Matt Gottesman is the creator and editor-in-chief of Hustle & Deal Flow™, an online magazine that highlights entrepreneurs on their journey to the top. After much experience in both losses and wins as an entrepreneur, Matt created HDF to bring awareness to the world’s creators and learn about their journeys to success.
First job: I worked retail at the mall at 17.
Favorite AZ restaurant: Tie between St. Francis (Mid-Town), the Persian Room (N. Scottsdale) & Citizen Public House (Old Town) – St. Francis just has that vibe + great fusions of food. The Persian Room has really authentic food from other cultures of the world. Citizen Public House has some of the best Whisky drinks and a constantly unique menu selection.
Person who has impacted your life the most: My father. He taught me the importance of taking risks, following through, not being afraid to be different and to always be myself.
Your biggest accomplishment in your eyes: Academically – My MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. That was one of the toughest curriculums and the program was intense. Professionally – What I’m doing now with Trep Media Group and my business partner, Case Kenny. In less than 2 years, we’ve managed to build digital assets that have massive global reach to the tune of 6 Million to 12 Million people per month. I’m truly grateful for how far that has gone.
The biggest obstacle you have overcome: Starting from complete scratch professionally and personally after almost everything was removed from my life. That was by far the toughest obstacle I ever had to break through. I had to redesign my entire life, refocus my energy on the important things that mattered, build a company from scratch, and completely focus more time on my health, spirituality and mindfulness. In essence, I found myself amidst a total loss.
Someone who inspires you: The Toren Brothers (Adam & Matthew Toren) – These guys are not only mentors to me, they inspire the journey. Everything they do is all in. They don’t compromise their values and they live by authentic business principles. They do everything with the right intentions in mind, have built more companies than anyone I know, have a solid reputation in the business world and believe that kindness isn’t a weakness, it’s good business.
Favorite quote: ”I’m not interested in preserving the status quo. I want to overthrow it.” (Niccolo Machiavelli) – I’ve always thought outside the box and I’ve never stayed close to the status quo. For me, it was always about disrupting the old by innovating with the new so I designed my whole life around it.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: How about entrepreneurship as a whole? I think that no matter what you go into, know why you’re going into it. Don’t look at the end results of other successful people, but instead do what your soul wants. Get in touch with who you are, what you want and why you want it. The quickest way to massive success is to help a massive amount of people out, so create impact by bringing your unique talents to the world disrupting the status quo.
What makes someone fabulous: Being Authentic
Check out Matt’s online magazine Hustle & Deal Flow at hdfmagazine.com.
I both know Matt personally and professionally and am so grateful to have met him almost a year ago. He speaks and breathes everything in the most authentic way and I am so proud of all of his success! Congrats and hats off to you Matt-xoxo