My name is Matthew A. Schneider. I serve as the President & CEO of Building, Inc. Our focus is bringing commercial real estate into the digital age. My expertise overlaps real estate, technology, and capital markets, with a mission to make the real estate industry (particularly commercial assets) more transparent, efficiently operated, and easily transacted. My path has been unconventional. I've built the company while juggling tight finances, constant travel, and diverse work that requires expertise in engineering, regulation, and banking. Along the way I've become a global speaker on Real World Asset tokenization (blockchain), smart cities, and the future of private markets, speaking everywhere from Hong Kong and Dubai, presenting to the BRICS Desk in Tehran, Iran, to Europe and across the U.S. (50+ global engagements. Very experienced speaker.) My theme is resilience and reinvention. I've navigated the trials of building a startup and the storms of an early, misunderstood, and regulated industry—tokenization. As a result, I've had to restart and rebuild multiple times. That experience has shaped how I lead, make decisions, and operate under pressure. I'm also part of Gen Z, which makes the work even more unusual: building infrastructure for one of the most traditional industries in the world at an age when most people are just trying to get their foot in the door. If the show is looking for a guest who's operating globally and shaping the next century's playbook for commercial real estate, I'd be glad to contribute.
I think I'm a strong fit for your show because my story mirrors the kind of mindset work you highlight. I spent twenty years in the Air Force, then stepped into a civilian world that felt nothing like the one I left. I had to rebuild myself while raising a family and caring for both of my parents at the end of their lives. Losing them pushed me back into that same "what now" moment so many Veterans face after service. I had to figure out who I was without the uniform and without the people who shaped me. That work turned into my mission. I now run GillyBell Legacy Works, where I teach leaders and organizations how to handle change with clarity instead of panic. My book After the Uniform comes out of those lived experiences. It breaks down what resilience actually looks like when life hits hard, not the motivational poster version. I talk openly about identity, purpose, and performance under pressure because I've lived all of it, from the flightline to corporate change management to rebuilding my life after loss. Your audience will get straight talk, real stories, and practical tools they can use the same day. Nothing polished for effect. Just the truth about what it takes to stand back up and move forward with intention. If that's the type of conversation you want, I'm in.
I appreciate your decision to contact me. Happy V exists to create science-backed wellness products with complete transparency because we want to improve industry standards for women who face inadequate care. My experience in manufacturing helps me view wellness through the lens of production systems and distribution networks. Our company builds trust through steady performance rather than big marketing announcements. We've found that developing trust takes sustained effort, not one-off promotions. Through our work addressing gaps in women's probiotic research and developing our own QA protocols, we've gained valuable insights into operational leadership, cross-disciplinary teamwork, and the power of persistence. I'm happy to share these lessons with your audience if you believe they'd find this perspective valuable.
I built my company during a period when online commerce lacked structure. Every win required creativity and strong belief in the mission. I learned grit while facing obstacles that threatened our progress. These situations shaped my leadership through consistent pressure. They also helped me grow into a founder with steady intent. My travel experiences added layers that strengthened my ability to adapt. Exploring remote regions helped me understand resilience through unexpected conditions. These environments taught me calm decision making during stress. They also shaped my sense of gratitude for every opportunity. I would bring these insights to a deep conversation about high performance.
I appreciate the reach out, but honestly I wouldn't be the right fit for Kyle's show. I'm not scaling a national company or coming from an NFL family--I'm running a Bay Area estate planning firm that's deliberately stayed focused on preventive legal care rather than chasing massive growth. What I have learned from fifteen years and thousands of estate plans is how to build systems that turn an emotionally brutal process into something actually doable. When we redesigned our intake process in 2017, we cut average completion time from 8 weeks to 3 weeks while *increasing* client satisfaction scores. That shift came from obsessively asking "what part of this is genuinely necessary vs. just how lawyers have always done it?" Most of our industry innovations came from listening to clients who told us they understood 40% of what they signed with their previous attorney--that's a professional failure we systematically eliminated. The resilience lesson that shaped my practice wasn't a dramatic crisis moment--it was watching clients come in after their spouse died, holding documents they didn't understand, facing a two-year probate process on top of grief. We rebuilt our entire document review protocol so clients can explain their plan back to us before signing. Boring operational change, massive human impact. If Kyle wants someone discussing mega-scale challenges or sports legacy, I'm the wrong guest. But if he ever wants to talk about building professional service firms that genuinely serve people during life's hardest moments, I'd be happy to chat.
