Founder. Operator. Investor. Educator. No matter the role, Matt Higgins believes in trusting instincts and never outsourcing judgment. This mindset has led him on an unconventional journey from poverty to investor. Growing up in Queens, he sold flowers on street corners and worked at McDonald's to help support his family. Determined to break free from poverty quickly, Matt dropped out of high school at 16 to work full-time while enrolling in college early. Over the next decade, he earned a law degree from Fordham at night and became the youngest press secretary in NYC history, helping manage the global press response to 9/11.

Matt later served as an executive for two NFL teams, founded and invested in dynamic brands through RSE Ventures, and appeared as a guest shark on ABC’s *Shark Tank* (seasons 10-11). He is also an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, where he co-teaches "Moving Beyond Direct-to-Consumer." Always eager to connect with great founders and investors, Matt continues to seek out new opportunities.