Matt’s career as a software engineer (last worked for Tivo) came to a halt when his passion for entrepreneurship and ervice came to a point, which ultimately led him to co-found Kiva, an extremely successful micro-finance platform that has helped entrepreneurs in developing and emerging countries raise over $100 million in venture loans. Although Matt spent some time as an engineer, he’s always wanted to start his own business. On a daily basis Matt would come up with tons of ideas (most of which he didn’t like too much).
It wasn’t until Matt took a trip to Africa with co-founder Jessica to volunteer that the stars started to align. He was always a big international traveler, but this trip to Africa helped him combine his passions to create Kiva.
At Tivo, Matt grew restless, and was ready to jump into entrepreneurship. Many of us have felt that restlessness, eagerly awaiting our next opportunity, desperately looking for something new. Matt notes that we have a lot of ego around what we do, and it takes a lot of endurance to stick through the challenge of changing directions.
Matt also notes that “really good ideas challenge people’s common sense.” That’s really “hard to do if you don’t love what you’re doing.” It’s that love for what has turned into an amazing organization that has helped him through the challenges and obstacles he’s faced.
