In an emotional session at SXSW Sydney last week, Clive Burcham, founder of Compadres, captivated the audience with a raw and powerful exploration of how adversity can be harnessed as a superpower for creativity and entrepreneurial success.
Drawing on his own life experiences, Burcham, a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of The Conscience Organisation, guided the audience through a profoundly personal journey marked by failure, loss, and resilience. His candid storytelling, paired with an honest examination of the entrepreneurial mindset, left the audience reflecting on how life’s hardships shape our most significant accomplishments.
The Universal Nature of Adversity
Burcham began by asking the audience a simple but thought-provoking question: “Who here has suffered some form of adversity or even trauma?” The response was immediate and palpable. With hands raised across the room, he posed further questions: “Who here suffers from imposter syndrome? Fear or anxiety? Self-doubt?” Burcham paused for a moment, acknowledging his own battle with these challenges, saying, “Me too, right now.”
This moment of vulnerability set the tone for the rest of the session. Burcham reminded everyone that discomfort, self-doubt, and trauma are universal human experiences. “Seems we are all pretty much normal human beings,” he observed, a statement that brought visible relief to many attendees.
“What you will get from today,” he continued, “is how adversity and even trauma will propel us forward. Unexpected wisdom.”
According to Burcham, adversity is not something to shy away from but rather something to embrace as it leads to growth and wisdom.
The First Scar: Death and Loss
Burcham then shared one of his most personal stories, the loss of his father when he was just eight years old. He recalled the moment vividly: “My dad was a hard worker, a business owner, a champion athlete, and a community man”. One Sunday morning, while lying in bed, his grandmother came into the room and said, “Your father has passed.” The young Burcham, confused by the phrasing, asked himself, “What does ‘passed’ mean?”
He stepped outside to find his mother crying over the fence, comforted by neighbours, and at that moment, the reality of his father’s death became clear. “Grief isn’t something that passes,” he said. “Grief gets outnumbered by other experiences in life.” The loss of his father left a permanent scar on his life, but Burcham explained that it also imparted invaluable lessons. “What wisdom did the death of my father give me?” he asked. “Kindness, hope, and courage. That little boy had kindness in his heart and the courage to share it”.
Through this experience, Burcham learned early on that while grief can be overwhelming, it can also teach us empathy and resilience. “We underestimate the depths of our goodness,” he added, reminding the audience of the strength and wisdom that can emerge from loss.
The Entrepreneurial Journey: Failure, Resilience, and Reinvention
Transitioning from his personal life to his professional journey, Burcham reflected on the trials and tribulations of his entrepreneurial career. Despite a challenging childhood, he knew from an early age that he wanted to succeed. “But I wasn’t geared for success,” he admitted. Growing up, he was something of a delinquent, often in trouble at school and home. However, he discovered a passion for work and entrepreneurship at a young age. He started his first lawn mowing business around age nine, pushing a mower around the neighbourhood, fueling his early ambitions.
By the time he was 15, Burcham had left home and had begun working at a local TV station, where he taught himself to write, produce, and direct commercials. His work ethic and creativity soon paid off, leading to the launch of The Comedy Channel at the age of 25. As his career took off, Burcham found himself winning awards and building a reputation in the industry. However, success didn’t come without its struggles.
“By the time I was 30, I knew I wanted to do things my own way,” he explained. Driven by a desire for independence, Burcham registered the URL for The Conscience Organisation in 1999 and set out to disrupt the traditional advertising world. Armed with nothing but a Sony camera and an edit suite, he quickly gained clients like Network Ten, Coca-Cola, and Vodafone, generating millions of dollars in revenue in the company’s early years.
But, like most entrepreneurial ventures, his journey was not without its setbacks. “I had no training running a business, managing teams, finance, taxes—nothing!” he admitted. Despite his lack of experience, Burcham persevered, learning from his mistakes. “I’m pretty sure I fucked everything up at least three times before I stopped doing it,” he joked.
As the global financial crisis hit, Burcham’s business faced significant challenges. “Revenue tanked,” he recalled. Faced with a dire situation, he pivoted his business model and created a lower-cost version of his agency, akin to Jetstar’s relationship with Qantas. This strategic shift paid off, and revenues soared.
However, the scars of entrepreneurship ran deep. “71 per cent of founders do not feel calm or relaxed for the majority of the time,” he said, citing statistics that resonated with the entrepreneurs in the room. “I spent the majority of my time working through people problems and sales problems in my head at 3 am”. His honesty about the pressures of leadership was a stark reminder of the mental and emotional challenges that come with building a business.
Overcoming Overthinking and Limiting Beliefs
One of the more philosophical moments of the session came when Burcham discussed the human tendency to overthink. “The brain accounts for 2 per cent of body weight but uses 20 per cent of the oxygen from our bloodstream,” he explained, emphasising how our minds can often work against us by amplifying fears and doubts. “We are bombarded by about 500 unintentional thoughts each day,” he continued. “Feelings like fear or doubt are not a reflection of your true reality—they are simply a product of your own mind”.
Burcham urged the audience to push past their limiting beliefs and to avoid getting trapped in negative thought patterns. “Feelings aren’t predictions,” he said. “They are only reflecting back what your current state of mind is.” By reframing these thoughts and focusing on the present, Burcham argued, we can gain control over our lives and move forward with purpose.
Creation, Imagination, and Collaboration
In the final segment of his presentation, Burcham focused on the power of human creativity and collaboration. “What makes humans different from every other species,” he said, “is that we can materialise the invisible. Humans create out of their imagination.” This ability to envision and create the future, Burcham argued, is what makes us truly extraordinary. “The distance between an idea becoming a reality is between your brain and your fingertips,” he added.
He also stressed the importance of collaboration in realising these ideas. “One measure of the professional success of your life is the number of quality collaborations you have going on at any one time,” Burcham noted. He encouraged the audience to expand their vision by working with others, as collaboration often leads to results that far exceed what could be achieved alone.
Adversity as a Springboard
As the session drew to a close, Burcham left the audience with several key takeaways. “Failure, breakdowns, and pain are all springboards,” he said. “Breakdowns bring breakthroughs.”
Burcham’s message was clear: adversity is not something to avoid but rather something to embrace and learn from.
In his final words, he urged the audience to uncover their own burdens, discover their purpose, and develop ideas to make a difference in the world. “Discomfort is a door to opportunity,” he concluded. “Imagination makes everything possible.”
