is, you know, it's like myself and my wife, you know, she is absolutely matter-of fact for the comp and the emotional one. So it is, it's a very important. And I suppose from a culture perspective, that must feed through. I mean, I know you don't have a big team at the moment, but that must feed through the business and feed through the people you work with. How important is it to have that sort of culture within the business? And what sort of culture are you aiming for, I suppose, with Project 30?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Yeah, I mean, culture is everything. I think your team is everything. Like both Paul and I come from kind of a sporting background, and we have been in that environment where the captain talks and everyone listens and respects and follows, but you all kind of dig in together, and when times are hard, you all properly work together to make it happen. Like that teamwork and that culture in our space, in the event space, which is a high-pressured environment with big decisions being made almost every day, particularly when you're in a live environment. Knowing that everyone is bought in and pulling in the same direction is so, so, so important. And when I was running Bourmer Sevens, building that culture was super important to me as MD of someone else's business. But putting it, applying it to my own business and our own business and being able to go right, like before we even had a member of staff, I've done a staff handbook that said, these are the perks you're gonna get, these are the ways we're gonna look after our people. Like I've set this business up to be professional and considered right from the beginning so that as we do evolve and build a culture and build a team, it can have a culture that facilitates that growth. And I do think that collective piece is so important to me. Really interestingly, when you mentioned ego earlier, I think ego is a it's such an interesting thing because like I think you need some ego to succeed and to put yourself out there and say, hey guys, we're we're really good. But for me, it's about balancing that ego.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

I think you're right. You know, I haven't met an entrepreneur yet, or a very successful entrepreneur yet who doesn't have an ego. It just doesn't exist. But equally, you know, I have always struggled with people with very big egos. And I was speaking to Jennifer Davidson the other day, and she said that you know, my company motto is leave your ego at the door. I'm not interested. I won't have anything to do with it. So yeah, I agree with you, but it's but I feel like it's just like a you know, as you and Paul as clip Project 30, that's the ego, it's not the two of you.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Yeah, and I think that's a really fair and kind observation. But yeah, I think for me, I believe wholeheartedly in the power of we and the collective team. I when I set Project 30 up and it was just me originally, and Paul came over a couple of years later, but within three months we knew that we didn't have enough resource. So a friend of mine called Matt joined and from the outset has been a complete embodiment of the culture that I wanted in it and in our first member of staff, and that has just been amazing. And you are right that we're a small team that's four of us now, and and Ella's amazing as well. But also on site, sometimes we're a team of 30 because the way in which you build a team out for particular roles or develop, and actually, I think even at sevens, where you're effectively at the top of a pyramid that is maybe 10 people most of the time, but 800 to 1,000 people during a show. Like you need that culture to be right, like absolutely spot on at the top of your organization to kind of disseminate down and out. And I think the events industry is better now at looking after its people and promoting its people and celebrating its people. But there is still from time to time where you go, I just don't think we should be operating like this, or like this doesn't reflect on kind of the industry that I want to be part of and the industry that I want to be kind of delivering. So I try and make that culture be central to Project 30 in its small guise at the moment, knowing that as it scales, hopefully it will be embedded in what we do from the very start. That comes from the partnership of it being a couple of people. So from the very beginning, there's more than one person investing. Yes. And then we want everyone to invest in that success and grow with us. And that's a nice thing to be part of because no one's in the events industry to make millions. So actually, if we're enjoying it and we get to sit down with the people that we consider friends and work with them to deliver really cool projects, then that that can be our payoff for not being uh financiers or uh stockbrokers or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Craig, I think what's interesting, yeah, from where you started in the business in your early 20s or mid-20s at that stage, you are very different to the generation that's come behind you. You know, and the people that you're working with now are probably a lot younger, they're probably Gen Z who have a completely different outlook on life, completely different focus. Their life is much more immediate than ours ever was. And it you made a really good point about historically the events world has been, well, it's always been bloody hard, and it's never going to get any less hard, really, because it's live events and it's dealing with people all the time. But you have to be mindful of the people you that are coming into the events industry now and looking after. And I think that's so true. Is if you set out your stall and set out your culture early, then people will want to come work for you because they'll look over the fence and think, actually, do you know I I like the look of what Paul and Craig are doing. It looks really fun and it looks like they're yeah, they work hard, but it's good fun too.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Absolutely. I mean, so Ella, who I mentioned in passing earlier, is a placement student from Bournemouth University, and she's with us since July and will be until the next summer season finishes. And actually having someone that is in their early 20s within your team and trusting that they're kind of good enough, like that was embedded in me from the beginning. If you're good enough, you're old enough, but then we can make sure that our tone of conversation is appropriate to the people that we're working with who are of that age, working with someone who's a digital native and understands socials like to their core and has always had them and learning from them. I was once told about a scheme that Samsung operated where the very senior leadership on a global level would bring in a focus group of people aged sort of 16 to 24 and ask them what next, what would they do? What would they change and what would they develop? Like this industry, this business is for them in the future. So, like, let's listen to them. And I think so often the events industry can be a bit prescriptive from the top, this is the way we've always done it, this is how we've always delivered it, but that's not necessarily always reflective of where it's going and where it's headed. So, yeah, I think that was an important decision for us. And over the years I've tried to get as involved as I can do in various voluntary associations, organizations, campaigns, because I always felt that they were people closer to the end of their career than the start of their career, but they were shaping the future. And sometimes it's gone well, sometimes it's not gone so well. I've learned a lot, I've made mistakes, I've always kind of tried to contribute the best I possibly can in those discussions and conversations. But I think we have a bit of an obligation to the next generation to make sure that the events industry is a world that they want to work and operate in because I only think it's going to become more important. I like the digital world that we are operating in and existing in at present is only going to come more. So the value and importance of bringing humans together, which is basically our job, is only going to become more important. So I think we need to kind of continue to focus on those bits and talk about those things as well.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

