I, Matt Sparks, am an entrepreneur, consultant, and writer. I grew up in rural Iowa, competed as a multi-sport college athlete, and currently enjoy mountain sports, travel, gardening, creative writing, and playing tabletop games (i.e., board, card) in my limited free time.
I worked in my family’s state park management and video arcade businesses as a kid. By age seven I could back up a boat trailer and beat anyone in Iowa on the game Defender… while playing solely with my feet. I soon began fixing and programming games and starting my own kid-sized businesses, and to this day I’m focused on building my various ventures, projects, and inventions. In school, I earned a BA in English Literature from Lehigh University and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Acton School of Business.
Background:
- I have 20+ years of experience in finance and sales, including 15+ years of executive experience in startups.
- I was CFO for a renewable energy startup from pre-seed through Series A, providing strategy, planning, budgets, forecasting, financial models, fundraising, accounting management, project finance, staffing and compensation plan, product pricing, and much more.
- I have deep experience in project/equipment finance, including creating a renewable energy project finance program, as well as raising a fund and launching a fast-growth finance firm.
- I’ve twice grown startup revenues from nothing to $5M/mo within two years.
Skills:
- I raised or helped raise a combined $125M in equity, debt, grants, and other financing.
- I’ve rapidly built and managed large, diverse teams.
- My nuanced financial models have served as indispensable management tools, been often used to persuade investors to commit, and been licensed for white label resale by a financial services firm.
- I’m a published author, speaker, and climate-tech industry leader, having presented at major conferences such as SXSW. I developed these skills in my mission to help stop climate change.
When I’m not rock climbing around Austin, Texas, I’m exploring how new technologies are changing how we think, learn, and live.