Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Swinney.
Hi Matt, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a serial entrepreneur. Always have been. I really only had one “corporate” job coming out of college — at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). I worked there for two years out of the Houston office and just didn’t understand the inefficiencies, the constant reporting and the way we worked with clients (that I never saw). I understand it for some people but I knew pretty quickly that that life wasn’t for me.
I started my first company when I was 24 and really haven’t looked back over the last 22 years. To be honest, I’m not sure I can remember every company I’ve started. Some were little side projects that either did what I wanted them to do in a short timeframe, some lasted many years and were either sold or just ran their course and some, like Austin Fashion Week have sustained for now 13 years.
Austin Fashion Week is what everyone asks about, so I’ll tell that story for the most part. I owned Rare Magazine here in Austin. Started it in 2004. When the economy started to falter in 2007, I started Austin Restaurant Week as a way to subsidize declining ad sales with the magazine. It took off like a rocket. Super successful in late 2007 and again in early 2008. But my business partner and I had very different perspectives on the life of the magazine moving forward. To me, the writing was on the wall that the magazine had run its course and our future was in large-scale events and promotions like Restaurant Week. He disagreed. I negotiated a buyout — he purchased my interest in Rare and ARW and I moved on.
Early 2009, a buddy of mine named Stephen Tatton approached me about starting a new events company. Within a month or so, we were up and running Launch787. We were going to create events and promotions that we owned from A-Z. Arts, food, fashion, music, you name it, we’d try it.
Our best early success was Austin Fashion Week in July 2009. Just tons of media coverage, Over 400 participants. Everything we wanted outside of financial success. But we knew our investment was worth it. We pushed forward as a team until 2013 when a new partner came in and bought out Stephen so he could move on to other projects. At that point, we scaled into Dallas and in 2016 moved into Houston as well. I ended up buying out that partner in 2016.
Covid obviously put a wrench in my plans for expansion, but it’s also allowed me to take the company back to its roots in Austin. We’ll be back to Houston (and possibly Dallas) at some point in the future, but we’re taking our time and really enjoying supporting the Austin community as much as possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If you ever find an entrepreneur saying “yes” to “has it been a smooth road,” they are 100% lying to you. Or, they’ve strategically blocked out the bad stuff.
Owning a business is hard and it’s not for everyone. I learned really early on that I was built for it. I don’t mind risk (generally), I have a wife that understands the life we lead may not always mean a perfect paycheck every month, and I’ve got good ideas that generally I know how to execute. I’m also really good at surrounding myself with people who are much smarter than me in whatever their area of expertise is.
All the possible struggles a business can go through, I feel like I’ve done. Financial struggles, personnel struggles, hell — we even got Covid as a struggle and we’re a LIVE EVENTS business. But all you can do is put your big boy/girl pants on, strap on your boots and go out and try to kick some ass that day. It’s kind of that simple. If you wallow in the struggle, it doesn’t help. That said, there’s value in a good cry about hard work leading to nothing or very little. But as an entrepreneur, you have to know that you let the tears flow and then when that’s done, you find all the grit and determination you’ve got and take another shot. Or you move on and get a “real” job.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fashion By LLC?
We own Austin Fashion Week, Fashion By Dallas, Fashion By Houston and some other assets. I built the brand to help small and independent fashion designers go direct to consumers through regional runway shows and pop-up shops at a reasonable price for them.
Honestly, I’m just proud that after 13 years, we continue to strive for and meet our goal of giving as much exposure as we can for independent fashion brands. We’re in the process now of confirming designers for our November 2022 shows and we’re about 80% full. And I’ve never heard of more than half the designers that have been curated to show. Every single day, a new designer shows up on my radar and I just love that we get a chance to be their megaphone.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Grit. Determination. Gumption. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how hard you want to work that day. I’ve figured out how to be really, really efficient and surround myself with great people who make me and our brand look really good.
I work really hard, but I don’t work crazy hours. Never have. When I’m at work, I’m 100% focused and when I’m away from work, I’m 100% focused on NOT work. I really think that keeps me wanting to come back for more. When I don’t wear it ALL THE TIME, it makes waking up and heading into the office a breeze.
Contact Info:
- Website: fashionbyevents.com
- Instagram: @fashionbyevents
- Facebook: @fashionbyevents
Image Credits
Matt’s Headshot: Gregg Cestaro Runway Images: Todd White