Couldn't agree with you more. I think it's the most important thing. And we have a duty. And I've got a few years on you, sadly, but you know, Mike Kershul, my business partner, always says we have a duty to give back. You know, people of my age, 55 plus, we have a duty to give back. And I think you're 100% and you're starting early. And, you know, all credit to you. Interesting enough, just sort of more on you. One of the things that got me since we talked last time and looking at uh what you've done in the past and so on, you know, if you were writing your CV, it it's pretty damn broad in terms of, you know, under understanding the full picture of an event from commercial, from sponsorship, from ticketing. I mean, all this is the Sevens background here, but including that with marketing and ops and then as well as project delivery. Do you think that's where you and Paul, because of that combined experience and expertise that you gained at Bournemouth Sevens, is the point of difference now for Project 30?

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Yeah, I think so. And truth be told, I think it's been our superpower. I think the fact that we are equally as comfortable in a commercial conversation negotiating sponsorship as we are sitting down with the police and saying, what does our SPS look like is quite a unique combination of skills. And certainly in kind of the brand work that we do, and we're very fortunate to work with some of the country's biggest brands, but working alongside them and being able to maintain a conversation with a rights holder or a senior client and actually then bring information from the production world or manufacturing world into them and explain and make sure everything's kind of crystal clear. I think it has been pivotal to where we are and actually what it enables to happen in some cases is to go, actually, we don't need two people to have this conversation. You can just have this conversation. And that means that you're bringing immediate value that, like both in terms of the speed at which projects can be delivered, um, but also the costs of delivering that project because you're not having to pull on three or four places of specialist resource. You're going, actually, I've got a pretty good understanding of both of these elements and let's combine them and talk about them. And we're very upfront that our core is project management. So we love taking a project and going, right, we own this project, we're gonna be the central cog around which everything else evolves. Um we have a breadth of knowledge in areas such as safety and operational management and delivery, etc., etc. But we also know where our limits are. I look, I would never claim to be a doctor, but I have a pretty good idea of what an event medical tender should look like. So it's about going, I know enough about these topics to hold weight and to add value to a conversation, but I also know the point at which I need to bring other people and specialist skills in to deliver projects. And I think that is what we love doing and have wanted to do. And clues in the title, it's about projects, it's about going, actually, we can take this from concept to completion from the notebook to the field, like all those kind of things of going, right, let's make this reality happen. Um, sometimes we're dealing with clients and promoters who know a huge amount about event delivery and learning from them as well. But also sometimes we're dealing with people where it's their first time and they've got a really good idea, but that's kind of all they've got. So then being able to support them through that process is really, really good. And I think that superpower of knowing how almost all of the different parts of the industry work to some degree has felt like our superpower to this point.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Yeah, and we discussed, you know, it's you, uh Matt, Paul, and Ella. So it's a small team at the moment, and no matter what, you're clearly going to be doing most of the jobs or some of the jobs and being dragged here and everywhere, which is always a very difficult thing to manage because obviously the events world is massively busy from April through to October, and then that has its sort of fellow periods at either end. But have you, in trying to look to the future, have you developed systems and processes or are you putting them in place to future-proof the business against you being knocked down by a bus or whatever it might be?

