Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Shelton.
Matthew, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
For starters I grew up in Corsicana, a small town about 45 minutes South of Dallas. As a kid I was more focused on sports than any other path and it wasn’t until college when I really found my appreciation for what I do now. What it is that I do now is hard to wrap up and call one thing. Marketing from The University of North Texas is what I got my Bachelors in accompanied with a minor in Psychology. All the while I was teaching myself the ins and outs of graphic and motion design, photography, web development and finding any project that I could apply these skills too. Music also has a place in that mix. I don’t play an instrument myself but have a deep appreciation for the art and enjoy fixing collaborations between local artists I know to see what comes out of it.
So the story of how I found design as a whole is pretty interesting. Just after my first semester of school at UNT me and a buddy in the dorms had the idea to start a clothing brand. We each had a solid taste for fashion (if you ask me) and the ambition to try something new. After a couple of sessions trying to bring the brand to life we quickly realized neither of us had the know-how to create the designs. That was when I thought, “shit.. I can learn Photoshop.” Little did I know at the time but taking that endeavor would grow further into the full Adobe Creative Suite and bring me to creating content for global brands and celebrity personalities. (Pictures of my work featured below but check out my Instagram for animations). The clothing brand, which we called “Dossier”, did pretty well. We had street teams of college students in several campuses across the country and turned a profit after dropping the first line.
Marketing was a career path that was more or less suggested to me. It wasn’t really until I found Psychology that I developed a passion for Marketing. Around Sophomore year I ran across this book called Unconscious Branding by Douglas Van Praet. It was eye opening and drove me to invest more in studying human behavior and the unconscious mind. Low and behold I began learning about how popular Psychology was within my family lineage and my interest was piqued. Throughout school I’d look for ways to practically apply what I was learning for Marketing. This drove me to developing another brand called Orange Selects which focused on music delivery and the consumer listening experience. Doing so led me to design and execute release campaigns for several artists in the Denton/Dallas area. (Look up Asa Rivera on Spotify)
Near the end of school and after graduating I began working for this boutiquette marketing and branding agency in Deep Ellum called Dyad Ventures. The culture was exactly what I was looking for right out of school, an opportunity to wear several hats and add value to multiple areas on a given project. Bigger than the work experience was the group of people I was able to collaborate with, during and after hours. Many people that you’ve already interviewed on this site. It was a group of creative individuals all around the same age, pushing each other and every project to it’s best.
Dyad closed its doors at the beginning of this year, which pushed me to change and evolve to other opportunities around me. In doing so I began consulting for local businesses along with picking up more freelance, creative projects. Having this time to work independently at a young age has presented many learning curves and challenges but more than that an exciting journey during a crazy time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it’s not always a smooth road. I have to overcome challenges every day. It’s part of the job, in a good way though. I’ve found things I’m interested in that create problems I enjoy solving. So much has changed in my life this year even before COVID-19 hit. I’ve had to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable and just start enjoying the journey for what it is without comparing my path to others. Constantly reminding myself to live in the “Now” and finding time to meditate helps a lot too.
I’ve got two book recommendations for anyone reading this. The first titled Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. My dad gave this to me last Christmas and the timing could not have been more perfect. It’s a quick read but a great book about different ways to process change happening in your life. The second is titled The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. An inspiring book about shifting your view of obstacles from a negative to an opportunity.
Please tell us about Leading Involvement.
So Leading Involvement is a project of mine that focuses on providing creative marketing solutions to small and medium businesses. I like to think of us as professional problem solvers and with the usual challenge of limited resources for smaller companies, the solution has to be more outside the box, which gets us fired up. We specialize in customer acquisition, paid advertising, and CRM development.
This year we’ve had the chance to work with and consult for a few companies in the tech space plus some small businesses here in Deep Ellum.
The work I’m most proud of is with my client Rhithm. They offer a social emotional learning application to K12 schools across the country. The app learns about the student’s and teacher’s state of well-being through a simple five question, emoji assessment. Then presents a variety of activities that bring the class to a more optimal state in which to learn.
We launched their first marketing campaign mid-March during the rise of covid and returned industry low CPLs plus national brand awareness.
I believe what sets me apart is my intuitive nature. I look at the facts and read the data but ultimately it’s my sense of “North” that leads me to be successful.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
A friend told me “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I’ve made sacrifices to spend time working on things that matter a lot to me. To align with something that both challenges and brings you joy, I’d say that’s the path to happiness. And when opportunities come around, I seem to be a good fit. Above all, I’m thankful for my supportive family, friends, and colleagues that push me every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://li.marketing/
- Phone: 903.229.1484
- Email: Mshelton1995@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_mattshelton/
- Other: https://mshelton1995.myportfolio.com/
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