Meet our Founder Chris Clearman

A quick look at our Founder, Chris Clearman

x

What's the best piece of advice you ever heard?

My dad used to tell me “Just start and figure it out as you go.”  I’ve realized over time that nobody knows how to do everything.  You have to trust that you’ll be able to figure things out along the way and, more importantly, you have to actually start if you’re ever going to accomplish anything.

x

x

What's your favorite book?

In a few different categories: Biography: “Elon Musk”  , Fiction: “The Martian” , Informational: “The Accounting Game” , Corny aspirational business books “The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime” – it has a terrible name but it’s honestly a great book.

x

x

What advice would you give someone thinking of starting a company?

Make sure you’re passionate about the idea of running a business, not just about the product.  Business is business and loving the product may not be enough to keep you going through the grind.  You need to have a genuine interest in the process of building a company.  Then once you decide to start, start on the important things.  Businesses aren’t built by starting a Facebook page or by buying all the fun equipment you think you’ll need.  Get right into the grind; design your product/service, plan your financials, build your presentations for funding, start sourcing and getting quotes, build your logistics platform, etc.  So many people start on the fun stuff and never get to the important things.   

x

x

What led you to start Matador?

I’ve always been passionate about business and I had been trying to start a viable company for a while before starting Matador.  I had a couple of failed attempts, most notably one in the medical industry that had a lot of traction but never took off.  That failure was due to the complexity of launching a product in the medical industry and my total failure to put together the right funding and resources to tackle that.  After that failure, I looked over my idea list and found the simplest idea on there; a compact picnic blanket.  That simplicity was really appealing after my recent failure so I ran with it.  After that product took off, I wanted the company to align with my personal interests so we took on travel and outdoors.  We’re staying true to our packable roots and now trying to make the best packable adventure gear you can buy.

What's your favorite Matador product?

My favorite product of ours is coming out in a couple of months ;) but I’m loving my Large NanoDry Towel right now.  That’s my daily gym towel and it’s cleared up so much space in my backpack.

What's your favorite city in the world and why?

Cusco, Peru.  It’s just beautiful, authentic, and littered with history.  The entire Sacred Valley in Peru is incredible.  This is one of the few places I’ve traveled where you still feel a bit like an old-school explorer rather than a modern tourist.  Make sure to get off the beaten tourist path and it’s an experience like no other.x

x

What's next? 

I’m just focused on growing the brand.  We’ve got a ton of really cool new products on the horizon and I’m really excited to see where it takes us.  I also hope to take a vacation at some point (it’s been a while) so maybe I’ll see you out there!

x