IWantToHelpYourBand.com ft. Cory McCoy

I got to sit down for a hypothetical cup of coffee in a hypothetical coffee shop with one Cory McCoy—creator and mastermind behind IWantToHelpYourBand.com. Being super busy all of the time, adding in the start of some sort of winter sickness and our mutual friendship on Facebook stemmed from a Harry Potter marathon, our hypothetical coffee shop became our computer screens and our hypothetical cup of coffee became the insight into the life of one 21-year-old entrepreneur.

Starting out a company for Cory came about the same way it does with everyone else—inspiration. It only took him a trip to go see his favourite band—Blink 182—in concert, and the idea formed. This idea, coupled with his interest in fashion and a high average in Business class, Indie Out Loud was formed. That's right, IWantToHelpYourBand.com was not Cory's first masterpiece. His senior year in high school prompted a clothing company and aspirations to make something of himself. “Indie Out Loud was never meant to be my whole life,” he says. “To me it was a test. I had to prove to myself that I was as motivated and passionate as I thought I was.” He found out through this company that not only was he capable of achieving the things he hoped to, but that others believed in him as well.

Music has been a driving force through his entire life; “it's incredible what a single band—in this case, Blink 182—can do to a person,” he said. Not only did Blink 182 inspire Indie Out Loud, but also its successor: IWantToHelpYourBand.com. Back when Cory was just 15 and playing music, it occurred to him how odd it was that there was no website or person to help your band on a limited or known existent budget, and that is exactly what small-time bands, especially, needed. In a nearly identical scenario, Cory came up with the idea for IWantToHelpYourBand.com on the ride back from a Blink 182 concert. So, exactly two years after Indie Out Loud, Cory launched IWantToHelpYourBand.com, setting out with the intention of helping bands worldwide.

The site's success is not limited to the North American continent, however. In 2013, Cory has plans to set up both the first Canadian and UK offices. “We have become incredibly popular in the UK at an incredibly fast rate,” he says. “It's been amazing!”. With the addition of the new offices will be two teams: one dedicated to the Western hemisphere and one to the Eastern. With Cory being the main man, he will be travelling between the two to ensure their success. Each part of the world has their own techniques and he hopes to collaborate the two to ensure their success.

It sounds like the dream job; travelling, helping out and hearing some amazing musicians while simultaneously doing what he loves, however, it isn't all concert halls, long rides home that prompt successful ideas and travelling to the UK. Cory's life is far from leisurely. He puts a lot of time and energy into his company, even going so far as comparing it to raising a child. All of this time and energy leaves little time for a personal life, especially at a young age. He tells how relationships are next to impossible with how much stress and time he has to put into IWantToHelpYourBand.com. With time, he believes he will learn how to balance his job with relationships—familial or otherwise. “But it is an extremely difficult and delicate situation,” he says. “If you approach it and say you understand when you really don't, then things will end badly.”

With all this stress and time he has to put into his job, some sort of resentment might be in order, but when asked about a different career path, he stated that he had never considered it; “I always knew I would be working for myself. Going to work, clocking in, listening to a manager doing half the work and making 20 times more than me would never work for me.” He tells a tale of himself as a toddler, parading around singing "If I Had a Million Dollars" by the Barenaked Ladies; “I've always believed I had that potential,” he says.

But at 21-years-old, he must have that same party intellect that most other 21-year-olds do, there must be some days that he wants to party or sit around and do nothing all day, right? Wrong. “I do not drink; I haven't had a beer in 3 years. As for doing nothing all day, I couldn't even if I wanted to. I just start feeling useless.” While many people his age will get discouraged from mistakes and failures, Cory says he takes full responsibility for his actions, moving on with his head held high and a lesson learned which, admittedly, is the best course of action for someone in his position. You can't mope around all day about a failure; you have a business to run!

Although Cory is busy the majority of the time, he does grace himself with some free time. “I'm a move/food buff,” he says. “I tend to watch movies with friends and pick up some great food and relax.” Sounds about right. When's our next Harry Potter marathon?