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Yeah, I think so. So I think when I started and when it was just me, I very quickly went from being quite strategic and kind of high level in my previous role to being very operational and became the person that was writing the documents and doing the drawings and all those kind of things. And it became abundantly clear to me quite quickly that if that was all we offered, we could only ever get so big because there's only ever so many hours in the day, and I can only ever deliver on so many projects. So it's been super important to me that we go, okay, well, actually, we need a wider and a broader skill set and capability within our organization that delivers at the same standards to be able to do that. And it's taken time, but Matt, who kind of came in with pretty limited events experience, now manages his own projects, oversees his own clients, and therefore is bringing money into the business in the same way. So actually, I know that the only way to scale from where we are kind of moving forwards is people and very capable people that our clients trust in. So fundamentally, we need to train them, we need to invest time and energy in them, we need to show them what our lessons are, but also give them the opportunity to mold their own way and their own direction. I think that's really important rather than just being clones of each other. But then also putting behind that systems and processes that are transferable between clients, that are relatively straightforward, relatively simple, people understand them. One thing I realize at the moment when I'm maybe working across five or six different projects simultaneously for different clients, is each of them has their own systems, their own set of IT infrastructure, their own design software, all those kinds of things. So we have to plug into all of them. And at this stage of our like business, we sometimes we just have to do that. And I I will sit on Teams and Slat and WhatsApp simultaneously across two different clients. In an ideal world, that wouldn't be the case. I've actually had to relatively recently say to clients, I just need to exist as project 30. I can't be on your email system as well as my email system and all those kind of things. So early days, it was about we'll do whatever we need to do to make these projects happen and to make them come in. And then as we've developed on, we can say, well, actually, this is how we do things. This is how we would build a project plan from start to finish. This is our budget template, this is our project planner. If you have one and you're already using it and you've got experience of delivering it, fine, we'll hop into that because we're pretty transferable. But actually, we'd really like to do it like this because everyone in my team knows how it's going to happen. It's pretty user-friendly, we think, on the other side, so that someone who hasn't seen it can look at it and basically understand what's going on. And it's really nice because some of our clients have then adopted those systems for other things. And I'm not talking super detailed, like need a developer to make them. I'm talking about well-considered form processes, drop forms, Google Sheets, all those kind of basics, but going, well, this is how we do it. And we're constantly evolving and growing that. But it's about being flexible, but also knowing this is our dream and ideal way of delivering.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Yeah, people only have to look at the Project 30 website to see the diverse and amazing events that you do. And I know that obviously a lot of them have come through referrals and through word of mouth. But obviously, there are lots of talented operators out there, and marketing may not be their first skill. How do you think you've gone about positioning Project 30 as a business? And how much, you know, in terms of looking to the future, are you looking to expand the portfolio of events you do? I mean, there's only so many events you really probably want to do in a year, but where do you see that ending up?