I'd love to connect Kyle with our new CEO, Joe Brence. We just announced his appointment after a strategic search for someone who could scale Rehab Essentials through its next growth phase--he's leading our expansion into graduate health education partnerships with universities nationwide. What makes our leadership story compelling is the shift from founder-led to growth-focused operations. Steve Tepper built this company from scratch and now chairs our board while Joe drives strategic market expansion. That transition is rare--most founders can't let go, but Steve recognized when the company needed different expertise to open up the next level. The business model itself is worth exploring on air. We help universities launch hybrid DPT and OTD programs in months instead of years, generating new revenue streams without hiring faculty or building infrastructure. Indiana Wesleyan integrated our content faster than expected, and schools like Concordia are seeing 94%+ retention because students gain clinic-ready skills through early practice exposure. The workforce angle is what separates us from typical education companies. We're solving the healthcare provider shortage by enabling working professionals to earn doctorates without relocating--our model captured place-bound learners that residential programs miss entirely. That mission-driven growth story fits Kyle's focus on innovation and impact.
Hey, appreciate you thinking of me. I'd actually be a great fit for this conversation--not because I scaled to hundreds of employees, but because I made the opposite choice and it required just as much guts. In 2019 I left a stable teaching career, sold most of what I owned, and rode a motorcycle around the world for a year. That trip completely rewired how I think about risk and building something meaningful. When I came back and started A Traveling Teacher, the biggest leadership lesson was realizing that **saying no to growth for growth's sake is its own form of courage**. We deliberately keep our team small and licensed--every tutor is a certified teacher with classroom experience, which means we turn down partnership requests constantly. The resilience piece Kyle's audience would connect with is this: I've watched education become obsessed with scale and automation, but our entire model is built on the opposite bet. We win by staying human-sized, never overselling hours, and building actual relationships with families rather than processing them through funnels. That's a contrarian play in an industry racing toward AI tutors and venture-backed platforms. What separates founders who last from those who burn out is knowing which hill is worth dying on. For us, it's quality over volume--every single time. Happy to share more about building a business that reflects your actual values instead of someone else's playbook.
I'd be down to talk with Kyle about what happens when you let customers literally dictate how scared they want to be. Back in 2007, I created the "touch levels" system at Castle of Chaos--basically a 1-5 scale where Level 5 guests get the full physical, personalized terror treatment. It sounds simple, but handing control to the customer in an industry that typically just scares everyone the same way completely changed our trajectory. The part worth unpacking is training actors to improvise in real-time based on micro-reactions they're seeing from each guest. We're not running a scripted show 47 times a night--every walkthrough is different because performers are reading body language and adapting on the fly. That skill transfer turned out to be incredibly valuable when I launched Alcatraz Escape Games, where game masters need the same ability to read rooms and adjust difficulty without breaking immersion. What I didn't expect: the customization model that worked in haunted attractions became our entire business philosophy across escape rooms and events. Corporate teams booking us aren't just solving puzzles--they're getting experiences calibrated to their group dynamics in real-time. Started as a senior project in 2001, now we're running year-round operations because we figured out how to make intensity a feature instead of a bug.
I've spent 20+ years in operations and marketing, with the last decade deep in home services--currently co-owning Wright Home Services in San Antonio. Happy to connect Kyle with our story of building a family business that's stayed privately held while competing against national franchises. The conversation I'd bring is about operational discipline as the unsexy foundation of growth. Everyone wants to talk marketing tactics, but we've tripled our service capacity by obsessing over what happens *after* the phone rings. When we implemented our membership program with guaranteed 2x annual tune-ups, our customer lifetime value jumped 340% because retention became predictable revenue instead of hoping people remember us when their AC dies in July. The Matthews family legacy in football is all about execution under pressure--same principle applies when you're managing 15+ technicians during a Texas heat wave with phones ringing off the hook. We've built systems where our service manager Jody can track every job in real-time, so nothing falls through cracks. That operational backbone freed me to focus on marketing that actually converts, like our referral program that pays customers up to $200--turns out your best salespeople are happy clients, not your ad budget. What resonates with high performers is that sustainable growth isn't about one big win--it's about repeatable systems that work when you're not in the room. We've been around since 1979 because we figured out how to deliver consistent quality at scale, which is harder than it sounds when you're dealing with 100-degree attics and emergency calls at 9 PM.
Thank you for reaching out about The Matthews Mentality Podcast. Austin's journey from professional athletics to co-leading Leaders Real Estate offers a unique perspective on transitioning between high-performance environments and building a successful business from the ground up. Starting as a broke college student using house-hacking strategies and evolving to manage diverse commercial properties and syndications demonstrates the resilience and innovation your show highlights. We would be interested in exploring this opportunity further. I started renting out my duplex that i lived in on Airbnb while i was a professional wakeboarder and traveling every weekend. I competed on the pro tour for 10 years and won the world wake skating championships in 2006. I started acquiring more airbnbs and turning them into wedding venues. I just recenlty acquired a portfolio of mega mansions called Olrando Area Luxury Rentals: http://orlandoarealuxuryrentals.com Some other fun facts, I was also a national finalist on American Ninja Warrior in 2023.
