10 years ago, on the 14th of January 2013, Mason Alexander started trading. I can still remember the nerves coursing through my veins as I got ready for my first day; showering, dressing in my work clothes and driving to my new office. I had knots in my stomach as I repeatedly thought to myself “I’m not ready for this.” I had no college degree, hardly any business experience, and worst of all, no money. 

My arrival to the office, or what had previously been a broom cupboard that the landlord converted into the smallest room in Dublin, was both underwhelming and daunting. As I opened my laptop, I stared at the blank screen in front of me and thought “now what”? I had no real plan, no big idea or lofty goal I was working towards. I had decided months ago to give entrepreneurship a go and now I find myself here, scared and furiously conscious of what people might think if I failed.  

That first week my parents dropped a card in to my office to say best of luck. In the card (which I still have) they said how incredibly proud they were and there was nothing stopping me. Their belief in me at this early stage meant a huge amount. I wanted to make them proud, and this gave me the motive to get the ball rolling. I saw this as a small win, and these small wins were what got me through a tough few months. My first actions were to set up the company profile pages on social media, send out a few emails to old contacts and message some friends to let them know I was up and running. Getting messages back was a huge confidence boost (it’s something I have taken with me over the years, small gestures make a big difference to someone else).  

Very quickly I was one week down… one month down… and time was flying. I got into a groove, spurred on by the fact I spent all day in this tiny room, by myself, dreaming of growing this company just enough to upgrade the office by a couple hundred square feet. That was my first and only goal; work hard, move to something a bit bigger and hire my first employee. Nothing else. 

For this to happen, I needed to win some business. I tried everything; friends, friends of friends, people I had met maybe once before; anyone who could introduce me to a company that would use my services. Finally a breakthrough, a meeting in February with an established financial institution in Dublin. I get to the meeting and they tell me they have been trying for months to hire a tax manager with skills that were proving hard to find. I told them in the most assertive way I could “I know just the person.” 

The truth is, I left that meeting not even knowing what tax people really do, let alone know who this exact person was. It felt like it was a moment where I had very little to lose and everything to gain. So I started by reaching out to tax professionals in Dublin via friends or cold email, in an attempt to convince them to meet me. I would buy them a coffee and put on the big sales pitch about how great this financial institution was, not really knowing if the person I was talking to was right for the job. After many coffees, I found that person and they did eventually take that job. The company was happy, the person was happy and I was VERY happy…. win / win / win. Now, I was up and running and my confidence began to grow.  

Fast forward to the Summer of 2013; my brother James decided he didn’t want to pursue the psychology route that he had studied in college. Desperate now to make my first hire, I convinced him that what MA does is deal with people, and the synergies between that and psychology are powerful. I didn’t know how much I believed my own words at this stage, but he was persuaded and suddenly, MA became two.  

We both worked tirelessly throughout 2013 and into 2014 to get some momentum going in the company. It felt great to be working side by side with him. I never wanted to let him down and it encouraged me even more. James and I are very different yet we are very close. We can be shouting at each other one second and then laughing our heads off the next. Our styles couldn’t be further apart but somehow it works!  

Everything from there on became about getting to the next level… another client, another employee, a bigger office. Every step forward felt like a massive win and I can recall at the time how motivating that was. We were small, determined and we could move fast. I had big dreams, I felt like I was in the right place to realise them and it consumed me. I began working 24/7; late evenings, all-nighters, weekends, etc; it felt necessary and natural. I wanted to work hard, it made me feel good.  

Hiring people was also something I had never done before. Everything that came my way during these times was a ‘first.’ I had no experience in hiring, managing, or motivating… it was all a gut feeling. I was quite certain though that for our next hires, I would need to get potential employees excited about the future, and believe that what they were looking for, they could find in MA. 

My first hire after James was Eoin Connolly, who worked for a larger competitor. I had heard his name within the industry and thought he would be perfect to start our new FS (Financial Services) division. We met over a Guinness and I laid out what the vision was for the future… “give them something to believe in” has always been my mantra. The second time we met, I brought a list of companies that I told him we had a very strong “in” with, so that when he joined, he would hit the ground running. There is a debate about how much of this list was fabricated, Eoin always held firm it was 100%, but it worked! He joined, looked past the lack of clients, and got to work with James and I to start building for the future. 

