EHF Fellow: Josh Hannah of Matrix Partners
Mentoring the next generation of breakthrough businesses
It was while at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business that Josh Hannah realised his calling was in the world of entrepreneurship.
“I discovered my ability to lead when I was in college at University of California, Berkeley, building a business-focused student group to success. In business school, I was inspired to work for myself and realized with great clarity that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and I have been blessed to be part of the startup ecosystem since.”
- Josh Hannah
After a stint as a graduate consultant, Josh turned his focus and leadership potential to enterprise software in 1999, with the founding of Flutter.com, which merged with Betfair.com in 2002.
When he founded it, Flutter.com was in the vanguard of peer-to-peer betting, and Betfair.com is now the global leader, annually processing over USD$50B in bets, or over 10x the number of transactions as the London Stock Exchange, with more than USD$500M in revenue. The company was publically listed on the London Stock Exchange (BET.L) in 2010 and Josh remains a Director.
2004 heralded another seminal juncture in Josh’s journey. He and his friend Jack Herrick, both now Fellows in Cohort 2 of Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF), decided to buy the struggling how-to site, eHow. It took just two years for the two men to take the company from near collapse to the most popular how-to website on the Internet. Traffic was increased from 6,000 to 200,000 daily visitors through the strategic use of SEO and data insights. They turned eHow into a thriving business, and sold the site to Demand Media in 2006.
He credits the success of both ventures to some key lessons that he has learned along the way.
Firstly, he eschews the concept of a 9–5 model of steady input of energy in the context of startups. He has found that success is most likely with relentless focus at specific points in time, especially at the earliest stages of seizing an opportunity.
Secondly, he is adamant that there are no shortcuts, especially when it comes to the human capital involved in a business. Ultimately the startup world has one meaningful resource: human capital. That’s where all the invention, creativity, and output comes from. Whether an investor in or founder of a business, Josh believes that success comes from attracting talented people to your vision and project, and helping them deliver their best work. In essence:
“Treating people with integrity is the only good long-term approach.”
- Josh Hannah
He is also an advocate of the challenging and the uncomfortable, saying that the “rewards for doing the obvious are low”, and looking to support founders who are walking the paths less travelled. He encourages founders to maintain their conviction in the face of skepticism and misunderstanding, believing these are good signs about the potential of a venture.
Finally, he gives equal weight to all phases of the business-building process and believes that any venture needs a combination of creativity and operational nous.
Over the past decade, Josh has found his best contribution to the entrepreneurship community is as an investor. He has been a General Partner at Matrix Partners, and is still serves on the board of many of their portfolio companies.
“Ideas matter. Execution matters. It all matters.”
- Josh Hannah
For Josh, returning to New Zealand as an EHF Fellow is the continuation of a love affair he started 20 years ago when he lived in the country and saw its potential to be a global leader in entrepreneurship even then. He believes that the commitment to innovation and to building a global impact ecosystem is impressive and he is excited to understand more about how he can contribute in a meaningful way as an investor and mentor. He is also looking forward to meeting the other Fellows and seeing what ideas are forged and opportunities created on a daily basis.
“I don’t know what the three-year journey will bring, I just want to be present for whatever it does, and do my best to make a positive contribution to the group.”
- Josh Hannah
Are you a visionary entrepreneur, investor, or changemaker building solutions to global challenges? You can bring your vision to reality from New Zealand by joining the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. Apply here.