I'd be excited to join The Matthews Mentality Podcast to talk about how witnessing clients' horror stories firsthand pushed me to completely rethink the agent-client relationship in real estate. After seeing too many people in tears from bad agents they trusted, I built Realty Done around one mission: cutting through the B.S. and putting buyers and sellers back in control with real, actionable information--not empty promises. That shift from traditional brokerage to a community-first model taught me that leadership isn't about closing deals; it's about empowering people to make smarter decisions so they never feel helpless in their own transaction.
I'd be thrilled to join The Matthews Mentality Podcast to share how my restaurant background unexpectedly became my real estate superpower. Running kitchens taught me that small details--like remembering a guest's favorite wine at my Augusta National Airbnbs or installing hand-scraped wood floors in a flip instead of standard laminate--create experiences people remember. That obsession with exceeding expectations has fueled my 50-deal-a-year hustle, proving that whether you're serving meals or transforming neighborhoods, success comes from seeing potential where others see problems.
I'd be thrilled to share my journey on The Matthews Mentality Podcast, which began not in a boardroom, but in my childhood home watching my parents' joy as they paid off their mortgage early. That feeling of freedom became my mission, and my first 'deal' was renovating a run-down duplex with my wife--living in the chaos with dishes in the bathtub taught me that resilience isn't in a business plan, but in the shared struggle of turning a house into a home, together.
I've always believed that success is built on mindset and adaptability, which is why I find The Matthews Mentality Podcast particularly intriguing. As someone who works closely with entrepreneurs, founders, and business leaders, I've seen firsthand how resilience and innovative thinking are crucial to thriving in any field. Whether in business, sports, or life, success doesn't come without its challenges, and it's the mindset that separates the best from the rest. In my experience, the most successful individuals are those who embrace failure as a learning opportunity, pivot when necessary, and always push forward with relentless determination. I've had the privilege of working with CEOs and business owners who exemplify these qualities, constantly finding new ways to innovate and lead within their industries. If you're an athlete, founder, or CEO with a compelling story about overcoming obstacles, pushing the limits, and leading through adversity, sharing that journey could not only inspire others but also contribute to a broader conversation about success. The Matthews Mentality Podcast is the perfect platform for that.
I started Tutorbase because I watched teachers drown in awful admin software. Our team spent late nights figuring out how to make scheduling actually work for them. We cut one school's workload in half. Want to hear about how we scaled the team and messed up along the way? I can tell you what we learned.
My own chronic migraines pushed me to start Superpower because I was tired of healthcare's old ways. Getting our AI biomarker analysis working was a mess at first, but it let us shift from just reacting to illness to catching risks before they blow up. That kind of engineering takes as much listening as it does building. If you're turning personal experience into a mission, being upfront about your screw-ups and your wins is what keeps you moving forward.
Here's something I learned after selling my first company, Vodien. You can write perfect code, but if you can't handle the chaos, you'll fail. Now when I mentor founders, I show them how their own stories often hold the key to business problems. At my current company CLDY.com, I finally figured out that taking care of your team is as critical as building a great product. I can talk about why shifting gears actually helps everyone.
I'd love to come on your show. I work in dental IT, which is a weird niche, and it's taught me a lot about leadership since the rules are always changing. We stopped patient data breaches by getting serious about cybersecurity before problems hit, especially whenever HIPAA added new requirements. I think your listeners would find it interesting how we balance new tech with the daily grind of keeping things running in a field where people trust you with their health information.
Running restaurants teaches you to adapt fast and rely on your crew when things get rough. At Zinfandel Grille and Prelude, I learned that talking straight with your team, even with bad news, gets you their support. Our weekly staff meals kept everyone going when business was slow. My advice for anyone in hospitality is to just keep communicating. Those small, real gestures are what get you through the toughest times together.
Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatrist | Founder at ACES Psychiatry, Winter Garden, Florida
Answered 4 months ago
I'm a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of a private practice. My insight into the "Matthews Mentality" isn't just clinical—it's the story of my life. My story is one of pure persistence. The long haul of medical school was just the start. After arriving in this country, I faced a long struggle just to get into a residency and fellowship. I had to complete that entire training—while raising a family and managing all our expenses—with an intense focus on my goals. That personal experience is now my professional expertise. Today, I'm the founder of my own practice, ACES Psychiatry. I've taken that drive and channeled it into a mission of "innovation"—not in tech, but in destigmatizing and delivering mental healthcare. My story is different because I'm dual-trained to treat both adults and children. This gives me a rare perspective. I don't just talk about a high-performance "mentality"; I work with it from its foundation. I see the anxiety and "Ferrari brain" of high-achieving entrepreneurs, and then I often see the exact same pressure and drive reflected in their kids. What's powerful is that in my practice, I get to hear new stories of persistence from my patients every day, and that continues to inspire me. I can share an authentic conversation about what leadership and success really look like—from my own journey and from the front lines of mental health. I would be happy to discuss this further.