Four years ago Matt Gottesman experienced great loss – both personally and professionally. The advice his father gave to him during this tumultuous time “spoke to my soul,” Matt says. “He said to me, ‘You come from an entrepreneurial family, we all do our own thing, we are very independent. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but if you were ever really going to run your race and do things your way, now would be the time to do so.’ ”
Since that talk with his father, Matt has been running his race. He became the founder and editor-in-chief of Hustle & Deal Flow™ (hdfmagazine.com), an online blog and magazine that documents the journeys of founders and creators worldwide, and has since merged into a bigger media company he co-founded with business partner and fellow online publication creator, Case Kenny of PRSUIT.com. The two have since formed their podcast, The Hustle Sold Separately, a weekly podcast featuring business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities, entertainers, athletes and more and has amassed over 1 million downloads. Together, along with all of their social media, Matt & Case reach nearly 10.5 million people per month.
He also continues to consult companies across a variety of industries helping them reach more of their intended markets and grow in their bottom-line revenue, as well as administer a private Facebook page of more than 625 entrepreneurs from all over the world.
Having been a writer, himself, “behind the scenes” for the past 20 years, Matt wanted to create a platform based on being around entrepreneurs, big brands, startups and venture capitalists. “Usually in media, I was finding that they were glamorizing ‘overnight success’ and I was thinking of my own journey and all the parts the world doesn’t see,” explains Matt. “I wanted the world to see others’ journeys – people who I thought were doing really interesting things around the world with their companies and their brands. … They are like the rising stars you don’t know about – but you should.”
Hustle & Deal Flow™ is a content, influencer and marketing platform with more than 23,000 followers on Facebook and 133,000 followers on Instagram. “I wanted to have an audience so that anytime something gets launched, I can impact companies and I can impact people,” says Matt.
Matt explains the origin of the unique business names. “There was a movie called ‘Hustle & Flow.’ I like the word hustle because it signifies the hunger entrepreneurs have to get up, create and go to work on their brands/companies/ideas and even themselves. I like ‘deal flow’ because it’s cognizant of the startup and venture capital world.” As for the name for the podcast, it came from the quote, “The dream is free, but the hustle is sold separately.”
Concurrently, while Matt was building his businesses, he also realized the importance of a having a balanced life. “I had left Judaism for some time, and I wanted to start getting back into my culture,” he says. He met with Rabbi Jordan Brumer of Jewish Arizonans on Campus every Monday night for a year, learning about his history and culture. “It was fascinating to be around Jewish life and the love and community aspect of it,” says Matt. “I dove into the core of who we are – and it was amazing to see. It was very spiritual to me and something I needed to better understand myself.”
While he pursued both his business and spiritual journeys, he wanted to find a way to give back, not just financially but using his God-given talents and skill set to help people. “When you do that, magic happens,” says Matt.
He says that sometimes the best advice for entrepreneurs is for them to get out of their own way.
“When you do what you do really well and you love what you do, it’s easy. It’s saying no to the things that you don’t do as well as someone else,” says Matt. “You can do as many things as your capacity allows you to do – as long as they are aligned with your values and why you’re doing them. It really is not about the destination; it is about the journey.”
To follow Matt’s journey, visit mattgottesman.com, hdfmagazine.com, or follow him on social media @hdfmagazine and @mattgottesman on Instagram.
