Matthew Stephenson swapped his brogues for cowboy boots in 2016 when he left his corporate job for farm life.
Ten years on, Wild West Cider and Wine is thriving, but the journey wasn't without its hiccups – like losing their first 3,200 vines to an unforgiving spring frost.
Read on to find out how MBA grad Matthew's time at Bath gave him the confidence to try new things.
Why did you choose to study at Bath?
I was already working as a management consultant at one of the big accounting firms and I wanted to do an MBA that I could combine with work.
Being based in Bristol and knowing the reputation of Bath meant that I was able to study at a renowned university whilst juggling my career and family life.
Can you tell us about your experience of studying here? Any favourite memories, or places to go on campus and in the city?
Studying at Bath broadened my horizons and the subject areas on my course were very interesting. I can still remember some my professors as they made a lasting impact, for example Iain Mangham who wrote Organisations as Theatre, about the power plays and politics in large organisations, which was fascinating.
I enjoyed that the MBA enabled us to work with others in our cohort, and I remember doing some great projects with others on my course. As I lived in Bristol and had a young family, I wasn’t able to get out and about much on campus or in the city, sadly.
Describe your career journey since graduating. What is a typical day like in your current role?
I was in the early to mid-part of my career as a management consultant when I did my MBA at Bath. Once I finished, I became a partner in Deloitte and stayed there for 11 years. After that, I left and set up my own independent consulting business, where I worked with several tech start-ups. I then thought I was retiring... but instead of that, I now get up every day and put on my cowboy
boots and cowboy hat and make cider.
Just before the pandemic, I set up Wild West Cider & Wine with my son-in-law, and we now sell award-winning cider and wine. We also run tours and tastings at our vineyard and have an event space.
A typical day is...chaotic! It involves juggling cider making, bookkeeping, marketing and everything else involved in running a small business. I could be picking apples in our orchards in the morning, co-hosting courses held on the farm, meeting with restaurants to discuss wholesale, then running a tour in the afternoon.
Farming is quite the change from consulting. What led you to make the move?
We realised we had the opportunity to do something special: putting some love back into the land and restoring it to how it was many years ago. This essentially meant no intensive grazing, establishing new woodland and hedgerows and creating wildlife corridors, repairing dry stone walls, looking after the land and not using harmful pesticides.
Alongside this was an opportunity to indulge a long-standing dream: creating a drinks brand. By taking care of the farm and the land, we have created natural, low-intervention and organic cider and wine.
What do you enjoy most about your career? Has anything surprised you?
I have enjoyed a very varied career. What I enjoy most in my current role is Friday afternoons when we taste our new blends and work out what we are going to call them. What surprised me is just how tough it is to start a small business and the range of challenges you have to deal with daily. No two days are the same.
How did your studies help to develop you?
My studies helped me build my career. My course broadened my perspectives, gave me more resilience and removed any feelings of anxiety I might have had around subjects I didn’t know so much about. As a result of the course, I was always happy to read around a subject and build it into my portfolio of skills.
What advice would you give to prospective students thinking about studying your course at Bath?
Combining an MBA, a challenging career and raising small children was a huge undertaking, but it was absolutely worth it. I would advise anyone in a similar situation thinking about studying an MBA at Bath to create a strong support network and go for it.
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