On Tuesday, January 13th, the BCTIA launched an exciting new event series called Unplugged: Thought Leaders Unscripted. To kick off the series, we invited Matt Barrie, CEO and Chairman of Freelancer.com, to share his tips, tricks and ‘secret recipe’ on “How to Hack a Billion Dollars”. This was also the first community event of 2015 hosted at The Hub, so it was exciting for our team to be able to host so many new faces and show off our sweet new digs.

With a background in computer science and engineering, and having spent much of his life growing tech companies and expanding into new markets, Matt had a wealth of advice to offer the close to 100 attendees at Unplugged, an audience that ranged from executives and tech founders to developers and freelancers.

Barrie founded Freelancer.com in 2009, and in November 2013 he floated Freelancer Limited (ASX:FLN) on the Australian Securities Exchange, opening at an AU$1.1 billion (US: $1.03 billion) market capitalization — the third biggest opening ever on the exchange (for a listing greater than a seed-stage listing). His “overnight success” led Matt to be named “the most influential person in technology in Australia” by Smart Company in 2014, and he won consecutive Silver Stevies at the International Business Awards in 2013 and 2014 for CEO and Executive of the Year, respectively. To learn more about Matt Barrie, visit Freelancer.com.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to kickoff Unplugged, and if you missed out, don’t worry — there will be more coming up in 2015! We’d also like to extend a special ‘thank you’ to Matt Barrie for entertaining our audience, the team at Freelancer.com for their help, and to Red Truck Beer and Happy Water for their continued support (and delicious beverages!)

For more information about our upcoming events, and to find out what’s happening at The Hub, be sure to check out our Events Calendar.

About Unplugged:
Unplugged is an intimate and interactive event designed to bring thought leaders together with the tech community and encourage the asking of questions, sharing of ideas and building of networks. Offered several times per year, Unplugged is an informal opportunity to meet leaders in the tech industry and find inspiration in their stories. If you know a thought leader who would be great for Unplugged, please email us at communications@bctia.org.