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Yeah, I think from a marketing point of view, I mentioned earlier authenticity is the currency of today. And being your true self, being honest when things are going well, being honest when things are going badly, learning lessons, talking about those, thought leadership, those sorts of things have all been really, really important to positioning ourselves and thus the business. So I got on the LinkedIn train early. And when I was thinking about starting a business, I worked really, really hard to try and develop a presence on LinkedIn so that you can have a reputation that has to be backed up by work, by actual credible stuff that you do. I think that's really important. But then talking authentically about it and being honest and open about when it went well and didn't, etc. And I consider Project 30 an embodiment of our people. So the fact that we have worked on those personal elements of brands have been really important. And then turning that and developing that into Project 30 and saying we are Project 30, we're all proud, we're all bought into what we do, we love working for it, all those things about culture come out automatically. So that's been super important. We've got much better at marketing from when we started to where we are today. I think events production people by nature are not great at it because our whole purpose is to not be seen, to deliver excellently from the background. So then when you step forward and say this is what we're doing, it feels a bit counterintuitive. So kind of fighting that desire and just going, this is what we're doing. Here's some stuff from behind the scenes, things that other people aren't seeing or sharing or developing. And I think we're just one of the organizations out there that's doing it. But I like to think that we're doing it pretty well. And having Ella on board's been a really big part of the development of that as well, because I mentioned earlier, she comes at it from a slightly different viewpoint with a different approach and a really good creative skill set. She can push us and our ideas to turn that into a marketing campaign that's pretty succinct and developing and in line with brands. And so internally that's been really good, and then like externally, just leaning on amazing people and like Steph, who I used to work with when I was at Bournemouth 7, she ran Viber 10, which was a sportswear brand that Dodge also owned simultaneously. And Steph ran that alongside me. And she's incredible, honestly, just one of the most impressive people I've ever had the fortune of working with. And when I launched Project 30, I said, Can you help me with a website? Can you help me with a brand? And because she's a lovely person, she did, and she gave us some really clear and simple brand guidelines at the beginning, and we've run with them. And Amy, who built our website, used to work with as well. Like it's just if you're good to people and you leave these organizations with good relationships, like they'll come back to you a million times over in the future. So, like when I think about things that I'm naturally, I'm not going to build a website. Well, who have I worked with in the past that's good at doing it? So, yeah, that's been a really important part of our marketing piece. And then I think just you know, kind of the second half of your question around what other events do we want to work on. Having run a business through a pandemic that had all of its eggs in one basket, I'm quite keen to not have all of our eggs in one basket. So we're kind of developing the strands of our business simultaneously. So they're around kind of project management from start to finish and concepts completion of live events, they're around some work for brands. And actually, that's an area I didn't expect to do as much work in as we have, but it's a really lovely part of the industry. And to a certain extent, whilst like design specifications are pretty high and attention to detail is very high, you're rarely dealing with major medical incidents. So actually, it's a nice trade-off of not having the really stressful, deep and dark side of event delivery because you're delivering a great product for a brand on an environment. So I've really, really loved that.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

Is it something that you think, oh God, I really, really look forward to doing? You know, and when the brief comes in, you go, Oh, well, I'll I'll have a look at that one because I really like the look of it.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

Yeah, so my long-held career ambition is to become ops director at Glastonbury. And it has been since I was about 20. So whenever anyone goes, What do you want to do? I'm like that. It's the best festival in the world, it's one of the best organized events that you will ever go to. And why not aim for the top, right? So who knows if I'll get there. But when I started Project 30, one of the very first introductions I had was to a London agency called Fuse, who do a lot of work on behalf of Vodafone. And ever since we have delivered supported Fuse with the operational delivery of the Vodafone activity at Blastonbury. That has been just the most amazing project, working alongside incredible people. It's obviously bringing a quiet corporate entity into a very uncorporate entity and managing the nuances of how that works. And I am just a small cog in a very, very big partnership operation there. But when I get on site at Worthy Farm and you're building and you're delivering, and you're speaking to kind of some of the key people in that organization, like that has just been an absolute perk for me ever since I started. And long may it continue because it really is just incredible.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

So well, you've got your foot in the door, Craig. I mean, you've gone jumping up and down enough. They'll keep saying, Who's this plate?

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Yeah, either that or I'll write myself off.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

Or security will exit you from the building, as a as I say.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

Yeah, absolutely. Like um, I listened to a podcast recently with Melvin, and he talked about his journey and his involvement in Glastonbury. And I find that stuff so inspiring, like the journey that people have been on to get to where they've got to. The events industry doesn't really have clear paths, does it? It doesn't have like a you go through this level of training and then this level and then this level and then this level and then you get here. So it's about pursuing those opportunities, believing you're good enough to get to them, and then just being a little bit relentless until you get there. That's kind of the hope and ambition for me. And I'm 40 next year, so I've got some time yet.

