"Surround yourself with people that will continue to make you sharper, together you will become unstoppable."
Matt Dean Tweet
Matt Dean is the Co-Founder, Head of Strategy, and CEO of Dean&Co. Matt co-founded Dean&Co. with over 10 years of experience in brand strategy, identity development, design, and marketing. Throughout Matt’s career, he has worked in various industries, from Advertising and Marketing to Branding to Commercial Real Estate, where he ultimately found his passion for creating exceptional brands and experiences. During Matt’s time in Advertising and Marketing, he worked with clients such as EA Sports, Doritos, Pepsi, Reese’s, Sports Illustrated, and GMC creating partnership campaigns to promote products, game releases, and events. His involvement in each campaign involved initial concepts through creative execution and reporting on campaign analytics.
Matt then worked at a boutique branding agency as a Brand Strategist & Designer. His primary focus was to brand and rebrand small businesses with revenues between $1M – $2M to maximize their revenue stream by creating a strategic brand experience and enhanced product offerings, ultimately increasing their income to $5M+ within three years of the brand’s launch. Most recently, Matt was the Creative Director of Beta, a leading commercial real estate agency, where he oversaw all internal brand assets, marketing, innovation, and design and developed Beta’s award-winning Creative Studio. The Creative Studio collaborated with brands, restaurants, developers, and owners to create exceptional experiences. Matt now plans to lead Dean&Co. into the future by collaborating with clients, growing an exceptional team, and delivering a platform that aligns with his core value: People First.
Awards & Honors
Gold Davey Award 2021 | Corporate Identity-Logos, Shin Yen
Silver Davey Award 2021 | Corporate Identity-Brand Identity, Shin Yen
Silver Summit Creative Award 2021 | Logo Design-B2B, Shin Yen
Gold Davey Award 2020 | Corporate Identity-Brand Identity, The Enclave
Silver Summit Creative Award 2019 | Website Redesign, Beta Agency
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Table of Contents
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Matt Dean: In high school, I was fortunate to take a graphic design class where I instantly fell in love with the freedom of creation. By the time my senior year came around, I realized I wanted to do two things during college, play collegiate lacrosse and study graphic design. Enter the Savannah College of Art & Design where I was able to dive into both passions at a high level.
It became very apparent during my time at SCAD that I loved branding, design, architecture and how humans experience the real world. In my Junior and Senior years, I was working for an LA-based advertising agency with some amazing clients but I knew that was not the ultimate path I wanted to take so once I graduated I jumped into the world of brand strategy and brand design. This is really where the world opened up for me but the agency was not my forever agency.
When I knew it was time for the next thing I saw a LinkedIn post for a position in the commercial real estate industry, once I looked further into the industry, I knew immediately this was it for me. My vision was to run a creative studio offering top-level brand services to the commercial real estate industry which has ultimately come to fruition through my agency Dean&Co. Not every path has a straight line but if you continue to follow your passion, are open to new opportunities, and are focused on your end goal. Then everything will fall into place.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Matt Dean: My wife Jackie and I met during our studies at The Savannah College of Art & Design where we were both athletes and also both studying graphic design. She was and still is a major inspiration to me as she is one of the best designers I have ever met but also the most incredible person I have ever met.
During my sophomore year, I opened up to Jackie about my big dream, to be the CEO of a creative agency by the time I was 30. She believed me fully and every step of the way made sure that we were moving in the direction of making that dream come true. Having the confidence from someone so close to you makes you feel invincible and that you are in the right place in your life. We now are the co-founders of Dean&Co., happily married, and have two beautiful kids together.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Matt Dean: There are a lot of entrepreneurs that have great business ideas but are sometimes afraid of digging deep to understand their ‘why’ and then expressing that to their target audience. This can affect companies’ long-term growth as it will become hard to gain brand loyalty and stand out from competitors.
I may be biased, but I truly feel having a sound brand strategy is the best investment for your business. If you can create a lifestyle connection with your target audience you will outperform the competition and even better yet, if you can define an internal culture then your business will be set up for exponential growth with great people on board. Don’t be afraid to look inside or make an investment in branding. It is paramount to the future of any business.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Matt Dean: Resilience is all about bouncing back, but something I learned in life is to have the ability to see adversity coming and push through with a strategy that is right for your person, your business, your clients, and your employees. Oftentimes people are comfortable with being reactive to situations but I have always strived to be proactive with every aspect of my life. When you spend the extra time prepping, it makes the uncomfortable situations seem easy to handle.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Matt Dean: In 5 years we want to have a team of 20 talented individuals with a healthy balance of clients across multiple industries. We have three verticals of our agency; branding, design, and marketing which we want to continue growing, and have each of them complement each other so clients can have a full-service experience while still having the human touch of a smaller agency. Dean&Co. was founded on a set of values that we believe will inspire future employees and clients to continue working with us. We are defining a culture where people feel heard, safe, inspired, creative, and empowered to continue doing better every single day.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Matt Dean: I’ve always been a very empathetic leader which has served me well. It takes a lot to understand people on a personal level, to understand how they communicate, and to understand how to get the best out of people but when you have that as a strength it makes it easier to lead. I know I am never the smartest or most talented in the room so when it comes to our team they are the ones that are truly empowered to make decisions that execute on the creative brief.
Being able to understand that makes employees feel inspired and also puts a seriousness to their work as it will be in front of the client. I see a lot of growth in our team members by letting them make the big decisions. Respect and honesty are two other strengths that I practice in my daily life. Our agency is extremely transparent with our clients which helps us communicate and speak candidly with each other. In fast-paced environments, this is helpful so we can pivot as a team or continue capitalizing on successes.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your brand reflects your company’s values?
Matt Dean: Absolutely. One of my favorite quotes has always been ‘Are the habits you have today on par with the dreams you have for tomorrow?’ I feel it is very important as a CEO to have your employees and clients see you live by a set of values that people also can connect with. When you are a leader people tend to watch everything you do. Being able to communicate a strong personal brand helps validate your person which ultimately is a representative of your agency. If you do it right, simple actions can inspire many.
How would you define “leadership”?
Matt Dean: Leadership for me has always been defined by empowering others. I’ve always believed that if you make everything ‘your call’ then people will be afraid to share their real thoughts or ideas which ultimately hurts the creative process. It is also very important as a leader to see things from a high level, but the right team together, and know when to let them be at their best. Something I always try to do is make time for every employee, colleague, and client to know more about them on a personal level. This provides an opportunity to create a greater connection on a personal level and learn what inspires the people around you.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Matt Dean: Know your audience and stick to your vision. It is very easy to say yes to opportunities coming your way but if it does not align with your vision, then you have to be able to say no and make sure it is for the right reasons. When this does happen, always offer a solution for that potential client to continue being of service for them. It will come back around later and you will be very happy that you did it.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Matt Dean:“Steel Sharpens Steel”. This was a quote both my wife and I heard constantly from our strength and conditioning coach in college. It sat deeply with us as it goes against a lot of advice people have where you have to have a yin to your yang. It is okay to have a partner, colleague, or client that is equally strong as you are but to have an understanding that you can both make each other better and to have the respect to listen will ultimately make you both so much stronger. Surround yourself with people that will continue to make you sharper, together you will become unstoppable.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Matt Dean for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Matt Dean or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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