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Foreword By Bill Mockridge

It’s quite astonishing: shortly after a child is born, I get the feeling that this tiny little person, who just saw the light of day an hour ago, is already whole. Of course, I know that the education they receive, the environment they grow in, and—above all—the friends they make, will have a strong influence on their development, and yet, I can’t get rid of the feeling that the personality of this little person is already defined.

So it was with my brother Matthew: his birth was fast and uncomplicated, and he seemed particularly wide awake and curious as an infant. He was already a “natural-born leader” in primary school, but instead of being the center of attention, he was more concerned with helping others, encouraging them, and putting them in the spotlight. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he told me that he wanted to write a guide for young aspiring entrepreneurs to help them get on their way.

I advised him to keep the information brief and concise. I have been presented with many different projects in recent years, and quickly developed a tactic to distinguish good ideas from bad. I usually tell the other guy, “You have fifty-nine seconds to convince me.” In other words: be short, energetic, and to the point. Whoever can do that has my undivided attention. Otherwise, they won’t get anywhere with me. I’m firmly convinced that a lot of content is not as complicated as some people think, but the perceived complication resides in the way it is communicated. You can express simple things in a very complicated way and complicated things very simply. What matters is that you must be convincing and enthusiastic about your idea and convey it all in two sentences.

Thirty-four years ago, I was totally excited about an idea that completely changed my life. In the early 1980s, I wanted to introduce improvisational theater to Germany. Because of my stage experience in North America, I knew the craft very well, and I was ready to produce comedy shows all over Europe. Despite all this, the transition from artist to businessman was not an easy one. I had many questions that friends and colleagues tried to answer as best they could, but at every turn I seemed to lack business expertise. What would I have given at the time for a sound guide on entrepreneurship—one that offered brief and precise answers to my questions as well as solutions to my problems! I could have really used a set of rules to evaluate my project in the short, medium, and long term—a book that would help me put together an effective team that I could rely on and grow with.

With Your Next Big Thing, Matthew has succeeded in writing a well-founded (but also very hip) guide book for young entrepreneurs.

This book dismantles complicated facts into individual parts that are immediately understandable, manageable, and, most importantly, practical. Matthew’s clearly organized and sensible structure for the book makes it a fantastic reference for when problems arise and solutions are needed. Here’s what I did: I read it all in one go, and then I placed it on the shelf above my desk with a note saying, “Check this out more often!”

So, if you’re an energetic young person with great ideas and with the dream of helping your company achieve resounding success in today’s market, I simply can’t recommend a better book than Your Next Big Thing. That’s just how good it is!

I’m now looking forward to YOUR “next big thing”!

Dig in!

Bill Mockridge

Founder of the Springmaus Theather