SPEAKER_00 35:06

Yeah. Do you know what? I genuinely believe if you want it badly enough, and you are in the position to do it, but if you want it bad enough, then why the hell not? Why wouldn't you get it? You know what I mean? People will see that. You will stand out as the person who they want to work with. So the point you made earlier about having a presence on LinkedIn, and I would urge anyone who doesn't know you, or even people who do know you, to go and see if you want a really good profile on LinkedIn, Craig Matthew is a very, very, very good person to look at because you post regularly. Well, but I've always thought this. And going back to the conversation we had a couple of weeks ago about organized chaos and Claire and Tom, I remember looking at when we were doing their review, I remember looking at your profile and thinking, I don't remember Craig being this big and this this important. Um, so it you know, it really does work. So I I would definitely think that people should look at that. Now, let's just so what does the future hold? You know, there you are, you and Dan have been married for a few years now. Uh, the kids on the horizon, or if there are kids on the horizon, how's that going to affect you as a small business owner? You know, what what does the future hold for you?

SPEAKER_01 36:07

Yeah, so kids are absolutely in our future. I think whilst we are like incredibly happy and um our marriage to this point has been an absolute joy, um, like the kids thing is missing for us. And we actually on our very first date talked about having children. So it's something we're really excited about. We're on our surrogacy journey, um, which is a challenging thing. Like, truth be told, we started two and a half years ago, and as we sit today, I don't know if we're that much closer. We had surrogate who, for her own reasons, was unable to carry on, and therefore we kind of went back to the start of the process. And are now waiting to be matched with a surrogate through a wonderful agency called MSJ who my surrogacy journey, and they've been so amazing. The reality is today there just aren't as many surrogates as are wanted or needed by intended parents, and that's be that gay couples or lesbian couples or people who uh heterosexual couples that can't um conceive for their own reasons and so on and so forth. And there are a small pool of incredibly generous, lovely, wonderful women who are prepared to go. Do you know what will support you on this journey? And and it is difficult because we're just waiting constantly. And there's someone has probably come across in this call. I'm a bit of a control freak. I love being in charge of a situation and managing it. And I can't do that in this case. And I'm not in charge of this. Legally, you are really limited in your ability to go and look and search and ask people. You can't do any of those things. So it needs to be be a genuine introduction from the surrogate side, and all these checks and balances which are in place so that it's done properly and so that it's done altruistically, which is like a key component of surrogacy in the UK versus America or Mexico and so on and so forth. So we've looked at those other markets, and truth be told, we can't afford it. So we're just having to kind of wait and do that. So whilst we're doing that, having a young business that we're growing is is a good thing to kind of keep the attention. I mentioned Teddy, our dog earlier, he's a very good support on that journey as well. I say the word journey far too often now, and I blame my surrogacy journey for that.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

So Craig, I get that. You know, I'm a father of three. You know, every day I think how lucky I am to have three kids, and I mean they're not kids anymore, sadly. But you know, and then talking about being in control, and I'm touching loads of wood that when it does happen, you won't be in a control then. I can absolutely promise you that. A small girl or a small boy will test you to the absolute nth degree. As an entrepreneur, it's probably taught you a lot of patience as well, I guess, but the frustration must be just enormous.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

Yeah, it is. And yeah, Dan's the most wonderful human. He's a pediatric intensive care nurse. Children is in his DNA, and he's so very ready to be a dad. I'm certain he'll be ready on day one. So it's there, it it will happen. We take it in turns to feel positive and negative about the journey, but we're getting there and it will happen. I'm pretty sure of that. And one of the things as a business we want to do is create an environment where you can find an appropriate work-life balance. And pulling over talking about paternity earlier, this all comes back to that culture piece. It all comes back to we want to create a company and an environment that the people that are in it feel loved, respected, and thanked and appreciated for their contribution. And that comes down to things like that. So personally, can't wait to have kids professionally want to create an environment where everyone who does work for us now and in the future has the ability to do the same thing as well. So um and that should be a given. Like maybe it's not always, but I think it absolutely should.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Yeah, I agree with you. And so, yeah, if we look five years into the future, what do you hope that life looks like? I mean, and notwithstanding the father of let's say two, that'd be great. But what is the business that like, what does Project 30 look like in five years' time?

