Founder Spotlight: Why Matthew Housser started Convergence and his most memorable (and scariest) milestone

Welcome to Vancouver Tech Journal’s founder spotlight, where we get into the backstory of the people leading Vancouver’s must-know companies.

How do you know if — and when — it’s the right time to pivot?

For Matthew Housser, founder and CEO of Convergence, it came down to getting honest about the reality of the path he was on and what he needed to learn next. 

By then, Housser had already experienced a couple of startup woes that drained him to the point of not being able to sleep for more than two hours. Still, Housser did take the risk and pivot — despite all the noise about it being harder than starting a business.

Fast forward to six years later, Convergence serves public and private organizations of all sizes — notable names including the province of BC, Vancouver Community College, Health Research BC, and Fintel Connect.

Housser took the time to sit with Vancouver Tech Journal to share how he got to where he is today, how he prevents burnout, and what he’s hoping to support the community with.

Where were you born?

Right here in Vancouver — a rare breed. In fact, I’m a fourth-generation Vancouverite.

How old are you?

I’m 38 (39 quite soon), although I refuse to accept that.

Do you have kids?

No. Kids require nourishment and maintenance (or so I’ve heard), and I’ve got my hands full with the entrepreneurial life I chose to embark on.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I’m one of those people who always knew what they wanted to do. 

Ignoring whatever fantasies I had as a toddler, I knew from elementary school onward that I would be dealing with computers and/or software. 

In elementary school, I was already programming (QBasic, anyone?) and playing with hardware tuning/overclocking. Apologies to my parents for possibly destroying a computer or two.

Favourite class in school?

Math, calculus, physics.

These came easy to me, and it’s convenient to like things you’re good at. All questions in these courses had one correct answer, and the answer could be arrived at by simply following a set of rules. No room for interpretation. No subjectivity. I found this relaxing, and I couldn’t understand why people found it difficult. 

My least favourite subject is possibly English or history/social studies.

Previous job before Convergence?

I was an application architect at Western Union Business Solutions, where I worked for over five years, from 2010 to 2015.

How do you commute?

My legs. I’ve lived downtown since 2008 and have worked downtown since 2010.

What time do you normally wake up?

I set my alarm for 8 hours after I go to bed. These days, the sleep window tends to be between 2 am to 10 am.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Recently, I’ve been skipping breakfast and consume no calories whatsoever until lunch (the new breakfast). When I wake up, I simply get ready to be presentable and then head directly to the office.

What time do you normally sleep?

If there’s a VIP or client meeting in the morning, I’ll go to bed when I need to. Otherwise, I tend to go to bed around 1:30 or 2 am. I strongly believe that not everyone has the same circadian rhythm/optimal sleep schedule.

What’s the last thing you do before bed?

I read a book. Without exception, I haven’t skipped my nightly reading routine once in the past decade — even while travelling abroad. I only read fiction, and read until I’m too sleepy to keep going.

What are you reading right now or listening to?

I’m currently reading the second book of the The Three-Body Problem trilogy by Liu Cixin.

Where do you normally work from?

The Convergence headquarters downtown. Sure, I work from home as well, but that’s only because I’m bad at shutting myself off when I’m at home. I’m in the office Monday to Friday.

Elevator pitch — what does Convergence do?

Businesses need to adopt, develop, or innovate on software technologies to stay relevant and competitive, yet may not have the required in-house multidisciplinary talent. That’s where Convergence comes in.

Why did you start Convergence?

From 2010 to 2015, I co-founded two app startups; one of which I exited through acquisition, and another I raised money for. By most people’s definition, both startups failed. 

In 2016, I was faced with an important decision: to keep raising funds and try to make something work, or to pivot and learn how to actually create and grow a revenue-generating business. In Q1 of 2017, Convergence officially began selling its services as a professional services firm, although the company had been incorporated in August 2014.

To answer the question: Convergence was started as a way to build a solid foundation for our technical group; an alternative business model to the existing cycle of trying to become the ‘next big app’.

Have you raised any money?

Convergence itself has never raised any money as it’s a service firm. However, I have personally raised money for a much earlier mobile app startup of ours — $300k or so. In a support capacity, I’ve acted as a consultant on various M&A files that have raised far greater amounts than this.

What do you wish you knew when you started?

When we pivoted into being a service firm in 2017, I wish I knew that it was fairly common to use core team members’ individual portfolios in the company portfolio. We found it very challenging to sign our first few clients, because we were too literal about what we included in our corporate portfolio. 

In hindsight, we could have (and should have) used our multiple decades’ of combined experience as a proxy portfolio for getting started. I see this done all the time. Now, our corporate portfolio speaks for itself.

What’s one of the biggest challenges you are facing right now?

Convergence, as a service firm, is somewhat of a barometer for the health of the investment community. When funding for startups/deals is slow, times can be tough. When funding is healthy, times are good. 

A good portion of our client base are startup companies. We’re vulnerable to these ups and downs by one degree of separation. My biggest challenge is maintaining and growing a healthy mix of public sector, recurring revenue, and private sector/startup engagements.

What’s the most memorable milestone in your career so far?

Flipping the switch from being “a handful of contractors working in random locations” to being a company of salaried full-time employees with healthcare coverage and a premier downtown location was a memorable (and scary) milestone. 

Taking that plunge was terrifying, as it’s hard to undo the commitment to unrelenting monthly operational costs. Surviving that transition with the business (and the founders’ sanity) intact is somewhat of a Great Filter event for young companies.

