Matt Matros

Founder

National Cleaning Collective (NCC)

NCC is micro private equity providing capital and support to owner/operators in the commercial cleaning & janitorial industry.

Portfolio includes:
- Cleaning Pros of America (Bradenton, FL)
- American Flooring Solutions (Sarasota, FL)
- WeClean WestCoast (Sarasota, FL)

Founder and General Partner

BrandRock

BrandRock helps consumer brand founders and executives sleep better at night by making sure their business has the insurance coverage that they think they have. We read the fine print.

Co-Founder

McKinsey & Company

External advisor to client service teams and clients in consumer-based businesses with an emphasis on innovation.

Senior Advisor

Qurate Retail Group

'Acqui-hired' by CEO to build new digital businesses for global leader in vCommerce. And according to my final review, I "achieved what many thought was impossible."

SVP and Founder, Qurate Digital Ventures

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.

Consulting for Keurig Dr Pepper on LIMITLESS and other innovation as part of exiting LIMITLESS in January 2020.

Consulting Entrepreneur

LIMITLESS® (acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper)

I started LIMITLESS® in March 2016 and sold the business to Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) in January 2020. I work with KDP on a consultative basis on LIMITLESS and other innovation. 

The LIMITLESS signature product - Lightly Caffeinated Sparkling Water - is helping people all over the country to #ditchdietsoda once and for all. Each can has zero calories, zero sugar, zero artificial flavors and 35mg of clean caffeine.

Available nationwide at Walmart and other fine retailers.

Protein Bar and Kitchen (acquired by L Catterton)

Founder and Board Director of healthy-food quick serve chain. I sold the business to private equity firm L Catterton in winter 2013. Protein Bar & Kitchen® (PBK) focuses on helping people everywhere live the healthy lifestyle they want to live through a balanced menu of blended drinks, wholesome quinoa bowls, salads, raw juices, and our signature Protein Bar-ritos.

Founder & Board Director

Shopflix

I dreamt up Shopflix as a "modern day QVC." Ultimately 'aqui-hired' by QVC parent company, Qurate Retail Group.

Kraft Foods

Sr. Associate Brand Manager

L'Oreal USA

Marketing Intern

Founder with 3 exits in B2C now playing two hands in B2B (insurance and commercial janitorial). | I post daily lessons & learnings that are your shortcuts.

Founder with two 8-figure exits plus an ‘acqui-hire’. My lessons & learnings are your shortcut.

Currently building unsexy B2B businesses in commercial cleaning and insurance. 

My inspirations are Scott Galloway and Fareed Zakaria and The Economist. 

I’d aspire to be the “Rick Rubin for entrepreneurs.”

These opinions are purely my own and not of any of the companies I am affiliated with.

NCC is micro private equity providing capital and support to owner/operators in the commercial cleaning & janitorial industry.

Yesterday in therapy, I admitted something I’ve been hiding for 28 years.

In 1997, when I was a freshman at USC, I did what a lot of freshmen do: I pledged a fraternity.

Two months into the semester, I got “dinged” — kicked out before initiation.

For almost three decades, I’ve told a different story:

 “I left the fraternity to take an internship at a sports agency. Always kind of regretted leaving…”.

That wasn’t true.

I didn’t leave.
I was asked to leave.
I don’t think my mom even knows that.

On paper, it’s a small moment in a long life. 

But for an 18-year-old who had lost his dad at 11, who was craving belonging and male connection, it was a setback.

Worse, there was no explanation. No feedback. No “here’s why.”

Just a brief conversation on a beer-stained floor where an older brother (dude name Blair, from Solana Beach) told me I didn’t belong.

So I filled in the gaps myself:

Maybe I was too chubby
Not attractive enough
Bad at drinking
Too awkward

Whatever the reason, the conclusion I absorbed was:

“You don’t fit in. And that’s your fault.”

For 28 years, I’ve chased belonging in different forms — companies, groups, labels, titles, achievements. 

I’ve also found myself in places where, again, I just didn’t fit: big PE firms, large public media companies, YPO, certain rooms where I felt a little “off.”

Yesterday, finally saying this out loud, I arrived at a different conclusion:

It’s okay not to fit.

“Fit” is not a moral judgment. It doesn’t mean you’re broken. 

It just means that environment, that group, that culture wasn’t built for you — and maybe you weren’t built for it.

The strange irony is that, as an entrepreneur, I’ve had to make these same “fit” calls about employees, vendors, even customers (not to mention ex-girlfriends). 

I’ve told people, “This just isn’t the right fit” — without always appreciating how loaded that phrase can feel on the other side.

