In what ways is Bandwagon different than when you first imagined it?
When I first had the idea as a university student, it was going to be a web and mobile app where you could find gigs by all sorts of ways, buy tickets conveniently, browse and purchase music, auto post to social networks. I soon realized you don't just become an iTunes or Sistic replacement overnight. I started looking at the nitty gritty—resources, time to market, content population strategy, marketing strategy—and I realized I had to focus on that one killer feature and get good at it before thinking about other things that could add value. 

At what point did you know that Bandwagon had “taken off”?
Most of my uni friends told me I seriously needed a timeline to figure if it can work, and if not, to go get a real job. I gave myself four months. At the time of evaluation, I looked back and saw the good interest among music lovers and attention we had received from respectable news sites. That was my benchmark and I just felt I was on to something. I relished the challenge of building this idea into a business and could honestly say it was my dream job.

What trends have you observed in the local music scene?
I had to do some market sizing in order to build the financial model. I tracked the number of events, ticketed and non-ticketed, and noticed that it was rising. If I remember right, the figure was something like 33% from 2008-2011. That was a good affirmation of my gut feel that local talent, audiences and number of festivals are all growing. We experienced a drop in the early 2000s, but in recent years it’s almost like our music scene is experiencing a revival.

What’s the Bandwagon office life like?
Interesting you asked—we're in the midst of designing our new office. My brief to the architects is that it shouldn't feel like an office, but like a hipster cafe. They say the smell of caffeine boosts productivity! In terms of office life and culture, we talk a lot about music, and what's going on in the local and international music space. Laughter, good music, witty one-liners, and wacky YouTube videos dominate the air waves when we're not zoning in on work. 

How are you as a manager?
I only hire if passion, skill and self-motivation are present. So the team in general is independent. I set or validate the direction, and pretty much give my team free rein to get the job done. It's a flat hierarchy, so anyone can speak to me anytime, and everyone gets heard. I try to have as much regular one on one chats with my team. At the end of the day, work is only one portion of our lives.

What’s the craziest live gig you’ve ever been to?
It was in Tallinn, Estonia. A friend and I were walking the streets and it was getting dark. This girl just came up to us and invited us to join her at a party in an abandoned prison. The party area resembled a scene from the movie Gladiator except a lot darker. Makeshift UV lights and graffiti. People on the dance floor were floating around and hardly anyone seemed to be in any sort of state to mingle. I made it out in one piece to catch the cruiseliner back. Not without a dance or two and a look into the rusty prison bars wondering what I might find in there. Unfortunately in those days, mobile phones didn't have flashlights.