What are you learning right now?

If I have to choose just one thing it’s that I’m learning a lot (still, after all these years) about the depths of public sector project bidding. 

As we continue to grow and bid on increasingly ambitious provincial/federal projects, the skillset required to compete with the veterans appears to grow exponentially. 

At a certain point, a business must face competitors that have been honing these skills for decades. Learning from your failures is of the utmost importance.

Do you have any mentors?

Certainly. I’m surrounded by industry veterans whom I consider mentors. 

I do, however, have one mentor in particular who has been coaching me on a daily basis for over 10 years — helping to evolve me from a standard computer science nerd into someone who can run and grow a business in a highly competitive industry. 

I owe where I’m at today to this person. When my mentor calls, I drop what I’m doing to answer. If he says, “I suggest you fly out to meet them,” well, I’m getting on that plane.

What’s a recent habit you’ve picked up that’s made a difference in your life?

Here’s an unconventional answer: skipping breakfast. 

Not only does my day get started a whole lot quicker, I actually feel sharper and more energetic when I wait a few hours before consuming any calories. I didn’t realize it at the time, but eating first thing in the morning after getting out of bed was putting me into a hazy ‘food coma’ state for the first couple hours of the day. 

I was only doing it because of the whole “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” thing. I feel a lot better waiting a few hours until I’m actually hungry and want to eat. I do appreciate that this might not work for everyone and that it’s probably more important to simply listen to one’s body.

Where do you see yourself in 3, 6, and 9 years?

With how I operate, 3 to 9 years is an eternity, so I’ll group them together and answer the question as if asked “in the future.” 

Beyond the service firm, I see myself rejoining the product/SaaS world; launching a digital product/venture in a cutting-edge industry vertical. 

Yes, we have things in development which I cannot talk about. Our service division will always exist as an independent part of our operation, but I’m pretty sure that I will always be attracted to the idea of launching new products that have a high risk/return ratio.

How do you prevent burnout?

I definitely consider myself to have burned out around 2010 to 2011. I was working 16 hours a day for months, even years, trying to build my first app/business after hours. The app was bought by a U.S. company and subsequently shelved. 

At the time, I completely lost my ability to sleep, and wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone. We’re talking literal years of not being able to stay asleep for more than two consecutive hours. 

Recovering from that time took many years, and I might even say that I never fully recovered. 

Having learned my lesson the hard way, I’m now keenly aware of what’s giving stress to me in my personal or professional life, and have taught myself to observe stress as a tangible experience that I can choose to not feel. 

I’ve also come to appreciate that most things that seem important are really “just business.” Allow your mind hours of uninterrupted relaxation, have a hobby that you can distract yourself with (indoor climbing, running, pick what works for you), and tackle your work with a fresh mind the next day.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

Surround yourself with people who are better than you, and try to be the dumbest person in the room. It’s not a great feeling at first — a lot of us academic/tech nerds grew up thinking we’re the cleverest person in the room; whether or not that was actually true, it’s a bad place to stay for long. 

When you jump into the world of entrepreneurship, you’ll quickly realize that you’re one of thousands of similar individuals in this city alone. Investors will have met countless people who are better than you in most of the things that you’re good at. Get used to that feeling. 

You’ll get to know the true meaning of being a “small fish in a big pond.” Embrace this, lose the ego, and try to become a reliable resource to folks who move in interesting business circles. 

If people like and trust you and you’re consistently dedicating yourself to honing your skills and broadening your outlook, success will find you.

What’s your favourite coffee shop in Vancouver?

JJ Bean in Yaletown. I do a few hours of work here over the weekends, and have been doing so for over a decade. There are plenty of high-tier cafes in the city, but JJ Bean is the one that I feel at home at.

What’s your favourite restaurant in Vancouver?

Guu Izakaya, specifically, the original location on Thurlow. I’m just so happy to go there.

What’s your favourite vacation spot?

Japan. Tokyo and Osaka mostly, though I’ve been to many different cities in Japan and have loved them all. I’ve been traveling to Japan once or twice a year for the past 15 years, and once made a serious attempt right before COVID to open up a satellite office in Tokyo.

What website or app do you visit the most?

Ignoring productivity apps like Gmail. I’d say just your standard messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, or SMS. And LinkedIn as well. I’m not much on other social media platforms these days.

What’s your favourite show to binge watch?

I’m pretty bad at answering questions about TV shows. I don’t watch shows very often, and when I do, I marathon through them and then forget about them. I think the last season of a show I binged was Baki on Netflix. A very sophisticated and intellectual show, indeed.

Who’s one person or brand everyone should follow on social?

Vancouver Tech Journal. After that, I read the Morning Brew email digest every morning, and I’ve done so for many years.

Do you support any charities? If so, which ones and why?

We’ve made donations to specific charities/relief funds, including the BC Cancer Foundation. It’s not hard to find someone on a team whose family has been affected by cancer.

What does Vancouver’s tech ecosystem need the most?

More in-person, high-quality networking events. Vancouver Tech Journal, in my opinion, is doing a great job in making this happen.

What kind of support can you offer the community?

We’re happy to sponsor community events at our lovely downtown headquarters. Personally, I do my best to respond to anyone that might seek advice or guidance — no strings attached. I got my start with the help of a few folks who were generous enough to help me out at the beginning, and I try to operate in this same spirit.

How can people connect with you?

Find me on LinkedIn or email me.

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