014 Matt Wigler - Building Two Startups in Underserved Niches

This is the first of two episodes featuring leaders still in the early phases of their trajectories. Entrepreneurs who founded their businesses fairly young, in underserved niches, and who are only a few years into their journey. Matt Wigler is a jazz musician who saw an opportunity in a specific entertainment market and launched a successful business. When that market was hit by the pandemic, he turned the sales experience he gained running his first business into a sales consulting business, and now he is the founder and CEO of two thriving companies. 

In this insightful conversation, he talks about how he spotted the opportunities, and the philosophy he followed in building his businesses. He offered some interesting parallels between the process of making music in a band and building and running a team. And he shared plenty of insight on how to build a bootstrapped business without any outside financing. Finally, as a jazz musician, he talked about one of his favorite recordings and what he learned from it.

BIOGRAPHY

Matt Wigler is an entrepreneur, musical artist, and public speaker based in Miami, Florida. He is Founder & CEO of MHW Live Music and Wigler Group. Matt has an active career as a jazz & blues artist, and performs with his trio at venues and festivals around the world. He also speaks on topics including entrepreneurship, business-to-business sales, and building strong company culture in a remote work environment.

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Matt began his music career at the young age of 13, with the release of his first studio album. In 2009, Matt’s second album, “Epiphony”, was nominated for Best Jazz CD by the Washington DC Area Music Association. As a musical artist Matt has performed at major venues including The Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center, Adrienne Arsht Center, Detroit Music Hall, Blues Alley, Birdland Jazz Club, Monterey Blues Festival, and Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival.

Matt attended one year of college at Manhattan School of Music in New York City before transferring to University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he completed his BA. Matt received his MBA from University of Miami Herbert Business School.

In 2016, Matt founded MHW Live Music, which provides entertainment for dozens of luxury hotel food & beverage outlets around the United States.

In 2020, Matt founded Wigler Group, which provides business-to-business sales consulting, prospecting, and appointment setting services for media, advertising, and PR agencies. 

LINKS

linkedin.com/in/mattwigler

mattwigler.com

www.wiglergroup.com

www.mhwlivemusic.com