Matthew Carroll

Where do you come from, and what do you do?
When I was young I enjoyed creating things. Initially this took the form of drawing and forts in the woods. When I was 12 I discovered HTML and client-side web design, realizing that I could build something from nothing. From there I became a programmer via high school and college coursework. Finally, I realized traditional programming was going to put me behind a desk for 60-80 hours a week tweaking and maintaing other peoples’ ideas. That wasn’t going to work. So at the wrong end of my college career I decided that entrepreneurship, the ability to change the world through vision and dedication, was the route I wanted to take.

You’re a techie, when is all this tech hype going to pass?
Strap in, because this “tech stuff” isn’t going anywhere….ever! Technology, as should be clear by now, is not a fad, a phase, a bubble, or anything else temporary. Technology is the vehicle by which we are advancing our society. From life expectancy, to disease control, to food safety, to frontier exploration, to the ability to get a meal for less than $5, technology is embedded in everything! Programming is not a specialization, its a tool. Just as one learns to use a hammer, a screwdriver, a saw, etc. so too should one learn how to write applications, script batch processes, and read protocol documentation. It is nothing but wishful thinking to believe that most people will never have to understand this “tech stuff.”

What do you think about great business ideas?
Great business ideas don’t exist. They’re not real. Hollywood has completely romanticized the nature of entrepreneurship, reducing it to this mythical quest for an overnight success. It is often said (within the *real* startup community) that the average overnight success took about 10 years. In truth, creating business, building products, delivering value, and innovating the world is a *very* difficult thing to do. The average result is utter failure and the path is way more about lonely nights with ramen noodles than it is about drunken hackathons and fuck-you investor meetings. Great ideas only exist when looking in reverse – the hard part is building something so fucking awesome that other people are tricked into thinking it was just a “great idea.”

How many degrees does it take to get to the center of a dream career?
Unfortunately, a form of this question makes its way into most peoples’ heads. We are taught that college education is directly correlated with success, happiness, and great careers. The truth is, college education itself is a very poor investment. A lot of money goes in, and a surprisingly little amount of marketable skills come out. I obtained 3 degrees within 6 years at UF. Today I am paid exactly the same rate that I was hired for during my first month at UF (though, by the time you laugh in my face, that number may have risen dramatically). Moreover, just to stomp out any thoughts like “well you must have gotten 3 useless liberal arts degrees,” please note that the subject areas were Computer Science, Mathematics, and Digital Art & Science.

You have a lot of opinions. Do you have any experience to back it up?
Sure do. The 6 years and 3 degrees at UF was a wonderful exercise and futility, learning more about the shortcomings of our education system than how to make myself valuable and useful to society. Towards the end of this lingering academic existence, I promptly hit the ground running in the startup scene here in Gainesville. Within a 2 year period I created 2 companies, participated in 4 startup events, worked for 2 other startups, interned at a mid-level tech company, and become a regular in the Gainesville startup scene. Anytime you want to chat you can find me at TEC (The Entrepreneurship Club) meetings, Startup Hour, Hackerspace, or nearly any Gainesville based startup/hackathon event.