SPEAKER_01 39:54

I don't know. Like, we to this point are not taking on any financial investment. We are in Dragon's Den terms, bootstrapping. We've been doing our best with the the what we've got, and we're we're incredibly proud of what we've achieved to this point. And I think we want to make sure we enjoy every step of that process because so often you're like shooting into the distance that you're not remembering to enjoy this bit. So that's where we are. Five years' time, I would love a team of 10. I never want to be a mega agency, but a team that can outperform its collective that for me like has been a recurring team of every team I've worked in in the events industry. It's about small teams outperforming expectations, and we want to be able to do that. I think as a four at Project 30, we're doing that. We look like a bigger organization than we are, and we're achieving some huge things. We're currently working on projects relating to the Ryder Cup, the Scottish Open, the World Cup, the Champions League final, as well as Bournemouth Sevens, as well as all of these events that we've worked with for ages. We're at Henley Regatta. We are uh we're achieving that as four. And I'm just like, well, actually, if you double that and add another little bit on top, like what could we be doing? And I think we don't yet have like a permanent office base. That's a a next step for us. We all work out of a an office in my house and like moving from there into a proper dedicated space and having kind of more ownership of projects from start to finish. I think we we can like at this stage of business, truth be told, sometimes an essentially freelance opportunity presents itself and you just have to say yes. But actually, to be in the position to go, actually, we want everyone that we're talking to, we want to be project further branded or owned, and we'll take your project and to take it from here to here. I think it is a really important kind of piece of the puzzle to do more of that. Um, notwithstanding, actually, some of our favourite projects are working alongside other production agencies, like you mentioned Tom and Claire from Organised Chaos earlier. We work for them on We Out Here Festival in Dorset, which is just a growing beast. It's such a wonderful event, so incredibly well delivered by a team who care so passionately about it. And actually being part of that team is really good for us as a business, but really good for us as humans because you're just all kind of driving. So I think, yeah, five years' time, we'd love to be bigger, would love to have whole ownership of more pieces, but I want to still be enjoying it. And if that ever stops, then I don't want to do it anymore. But like I can't see that happening, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

I think that as a desire going forward to keep on enjoying yourself, I can't tell you how important that is. You know, as soon as you stop enjoying it, you stop. I mean, I worked at the Ryder Cup for eight years and I realised, you know what? No, I'm not doing this anymore. It sounds glamorous. I had a great job at the Ryder Cup. No, I'm not doing this anymore. I've finished. Um, listen, we're almost done, but we always finish, as you may have heard, with our rapid far rounds. So here we go on our 10 questions. Um, the most influential person in your life doesn't have to be in business, just could be whatever.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Yeah, my mum. She's the most like me person other than that. And we lost my dad not too long ago, and her strength in getting through that has really shone the light for me. So uh yeah, my mum by a distance. Best business book you've ever read? Uh I've got one up here, which is by Robin Shalmer called The Wealth Money Can't Buy, which is kind of a business book, kind of not a business book, but it's about how we measure success. And it talks about wealth as part of that mix.

SPEAKER_00 43:09

Wealth and happiness, or just wealth as in for material wealth?

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Yeah, so it basically says that financial wealth is just part of the things, and actually, wealth is broader than that. It's health, it's family, it's friends, it's socialism, it's fact, it's all of those things. And I've read it a couple of times and I heard about it on a podcast, and yeah, it's it's just been a real kind of go-to for me, because you can get kind of all caught up in the money, and actually that's only part of it.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Your number one movie.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

I think it's probably Gladiator. I've got no cool story for why. It just is.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

Well, there's been the eclectic mix, but Gladiator's fine, I'll go with that. Favourite drink?

SPEAKER_01 43:47

I'm an IPA guy, so I'm not quite as much of a grown up as my dad would want me to be drinking Guinness yet, but I'm just like slowly working my way from lager through browner beers.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Did I see a picture in In the paper the other day of one of the politicians pouring a pint of neck oil, I think.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

Did you? Oh, that makes me like it less.

