Matt Laessig and I are like long lost 13 year old twin brothers. Yes, you read that right. As a boy mom, I’m increasingly more immature and crack up at seemingly innocuous jokes. Matt has 3 boys and loves Dungeons and Dragons. Together, we laugh at dumb stuff that only our middle school kids find funny….if that!
Matt was a big part of my life when I started snacki.com, a really early commerce venture in the late 90s. My friend Allison and I built the business as a creative venture during school, and I then took a big risk at taking the custom merchandise venture online in ’99. Matt was the Chief Marketing Officer and while we were selling $50k a month in custom t-shirts to organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, UCLA and USC fraternities and sororities, we were likely a bit too early and green to raise the piddly amount of money needed to keep us going. Great lessons learned and I recall having to tell Matt after his wedding that we only had 4 weeks left and had to shut things down. It’s a bittersweet memory, but one that we reminisce in this episode.
About Matt Laessig
Matt Laessig is the co-founder and COO of data.world, the world’s largest open data community and a leading software platform helping companies catalog their data and analysis for easier discovery and collaboration. Previous to data.world, Matt held multiple leadership roles at HomeAway (now Vrbo), the world’s largest vacation rental marketplace, including as Vice President of Global Business Development and General Manager of BedandBreakfast.com. Prior to HomeAway, Matt served as Vice President of Business Development at Bazaarvoice, the global leader in social commerce solutions. Matt is a graduate of both the Wharton Business School and the Lauder Institute of International Studies and Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt is also an 9-time competitor on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, the world’s toughest obstacle course competition.
