Matthew Lisowski

Ledger

How I Lead

If you remember one thing

I partner with great people to create, professionalize, scale, and grow. Above everything else, I build amazing teams.

"Almost nothing is impossible. It just may not be worth the time or effort."

What my teams hear me say

Non-negotiables

  • Action over inaction. Be diligent and thoughtful, but never afraid to move. The world and the opportunity pass you by while you wait.
  • Integrity for every stakeholder. Every decision serves all stakeholders, not the loudest one.
  • Purpose in every decision. Think it through, decide on purpose, and own it.

Who I hire

  • Grit. The will to win and to pull through the muck. I'll be right there, but it has to be there.
  • Integrity. Always the best interest of every stakeholder.
  • Will to learn. The world moves at a hundred miles an hour. Standing still is falling behind. Skills can be taught.

How I run the week

  • Before the week. Set the cadence and the top three things that must move the business forward. Then advance them or finish them.
  • First business day. Cash position, leading indicators, unit economics by division, people and culture, and every leader's roadblocks so I can clear them.

Span of control: 4 to 10 direct reports; prefers 6 to 7, organized by function

What my teams would say

Direct, driven, upbeat, and laser focused on what's in front of us. They'd describe a mentor, even if they wouldn't use the word.

Credentials

  • Certified Public AccountantIllinois; CPE maintained in IL, WA, WI
  • MBA, FinanceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Certified Franchise ExecutiveInternational Franchise Association
  • Lean Six Sigma Black BeltUC San Diego Extended Studies
  • Franchise Management CertificationUniversity of Louisville
  • BS, Business Administration and ManagementUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Certificate in AccountingUC San Diego

Outside of work

I'm always taking a class or sharpening a skill; my mind works best when it's growing. My family is the reason I do what I do, and they get as much of my time as I can give. And I like to help the community I live in.

  • Friends of St. AugustinePresident, 2018-2022

Blueprint

What drives me

I'm a builder. I have a thirst to learn and to build something bigger than myself, and I do it by surrounding myself with people more talented than I am. I like creating things where nothing existed before. I don't need to build it alone; I want to guide it.

My first 90 days: Look, Listen, Leap

Look Days 1 to 30 Listen Days 30 to 60 Leap Day 60 on
  1. Look Days 1 to 30
    What made this company successful, what it faces, and what its culture is. I honor what came before me.
  2. Listen Days 30 to 60
    How it actually runs: people, processes, and the day to day. Does the everyday work help the goals or fight them?
  3. Leap Day 60 on
    Scale. Align long-term goals with daily process, fill the gaps, and reinforce or steer the culture.

The whole time: a red light on the dashboard gets addressed, never punted.

Hard calls

Rebuilding the model

I led a business from multiple locations and hundreds of employees to a small team with outsourced production. We kept the product's DNA, kept our communities engaged, and gave every employee job coaching and help finding their next role. It was the right call for everyone.

Protecting the cash

An owner whose loan had kept the company alive wanted it repaid early, in a weak local economy when the business needed that capital. I was sympathetic, and I said no. The cash had to serve every stakeholder, not one.

A lesson I kept

We opened a standalone location in a destination town. It did well in season, but in a downturn even its busiest months couldn't carry the off season. Now I build local demand for the slow months before opening, and I negotiate leases that allow seasonal closure.

Other people's success is my success

At Joseph James, a man finishing a career with the Forest Service asked to volunteer full time. He had two conditions: learn every part of the business, and earn a letter of recommendation. No one would give him an entry-level chance because he was overqualified in another field. I did. He soaked up everything, became a valuable part of the team, and moved from one role to the next until he was head of brewing and creation at one of the country's largest craft breweries. That was all his effort. I'm proud I got to be part of the journey.

Growth or exit

Growth is always part of the plan, because growth creates value either way: recurring revenue, community impact, and competitive advantage. Whether the path ends in a sale, merger, acquisition, or divestiture is decided with the owners at the start. Then we build toward it and stay ready to move when the market opens.

What I bring to a company

  1. Professionalize: give a founder's company the systems, controls, and team to scale without losing what made it work.
  2. See the whole board: finance, operations, construction, and brand in one view, so decisions are made with the full picture.
  3. Build what's missing: if the tool, the law, or the process doesn't exist, create it.
  4. Choose the path on purpose: long-term growth or a well-run exit, decided early and executed deliberately.
  5. Integrate on purpose: own the links of the chain that buy speed and control, and partner for the rest so the core stays the core.

Vertical integration, on purpose

Nearly every company I've run owned more than one link of its chain: making the product, moving it, selling it, and serving it. I integrate to gain time and grow faster, and only where it strengthens the core.

Grow and sourceMakeDistributeSellServeBuild
Joseph James Brewing Company nonono
Fish Brewing Company no
Mikkeller Brewing no
everbowl nono
WeBuild Global nononono

Ownership environments

Founder-led, private equity, venture-backed, and companies with hundreds of shareholders. I've delivered in all of them.

FoundersCo-founded one company and partnered with founders to scale others.
Private equitySold to PE, and worked alongside multiple PE firms.
Venture capitalWorked with venture investors.
Broad shareholder baseServed hundreds of shareholders as president, including a Reg D offering and debentures.

Roadblocks cleared

Multiple alcohol production types could not share one facility.

ClearedStructured licensing and operations to run them together.

Institutional Scale

State law and local ordinance banned on-site sales. We couldn't even pour our own beer at our own festivals.

ClearedHelped establish a brewers guild and lobbying arm that led the charge for non-gaming taprooms. Another organization finished it after the sale.

Dirt to Exit

Washington law did not allow beer trucks at private events.

ClearedPart of the group that changed the law, making mobile service an extension of the taproom. It became the main fundraising vehicle for Friends of St. Augustine.

Institutional Scale

Health departments did not understand brewing.

ClearedEducated regulators directly and through speaking engagements.

Dirt to Exit

The market had no tool for it.

ClearedBuild it: shop jigs and templates, or software and automation built with AI.

Fractional and Built Tools