I’m 46 years old and just now using a LinkedIn post to say:

I got dinged.
I felt ashamed.
I lied about it for years.
And I’m finally okay with not fitting in.

If this resonates with you: you’re not alone, and you’re not broken.

Sometimes, it’s just the wrong room.

Oh - and in case you were wondering, my usual "Therapy Thursday" was yesterday because of the holiday lol 

📷 Me as a 19 or 20 year old with my closest buddies from USC. It wasn't part of a fraternity, but we def belonged in Vegas that weekend lol

Founder with 3 exits in B2C now actively buying SMBs | I post daily lessons & learnings that are your shortcuts.

One of the big myths American entrepreneurs love to repeat:

“Saudi Arabia (and the Gulf) are overflowing with capital just waiting to be invested in U.S. startups.”

Reality is almost the opposite.

The serious money in Saudi — whether it’s private investors or sovereign wealth vehicles like the PIF — is overwhelmingly focused on Saudi Arabia itself.

It’s not a giant ATM for the rest of the world. 
It’s fuel for a national transformation.

The mandate is clear:
- Build infrastructure.
- Create jobs.
- Support a young, fast-growing population.
- Enable a real middle class and family formation inside the Kingdom.

That means capital going into housing, logistics, tourism, entertainment, healthcare, education, advanced manufacturing — all the pipes and platforms a modern economy needs.

So if you’re an American founder dreaming of “Saudi money,” here’s the mindset shift:

Don’t think, “How do I get Saudi capital to fund my idea back home?”

Think, “How can my company bring capabilities into Saudi — technology, know-how, jobs, training — and help build what they’re trying to build?”

Saudi Arabia isn’t just a pool of capital. 

It’s a country in the middle of a massive buildout. When I was there it made me imagine what it was like in America in the early 1900s. 

If you stop treating it like a checkbook and start treating it like a partner, the conversation changes very quickly.

📷 My in Riyadh last year with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, which oversees the Saudi sovereign wealth fun (PIF)

#entrepreneurship #SaudiArabia #emergingmarkets #startups #mbs #vision2030

Pixouls

Build strategies, teams and digital assets to grow your business.

Strategy & Visioning

Green Machine ARS, LLC

Co-founded bootstrapped startup. Responsible for creation of interactive training & support platform that enables retailers to better support and train their frontline workers.

Think training and support for the TikTok generation.

• Visioned, mapped and built platform prototype
• Source & manage; design, development, video & graphics teams
• Content curation & course creation
  * turned 100’s of pages of technical documents into engaging micro learning modules

Highlights:
Successful launch V1 & V2 of the platform.Training Portal with two 1hr courses, 3 interactive equipment tours, parts search widget & leaderboards.
Manager Dashboards with scalable data and analytics.

Custom Video Productions Inc.

CVP has become family to me over the years. Here I act as a business consultant, producer, project manager, writer, shooter & editor. I’ve managed most of their premier clients during my time co-creating.

• Helped clients gain clarity, identify needs & map strategy to achieve goals
• Created budgets, proposals & managed sales pitches
• Built teams of shooters, editors, motion graphics artists & sound engineers
• Managed numerous aspects of production depending on the job & budget
• Jumped into shooting or editing roles if needed
• Shot corporate photography, head shots & real estate photography

Highlights
Produced intimate unplugged concert session for Jon Bon Jovi.
100 year anniversary video for Bartlett Tree.
Industry 4.0 training program overview for Festo Didactic.
Built and deployed latest marketing site CVPNJ.com.

Video Producer

Sacred Self School of Yoga

Launched a successful and still thriving nomadic Yoga School in Costa Rica with my wife, Luana Fara.

• Designed & managed brand, web, video and marketing collateral
• Shot & edited our premier online specialty yoga courses
• Planned, promoted and hosted live events, trainings, workshops and retreats
• Lead mantra sessions and taught business of yoga course to YTT students

Highlights
Helped my wife realize her dream company.
Hosted retreats at some of Costa Rica’s top retreat centers.
Produced my first online course in the world of yoga.

Co-Founder at SacredSelf

VidaOM

Attempted to build the netflix of yoga for Latin America & I and burnt out quick.

• Designed online learning platform
• Shot, edited & designed all learning + marketing content
• Managed brand design

Highlights
Built a beautiful brand.
Supported 10+ yogis during a very trying time.
Learned so much from launching a Platform and 100+ classes.

Co-Founder / Producer at VidaOm

Brian Wcislo

Creating high quality, unified branded content and visual communications.

Web & Visual Communications Producer

Balance Yoga Studio

I wasn’t seeking to own a Yoga Studio, but when the Owner of the studio I studied & taught at became ill and needed to leave the state, I decided to step up and preserve the 12 year old Yoga studio for the community.