It wasn’t long before we started to reach several crossroads; headcount grew, the size of the office grew, and we had to decide whether we wanted to push forward and really go for it or stay small and lean. There was never much of a decision to make, the plan was always to scale. Although I had no idea what we were doing starting out, I had started to form a (master) plan in my head. Take our recruitment business that is profitable and use the resources to build out other areas of the company. This would allow us to offer more to our customers and accelerate our growth.  

This excited me as I started to understand what motivated me, building a brand that was recognised, respected, and potentially thought of as cool. Hiring people and giving them opportunities to grow, spurred me on. Pushing boundaries; going in every day not really knowing what might happen; it was exciting and brought the best out of what was now a small team. Thinking back, trying to be a good leader was a massive driving force for me, and still is. ‘Good’ can mean many things, lots of leaders I know are driven by the bottom line and obsess over it constantly, which isn’t a bad thing! However, for me business means more than that, it’s how you make people feel. MA has always been about trying to make people feel like they can achieve anything and allowing them to figure that out. Of course, it doesn’t always work out, people leave, and some take advantage, but you have to stay true to yourself and own the shortcomings that it brings.  

Within a couple of years, we found ourselves in a 3,000 square ft office, followed by a 7,000 square foot office two years later in 2018. Our team grew, we won more clients, we built out new divisions in the company, built our own software, set up communities across diversity & inclusion, set up a sports consultancy, and many more things. It was a thrilling time. Soon there was talk of the US and taking our ambitions to a place that would really test us…. And then, Covid struck. 

The first couple of months were very uncertain, but we had been through tough times before. I remember vividly in 2015 when we had 9 employees and didn’t have enough money to make payroll the day it was meant to go out. I was bracing myself to call a meeting to inform everyone to let them know, and prayed they would be understanding of the situation. I was going to be upfront with them, it’s always better to be. And then, out of nowhere, an outstanding invoice was paid and we were able to make payroll (except my own!). It was a close call, but these small bits of luck along the way convince you that things always work out. A friend of mine always reminds me “It’s better to be born lucky, than rich.” 

There have been so many days over the past 10 years where the stress was unbearable, the smallest respite from it was euphoric. However, the hardship was quickly forgotten whenever something good happened and it would remind me that we could get through these challenges. 

March 2020 onwards was one of those long continuous stressful times, for the best part of a year. Doubt crept in amongst others, but throughout it all, I never relented that we would come out better off. Thankfully we did, and looking back, it was a great lesson for me in how to scale properly. We had other challenges that year than just an uncertain business environment; some personnel issues, a big office with huge rent that was completely vacated; more and more tests thrown at us that we had to overcome. It was a gauntlet. The tough times always bring out the best in you and they certainly did for me and the team. We went into 2021 with new inspiration and determination, nothing can stop you when you believe in yourself.  

Now we have reached our 10 year anniversary and it feels like a long time since I was sitting in that office, opening my laptop for the first time, fraught with nerves. Mason Alexander is now achieving revenue I never dreamt could be possible; we are now operating in the US and other countries in Europe; we have 3 formidable pillars of the company (Tech, Life Science, and Professional Services) and we have spun out a new company called Enable. 

I don’t really know how I would describe the journey, there have been a lot of mixed feelings. I’ve made so many mistakes, taken on far too much stress, and felt alone against the world many times over. I have made so many great friends and lost some too. It has taught me a lot. I am stronger and more self-assured for it all. I have more conviction. I have stuck out some really tough times, so often it would have been easier to quit. I take enormous pride in the brand we have built; this small company called Mason Alexander, which is now making an impact all over the world.  

I want to thank everyone who has worked for Mason Alexander, past and present. Each person brought something unique. Your belief in our business meant more than I can ever describe. Most of all, it’s been such a blast. We have always dared to dream. To all our customers, thanks for your loyalty through the years. To my friends and family, for always standing by me, especially during the toughest times.  

I don’t know what the future holds but it’s been nice to think back over the last 10 years. I have grown so much as a person and I will strive to continue to do so. I never knew where life would take me when I walked into that office back in January 2013, but I would not change any of it. I don’t say it often, but I am proud of what I have done. I’m proud of myself for taking this giant risk, for sacrificing so much, and for continually getting back up when I’m knocked down. I’ve learnt to be resilient in the face of adversity and that makes me excited for whatever lies ahead. 

Thanks. 

Andrew