SPEAKER_00 44:08

Small amounts and you would die on little things that drive you absolutely insane.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Well houses. I'm a fiend for tidiness and cleanliness. So like I'll constantly work around like an event control room, like tidying up after people and stuff on site. Yeah. I am tidy to the nth degree, which is um it's a challenge for me because my husband is not.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Yeah. Well, do you know what? My wife would my wife would say exactly the same thing. Your passion outside of the events industry.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

Yeah, I love sport. It's an area I would love to take the business into more of. I would sit and watch anything with a ball in it. I love rugby, I love football, I love like nothing better than having back-to-back winter Olympics on TV, like stuff you've never played. Yeah, I think it brings out the very best in society. Like in this really dark world that we live in sometimes, sport can almost always just be like a beacon of hope and positivity, and I think that's really special. You're so right, you're so right. And do you have a hidden talent? I was a trampolinist. Yeah. So I can still flip. So my mum and sister run a gymnastics club. I spent my teenage years bouncing up and down. I was pretty good, but not that good. But I used to train alongside a guy who went on to represent Great Britain at the Olympics for clarity. I was doing double some sorts at most. They're doing threes and fours. But yeah, I absolutely loved it.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

I just love the hidden talent thing. I was speaking to Holly Faulkner at Purple Page a while ago, and she suddenly said, Yeah, yeah, rock climbing. And I went, What? So I went great. I mean, trampolini, I'll go with that every day of the week. I know the answer to question eight, dogs or cats, because it's clearly dogs.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

Yeah, I'm and I'm allergic to cats, so it's definitely, definitely dogs, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

And the three people you would have to dinner and why?

SPEAKER_01 45:55

That's an interesting one. Um, I think I would love to have another dinner with my dad, and I mentioned earlier that he passed a couple of years ago, and he passed uh really suddenly while we were away cycling on a charity bike ride, and we never got the chance to say goodbye. So I would love that opportunity. And similarly, I lost my best friend when I was 18 in a car accident, and we set a charity up in his name, and we just celebrated 20 years of running that charity and having raised £800,000 in his name, and he like inspires me every day. The first events I ever ran were fundraisers in his memory. And when I look back at that, I'm like, well, my best friend was supporting me through my events journey, and we were supporting Steve's charity when Dad passed away. So to have them to their kind of talking and learning would be just incredible. And then for probably one like a little bit less tugging on the hard strings, I'd love to spend some time with Johnny Wilkinson because I think having been a rugby player growing up, not to any great level, and then being 18 when England won the World Cup in 2000, I really admired him as a sportsman. His dedication was incredible. I loved everything I've ever heard of him since talking with honesty and authenticity about high performance. And he talks frequently about enjoying the process because the end result isn't worth it. And I think for me, that's a really inspiring piece, an amazing interview on high performance, which is one of my favourite podcasts where he talks about that. And I just think it's so true. And we're absolutely committed as a business to doing that and celebrating wins along the way and not just focusing on where we are in five years or ten years and stuff, because you might celebrate for half an hour and then you're just on to the next thing. That's how humans work. So I'd say those three.

SPEAKER_00 47:49

There might be a few tears around the table, but be a good dinner party. And if you weren't running Project 30, what do you think you'd be doing instead?

SPEAKER_01 47:56

I would 100% be a lawyer. I almost did law.

SPEAKER_00 47:59

That's two big surprises in 10 questions. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

It may not surprise you. It doesn't surprise many people. I was head boy at school. I was doing pretty well in my education and stuff, and I was like, right, I want to be a lawyer. And then out of nowhere, I decided to do sport instead because I was like, that's my passion. I still think regularly of the world of the world I live and operate in if I followed that instead. But um, yeah, I think that's where I would have gone if I hadn't ended up doing what I do now.

SPEAKER_00 48:22

Amazing. Listen, Craig Matthew, thank you very, very, very much indeed for being a guest on Event Messers. It's been I rarely enjoyed an hour so much. So thank you very much for being a guest.

SPEAKER_01 48:32

Oh, that's so kind. And thank you for inviting me on. It's um yeah, I really love listening, so it's great to be part of it.

SPEAKER_00 48:37

Thanks very much.