• Managed all back office responsibilities (agreements, billing, schedule, et,.)
• Updated website & branding materials
• Expanded teachings staff
• Created new courses and curriculum
• Planned, promoted & managed all events.
• Guided meditation workshops and classes.

Highlights
Helped an amazing human-being move on with their life. 
Broke into the corporate market with on site yoga & meditation packages.
Brought yoga & mindfulness into the local high school for 5 month program.
Sold studio when I moved to Costa Rica.

Yoga Studio Owner

Above & Beyond Roofing & General Contracting

Funded and co-founded high-end exterior remodeling business with my brother. My creative agency had just been acquired and I wanted to help my brother move from employee to an ownership role and generate some passive income in the process.

• Created SOPs and integrated management systems still in place today
• Built brand, designed and managed all collateral; cards, door hangers, mailers, yard signs, hats, shirts, etc.
• Managed online presence, including website, SEO, and Google Ads campaigns
• Shot video & photo of projects and leveraged them in sales collateral.

Highlights
Help my brother escape an unethical employer & build a rocking business.
Grew the business to 7 figures in annual revenue.
Learned I didn’t want to be in the remodeling business & left with my soul intact.

Managing Partner

Weidenhammer

When our 12 person creative agency was acquired by a 200+ person IT company, I was responsible for driving new business through our modern design & development practices and help integrate our youthful team with the legacy dev team.

• Strategized creative solutions to client challenges with supporting documentation, detailed proposals and time lines
• Bridged the gap between client needs & creative / development teams capabilities

Highlights
Maintained 92% of our team in the transition.
Got entire team raises & full benefits.
Completed an incredible modernization / re-brand of the 45 year old company.
Hired my replacement before exiting.

Director of Business Development

401 Creative

Started a multi award winning creative agency with my best friend & college roommate from the den of my parents house. We grew an incredible team and culture that produced best in class marketing & communications solutions in web, video & print.

• Designed & developed client projects with a heavy focus in web & interactive
• Shot or directed all photo & video content for client projects & internal promos 
• Helped clients gain clarity on what they need & built execution strategy
• Lead sales and networking efforts including budget, proposals & pitches
• Created strategic alliances with larger agencies
• Scouted and hired top local talent
• Managed agency acquisition

Highlights
Built and incredible team and company culture.
Won a dozen awards including 2 Best in Show & 6 Golden Addys.
Completed projects for iconic brands; Mack Truck, Olympus, Martin Guitar, YWCA & B.Braun.

Founder / Partner

👋🏻 Hi, I'm Brian—a Digital Producer & Entrepreneur based in the mountains of Costa Rica.

I help busy executives and growth-stage companies transform ambitious digital ideas into world-class apps, websites, and marketing solutions. For 20+ years, I've built talented teams delivering results—from enterprise-level training platforms to high-impact digital campaigns.

I co-own innovative IP designed to rapidly and effectively train Gen-Z retail staff (think TikTok for training), achieving an average knowledge boost of 96% and exceptional user satisfaction.

Previously, I co-founded 4O1!, an acclaimed digital agency acquired by Hammer.net. After that success, I chose a simpler life in Costa Rica with my unicorn wife and magical second son.

Currently, I’m seeking forward-thinking organizations ready to leverage our proven L&D platform, "Green Machine," or grow their impact through strategic digital initiatives.

Passionate about:
👨‍🎨 Art & Design | 🤖 Innovative Tech | 🌍 Travel & Nature | 🙏 Yoga & Meditation | 🌱 Conscious Parenting

Ready to bring your digital vision to life?
📩 brian@pixouls.com

I just built an AI Agentic workflow for a billion-dollar company, they just don’t know it yet ;) 
It’s part Expert Knowledge Assistant + Pro eMail Writer.

It pulls from a knowledge base, scrubbed from hundreds of pages of their website and dozens of product, warranty & installation PDFs.

When a customer sends an email, it:
Reads the message → Understands the tone (urgent, happy, curious) → Reviews the technical context → Compares it to the knowledge base → Drafts an incredible response (in brand voice) → Sends it to the “Human in the loop” for final approval.

This all happens in seconds of receiving the email!
Not... "When I get around to it".
Super hero status 🦸🏼‍♂️ 

Built in four weeks, as my final project for AI Build Lab (who i highly recommend if you want to 10x your AI skills).

Should we want to turn this into a ChatBot, no problem we can do that too
(actually woking on that right now). 

