Just Go Grind #193: Sean Matson, Co-Founder & CEO of MATBOCK and a Former Navy SEAL, on Designing Lighter and More Practical Equipment for Every Environment, His Hell Week Experience, and the Transition from Navy SEAL to Entrepreneur
Sean Matson is the Co-Founder & CEO of MATBOCK, a company that is run by retired Navy SEALS and whose staff are also former US Military Veterans. The company creates and develops products that fill a need in the real world, whether it's hunting, camping, hiking, going on adventures, for law enforcement or for soldiers while at war. They work closely with the US Military and have been contracted to create products for them that use new technologies to make whatever products lighter, better, and more versatile. Their top-selling products include Auto-focus for Night Vision Goggles, Dry Bags, Cobra Sled (a mountain rescue litter), S-LIFT (poles and ladders for hunters), Reaper Hunting Vest and others. They just also signed a $1 million deal with law enforcement in America for new products to help everyone be safer.
About Our Partners
This episode is brought to you by Hawke Media. Hawke Media is a full-service Outsourced CMO based in Santa Monica, CA, providing guidance, planning, and execution to grow brands of all sizes, industries, and business models.
Hawke Media was recognized by Inc. as the country's fastest-growing marketing consultancy and is proudly one of Glassdoor's "Best Places to Work", 2019 #893 on the Forbes 5000 list, UpCity Top Los Angeles Digital Marketing Agency. Hawke's collaborative process, à la carte offering, and month-to-month fee structure give clients the flexibility they need to boost digital revenues and marketing ROI.
Hawke Media The company has serviced over 1500 brands of all sizes, ranging from startups like Tamara Mellon, SiO Beauty and Bottlekeeper to household names like Red Bull, Verizon Wireless and Alibaba.
Listen to our interview with Erik Huberman, Founder and CEO of Hawke Media, in episode 23 of the Just Go Grind Podcast.
This episode is also brought to you by Toptal. Toptal is an exclusive network of the top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers in the world. Top companies hire Toptal freelancers for their most important projects.
Connect with Sean Matson and MATBOCK
Some of the Topics Covered by Sean Matson in this Episode
- How Sean started MATBOCK
- The distribution strategy behind MATBOCK
- Building an unsexy product through fulfilling a real need
- How MATBOCK is run like a private equity group
- Working with distributors, the government, and procurement officers
- The challenges of distribution
- How Sean goes through the process of product development
- How Sean is handling the manufacturing side of the business
- Why Sean decided to become a Navy SEAL
- What Hell Week is actually like as a Navy SEAL and Sean's biggest struggle making it through
- How Sean's Navy SEAL experience influences how he runs MATBOCK
- Team building and how Sean has grown his team at MATBOCK
- The biggest adjustment going from a Navy SEAL to an entrepreneur
- How Sean recharges away from work
Links from the Episode