Disruptive Influence: The Business Storytelling & Brand Communication Podcast · Jeff Abracen

Why You Need to Put Gas on Your Strengths with Curtis Matsko

·1 hr 21 min·5 clips

Curtis says he is a "win type of person" and uses 30 planned stores to explain his risk math.

1. Disruptive Influence: The Business Storytelling & Brand Communication Podcast centers on Curtis Matsko and Portland Leather Goods. 2. Jeff Abrason hosts Curtis Matsko, the CEO of Portland Leather Goods, and Curtis matters because he built the company from a garage to about $180 million a year. 3. The episode asks what it means to "put more gas on your strengths" and build a company around who you already are. 4. Curtis says Portland Leather Goods started in a garage in 2015 or 2016 and grew from farmer's markets and art festivals. 5. He says the company is approaching $180 million this year, with about $160 million online direct-to-consumer. 6. Curtis says he has never had a resume, never had a paper route, and only had a few short jobs. 7. He describes being fired after three days at a marketing company because the owner said he was "the worst marketing salesman" and "too intellectual." 8. Curtis says he responded by trying to prove people wrong and by refusing to build a life around having a job. 9. He says Portland Leather Goods became different because he did not want to copy the five similar companies around him. 10. He says those five companies later went bankrupt, while his company kept growing. 11. Curtis says he is "overeducated" and has nine college degrees. 12. He says reading helped shape him, including reading The Lord of the Rings in fifth grade and wanting a leather journal. 13. He says a pink diary with a golden lock and key was not the same thing as the leather journal he imagined. 14. Curtis argues that business books mostly add titles and frameworks, but real company-building comes from reading people and patterns. 15. He cites "Tenet is easier than 2X" and "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" as titles that summarize the point without extra pages. 16. Curtis says his company is opening 30 retail stores in the next 18 months and expects 10 to do well, 10 to be average, and 10 to fail. 17. He says physical stores can still make money because they change shipping costs, marketing costs, and customer perception. 18. The conversation stays conversational and improvisational, with Jeff pushing for examples and Curtis answering in blunt, fast-moving stories. 19. Listeners interested in founder storytelling, retail strategy, and brand building will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting polished corporate advice or calm management tips may skip it.

As heard by us

A clear-eyed look at founder focus, retail math, and why storefronts still matter.

Curtis Matzko's conversation keeps one clear idea in view: stop obsessing over weakness and put more weight on what already works. The Portland Leather Goods story gives that idea some shape, moving from garage beginnings to a company on track for about $180 million this year,…

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Why you'd press play

You want a founder story about garage grit, store math, and the psychology of trust.

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