This would be an incredibly useful tool for:
- buyers
- installers
- project managers
- sales
- training

Sure they already have an AI assistant on their site but it’s crude at best. 
Answer one of 3 questions and download a brochure.
(lame - sorry not sorry) 🙈

Mine answers the most complicated, off the wall question with kindness, patience and an insane level of details.

It includes links to relevant PDFs, helpful web links, pro customer service and detailed instructions right in the email.

A few months ago? I didn't even know what an "Agentic Workflow" was. 🤯

Then I woke up and realized the opportunity staring me (and you) right in the face.  Time to stop dabbling with or hiding from AI and go all in.

I went from merely being able to create simple (but cool) custom GPTs to building full agentic workflows, all learned in a one month course that has changed the course of my life... AI Build Lab with Sara Davison 🦄 & Tyler Fisk🤠

This was all built with a sleek, simple and incredibly handy (more so everyday) platform called Cassidy 👌🏽

I used to fear AI (still do TBH)
Not the tech, but the human part.
The Greed.
The Power.
And Hollywood's eerie accuracy at predicting how the future is FUBAR'ed

But until T2 comes for us all I’m going to make the most of this up-leveling of my abilities. 

AI isn’t about replacing humans,
it’s about combining smarter tech with our individual expertise, unique skill sets, our innate creativity, and heart.

We are just at the beginning, so it's not too late for you to ride the wave too 🏄

Excited to keep building a new future.
What are you building?

#AI #BuildInPublic #Cassidy #AgenticWorkflows #AIBuildLab

Biz Dev + App Dev + HX Design. Ask if you’re curious… Let’s make some magic if you’re ready to rock. 🤘

The best medicine doesn’t come in a bottle, a pill, or a prescription.
It comes from Source. From Heart. From Love.

Where you search, you will find so choose your focus wisely.

Answers always arrive, but they take the shape of where you’re looking.

I’m currently soaking in some Divine Medicine: surf, sun, and fun.

Many blessings, may you find your Divine today.

No alternative text description for this image

Happy thanksgiving to all!
Who can create the weirdest funniest thanksgiving image?

Please post below… I got us started!

The mountain lion that adopted me ⛰️ 🦁 🤩

Pew pew pew this love is for you. Yeah, you. 

Hope you’re having a great day!
♥️😻♥️

I’ve had two solid posts written for over a week... haven’t posted them. Well, I actually posted one and the image attached as a white block, nothing more, so i deleted it. 🤷‍♂️

How’s your LinkedIn journey flowing?

Have you experienced this new form of scam / spam via calendar invite? 

2nd time it’s happened to me in the last few weeks. Each time to different email addresses. 

Not sure what they are trying to accomplish, but it’s just kinda odd and annoying. 

Curious if this is happening to others and if this approach has actually had people fall for it!!

Sending you a bill reminder as a calendar invite 🤷‍♂️

Great FREE OFFER Link at The End Of This Post!!! 
Imagine architecting partnerships instead of just making them transactional.
PayPal + Perplexity just executed a masterclass in how smart companies acquire, retain, and create value simultaneously.

How they set the stage: Sign up for Perplexity Pro through PayPal, get 12 months free.

On the surface? Great offer.
But look deeper at the business model...

PayPal acquires tens of thousands of active users who now have a reason to keep their accounts engaged.

Perplexity converts (those late to the game) from free trials into long-term subscribers because once you experience Perplexities AI-powered research with source citations, you don't go back to regular search. Sorry not sorry Google.

And users get a full year to integrate a genuinely useful tool into their workflow.

This isn't marketing. It's ecosystem building.

I wanted to share this for a few reasons... 

1. you get free perplexity for a year =)

2. I didn't find this deal through an ad or algorithm. I discovered it through community that's been transforming how I think about intelligent automation AI Build Lab 

Shoutout to Charlie Fuller for bringing this to a homework huddle, & Nadia Arm for sharing in our Slack!

I actually use Perplexity when I need to dive into nuanced research; the kind where Google gives me 10 listicles and a Reddit thread... 

Perplexity cuts through the noise. It synthesizes information and cites sources, so I can verify what I'm reading and make informed decisions.

For product research, market analysis, or just understanding a complex topic quickly, it's become one of my most valuable tools.

Although Claude research is winning my heart and mind now too.

Not because they are trendy. Because they are insanely effective. 🤡

If you're not leveraging AI for research yet, this is your entry point.
A full year to explore, experiment, and integrate.

Link: https://lnkd.in/e6iV_e4k

What's the best tool you've discovered through community this year?

#AITools #Perplexity #CommunityLearning #AIAutomation #BusinessStrategy

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The Battle

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Brian Wcislo

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The Battle

Matt Matros

Brian Wcislo

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