Matthew Burgess, CEO
Matthew brings 15 years of entrepreneurial insight to Formation Solutions. He founded Cross Canyon Corporate Services, Inc, now renamed Formation Solutions, Inc. in 2002, and has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs to build a solid foundation and help protect their companies and their assets.
Before launching Cross Canyon, Matthew was General Manager of Company Makers LLC, a provider of small business operational services, such as incorporation, bookkeeping, HR compliance, finance, and legal.
In 2003, he co-founded another entrepreneurial venture, Maverick Internet Ventures. First as Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Marketing & Analytics Officer, he managed a portfolio of ecommerce businesses and built and managed PPC search engine advertising campaigns with multi-million dollar budgets.
Matthew served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Vice President of Intellectual Property Asset Acquisition at Zone Reactor, a technology commercialization firm created by Zone Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. At Zone, he worked to formulate business plans and launch new companies from technologies under development within world-class R&D facilities.
Before Zone Ventures, Matthew co-founded the venture-backed Internet startup SuperSig, where he served as COO and SVP of Corporate Development. He also served as Director of Business Development at Communities.com and as venture capital associate at Agincourt Partners LLP.
He received an MBA from Boston University, where he founded the BU Applied Securities Analysis Program. Conceived as an advanced portfolio management course coupled with a student-managed pool of capital, the program offers MBA students an opportunity to become portfolio managers and venture capitalists. Within a few years, it had become one of the most popular courses in the MBA program, and was transformed into an entire degree program: MS in Investment Management.
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, he and his wife Shana split their time between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Michael Neville, VP Business Development
Michael came to Formation Solutions from Equity Title, where he was Assistant Vice President of Sales. He has 16 years of experience helping people move their businesses forward and finding solutions to everyday problems.
At Equity Title, Michael was a key part of the team that grew the firm into a market leader in the residential resale market in Santa Barbara. He worked to build long term relationships with the company's clients, and helped to build a service organization that consistently delivered high standards of excellence and high quality services.
As an active participant with the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors since 1998. As the Affiliate Director in 2008, he brought educational events to the local community, as well as to the 1200 member association. He also organized a series of fundraising events for various local charities.
Mike has been an active participant in the "I Have a Friend®" program from Hospice of Santa Barbara, and he encourages other to consider becoming a mentor.
Michael is a board member of SABER, the Santa Barbara Executive Roundtable, Santa Barbara's premier small business educator and networking organization, dedicated to enhancing the professional lives and skills of local business leaders. Guest speakers, renowned it their fields, are invited to educate attendees in subjects that are pertinent to business success.
A native of Pacific Palisades, CA, Michael also grew up in an entrepreneurial family, where his father started and grew many successful companies. He's a graduate of the University of Colorado, and he now calls Santa Barbara home.