Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Hoffman.
Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey as an entrepreneur started while I was still a student attending Florida State University. I was going into my last year of undergrad (senior year) coming off back-to-back semesters where I was denied acceptance into the College of Business’s Entrepreneurship program twice. Even though I already had a fully operational small business going (Executive Valet Services LLC), my GPA didn’t meet the minimum requirement for acceptance into the program. I carried this as a chip on my shoulder for about a decade till I came to the realization that not being accepted actually helped me a lot more than it hurt me. Being denied acceptance into something I believed I had a true calling for was absolutely something I used to fuel my journey early on.
The valet company was my first official business. I started it after working an event to make some extra money as a student for the only other valet company in Tallahassee, FL at the time. After working that event all day, the owner of the company was not present, and I never got paid. I founded EVS the next week with another friend of mine. Fast forward a couple years to when I moved away from Tallahassee; I sold the company to the only other company (competitor) at the time. This was my first successful exit as an entrepreneur. For me, it was a win for the underdog. A mantra I’ve carried with me since.
From this moment forward, I found myself immersed in the world of technology and found I was very passionate for the efficiency’s technology could bring to the world around us. This was the dawn of the SaaS (software-as-a-service) era. I had a few fail-forward software startups in the interim which eventually led to co-founding InstaManager (which was a SaaS platform for professional vacation rental management companies). If you’ve ever stayed at an AirBnb – the platform was an early stage for professional hosts. I remember when AirBnb came on the scene just a few hours north in Atlanta. Eventually, we would sell this company to another larger software company, Bookt where we grew the platform 3X YOY resulting in a successful exit to a public company at the time right here in DFW [RealPage (NASDAQ: RP) in Carrollton].
While at the company, I had the opportunity to get an MBA-level learning experience over a 4-year window. Coming from a background with zero experience in the corporate world, this was an intimidating, learn-fast, results-now environment. Since our swim you could say, but inside a culture where you had to play by all the established rules of the borg haha. We acquired other businesses over this period, giving me my first taste of M&A, managing a MM P&L, and everything else that comes with learning how to lead an emerging asset class within a larger established enterprise business. I left as an SVP and am grateful for all the first-hand knowledge I acquired during my tenure there. I was prepared and very ready to get back into the startup world.
Then Covid hit.
2020 and 2021 were a bit of a blur. While soul-searching for what I wanted to do next I launched StartupAlpha (https://www.startupalpha.io/) a technology accelerator focused on helping early-stage entrepreneurs. This led to several opportunities both as a founder and investor. One of those companies being Cein.ai (https://www.cien.ai/) well before the now booming world of AI/ChatGPT uring this term, I learned a very hard lesson which is that complacency kills. At the cost of some of these investments and momentum, given the challenging economic times, I found myself back at the drawing board and decided to learn some new skills.
I started to teach myself design, learned the Adobe Creative Cloud product suite, a little code, and eventually found my home in web3. What is Web3? It’s the future but to be more specific, it’s open-source software will be used to build content platforms. It doesn’t require trust between users like current web2 e-commerce and the technology (blockchain) has built-in network protection which gives distribution to the interactions between devices, users, and services without a centralized authority’s approval. It’s still very early stage, but it’s so much more than crypto and community – it’s how humans will prove ownership on the internet.
I believe blockchain will become the future operating system of the world, and as such;, I have gone all-in on my endeavors and projects within the sector despite all the early-stage risks and current economic challenges. While presently I have 2 early-stage startups DAKAN (https://dakan.io) and Cap3Collective (https://cap3collective.io). I’ve found a real passion for coaching and mentoring. I’ve found in challenging times as an entrepreneur when the journey can be very isolating and discouraging – the best thing you can do is keep your mind active. Participating in community events and volunteering can give a real mental boost when times feel grim. Recently I’ve been actively volunteering as a coach and mentor for FISD’s entrepreneurship program (https://www.friscoisd.org/departments/business-incubator/home). This has really helped to fill the cup working directly with the inspired youth of tomorrow.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As I tell the students in the FISD program, Entrepreneurship isn’t a career path – it’s a calling. The road is arduous and relentless. While there are many obstacles to overcome, I’d rank them in descending order starting with raising capital.
Obstacle/Challenge #1: Funding
Any brilliant idea for a startup will quickly be faced with the fact that it will require capital to make it a reality. Whatever notion you have in your mind of how much effort and time it will take to raise funds effectively – scrap it. You will spend countless hours pitching ideas to investors, only to be met with rejection after rejection. Just know that right about the moment when you think you’re about to give up, you will stumble upon the idea that will help carry you along in the journey toward bringing the idea to life.
Obstacle/Challenge #2: Time Management
While in pursuit of funding I’ve had to take on side contracts, odd jobs, anything I can do to keep the lights on while striving to overcome obstacle one. Time management (or lack thereof) can be a dream killer for an entrepreneur if not kept in check. It’s critical to manage your time, or I’ve found in moments when I haven’t that I am quickly overwhelmed by the demands of running a business. This leads to what is commonly referred to as “the pit-of-despair” (https://medium.com/@HofftheRecord/pit-of-despair-51d1e0cf1984). It can be a breaking point where you feel like you never have enough time to get everything done.
Obstacle/Challenge #3: Mental Health Mindfulness
I do my very best to count the good days when they happen because sometimes, they feel few in number, and the challenging days can feel so perpetual. Many entrepreneurs like myself really suffer from the anxieties of the journey. It’s very important to give yourself a space to manage a work-life balance even when you are your own boss. Anxiety can be an anchor [as I discuss here https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnnMZcNBGxj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)] but if I allow myself the space to give myself grace, along with managing my time in a way that gives me the focus towards the area that are most impactful, I can see past the short-term fears and keep my focus on the long-term vision of my endeavors.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Learning to be in tune with my Artistic side has really helped me explore my creativity both personally and professionally. While my creative content doesn’t really fit in one box, I like to say for my personal brand, “the art is business” (https://linktr.ee/hoff_theRecord)
I specialize in early-stage projects (going from “zero to one” a concept authored by Peter Thiel), storytelling, and many forms of artistic expression. As an aspiring polymath, I believe an open mind to new perspectives helps reinforce my daily intentions to impact the world around me positively.
It’s hard to pick one area I am most proud of…
We all have a snapshot in our minds and that snapshot might be a goal, a dream, a place, an aspiration. We might be able to explain some of the details in this snapshot, but more often than not, the secondary and tertiary details for many aren’t as clear. I have a unique ability to connect with other people empathetically and help them connect the dots between where they are today and where they’d like to see themselves tomorrow. More often than my own personal pursuits, its helping others that brings me the most self-fulfillment.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Blog called Wait But Why (https://waitbutwhy.com/)
Check it out. It stands on its own
Why?
That answer lies within my friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/hoff_theRecord
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hofftherecord.eth/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdhoffman1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hoff_theRecord
- Other: https://cap3collective.io/
