Our Clownfish Story
Clownfish might have a small namesake.
But it was born from big dreams.
Finding a spark
Matt’s entrepreneurial journey started at 14 (not that he knew it).
Whilst his school friends were starting to party, Matt was in his room pretending to be a radio DJ (broadcasting to his family) or a TV host (mocking up game shows in the living room)!
It wasn’t so much the hosting that he loved; it was rigging up the technology to bring fun and entertainment to life.
Finding happiness
Early on, he figured out playing with computers, sound systems and stage lights was his ‘happy place’.
He kept it a little quiet to the outside world – it wasn’t the coolest hobby – but he was genuinely content in his own geeky world.
With a daily paper round, he funded some low-grade speakers and disco lights – his first business investment.
Finding a gap
When his parents’ friends started hosting their 40th birthday parties, Matt realised they needed help with the bits they didn’t understand. The technical things. Lights for the garden. Speakers for music. Projectors to show their family photos.
Matt understood this stuff, so he helped. And then he realised that his parents weren’t the only ones that needed help. There was a business in this.
Finding momentum
Matt’s best friend, Johnny, had similar nerdy interests. When they weren’t at school, they were busy setting up discos, sound systems and lighting for local parties.
They decided to form M&J Stage Productions Ltd, with the strapline ‘Making the world a louder and brighter place.’ Frustratingly, HSBC wouldn’t give them a bank account as they weren’t yet 16, so the responsibility for that fell to Matt’s parents.
Finding Nemo
When school finished, Johnny left for university. M&J Productions had only been a hobby for Johnny, but for Matt it was a golden opportunity.
He really had no idea what he was signing himself up for – but he knew he wanted to create an industry-leading brand, doing something he was good at, with people that he loved. As a kid, he’d watched his dad do the same and that inspired him.
On 1st April 2009, when Matt was just 18, Clownfish was born.
It didn’t take long for Clownfish to become one the UK’s highest-rated events companies, with a client list including Google, Virgin, Apple, BAFTA and British Airways. Matt and his team supplied rodeo bulls to Channel 4, created bespoke events for Amazon and mic’d up everyone from Davina McCall to David Cameron.
Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop the team, who turned a crisis in the live events industry into an opportunity to adapt. Whilst the world locked down, Clownfish built up – converting 50% of the warehouse into a purpose-built live-streaming and short film production studio.
Clownfish through the years
2009
The Clownfish brand is born from Matt’s bedroom at his parents’ house in Kingston-upon-Thames.
2010
We buy our first vehicle; an ex-Royal Mail van with the logo still faintly visible on the side.
2011
Our Rodeo Reindeer appears on Celebrity Come Dine With Me and Alasdair makes his debut TV appearance.
2012
Clownfish builds its very first product: a giant LED heart.
2013
We set up ‘Boxfish Marquees’ and it thrives… for a while.
2014
Matt stars in an advert for a Canon printer.
2015
We buy a 3,000 square foot warehouse in Chessington.
2016
We receive a small-business award from Theo Paphitis.
2017
Clownfish gets a re-brand. And then 4 months later, we re-brand again. Let’s call this our mid-life identity crisis.
2018
Our team nominates Eikon Charity as our charity partner. Matt and Jonny run the London Marathon and raise £10,000 for them. Clownfish also donates production and lighting for two of Eikon’s fundraising events.
2019
The Clownfish team smashes their targets, and goes on a ski trip to Val Thorens to celebrate.
2020
Post-skiing blues are not helped by the arrival of COVID-19. The pandemic decimates the events industry (boo!) – but an in-house studio is built at Clownfish HQ.
2021
Clownfish Events makes a gradual comeback and content creation is expanded, creating videos and short films for clients across various sectors.
2022
Clownfish Events continues to grow, and the full-time team doubles in size.
2023
Clownfish Events acquire and start moving into a second warehouse. Whilst working with some big companies, including Tiktok, Amazon, Loaf and Gumtree.
2024
Clownfish Events celebrates 15 years, and achieves our biggest year to date.
2025
Clownfish Events continues to grow and smash previous records. One of our biggest highlights was being awarded Best Small Business in Hospitality in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work.
Fun facts
When Matt first started Clownfish, storage was the garden shed and transport was his dad’s Toyota Previa.
The Beckhams have been inside a Clownfish photo booth.
Clownfish won ‘Best Stand’ at Confex International in 2020 (just before the first Covid-19 lockdown).
The Clownfish team’s TV career includes The One Show, Come Dine With Me, Celebrity Juice and Good Morning Britain.
The exterior signage on the warehouse has changed three times (and Matt is finally happy with it… for now).
Independent rating platform Reviews.io and Google shows Clownfish having an unprecedented 100% 5-star rating.
Check out some of our work.
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St John’s School Graduation & After Party
Event Inspiration
24 October 2025
Clownfish Events
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Ditton Park
Event Inspiration
7 August 2025
Clownfish Events
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StoneX Summer Party
Event Inspiration
31 July 2025
Clownfish Events