Matt is the Managing Director of Techstars Healthcare Accelerator, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai. Matt was most recently the Head of Corporate Development at Telesign, a leading antifraud firm and one of LA's fastest growing technology companies. Previously he was CEO of Moonshark, a venture backed by Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Qualcomm bringing to market original mobile entertainment. He has also worked at Sony Music Entertainment (VP, Web & Mobile Products), Yahoo! (corporate strategy, product development) and Bain and Company (management consulting). He graduated from Harvard, where he studied economics.
Matt is an advisor to several LA-based companies including Chromatik, Vyng, Rattleback Rye, and Alpha Edison. He was named one of Fast Company's 27 leading characters in Hollywood's Digital landscape.
Matt Kozlov
What does entrepreneurship mean to you, and what underlying characteristics do you see in successful entrepreneurs?
Matt: An entrepreneur is someone who not only identifies a real problem in the world they can solve, but then also fully commits their professional life to that pursuit. An entrepreneurs' resolve to solve that problem has to be so strong it will sustain them throughout the many bumps in the road they're bound to face. Starting a company is not an end, it's a means to an end. It's also damn hard. So many founders, especially lately, start a company because that sounds like a lucrative and interesting thing to do, not because they're mission-driven. I'm looking for founders that can't imagine NOT doing it. That passion and commitment are the most important assets I look for in a founder, followed closely by a relentless focus on execution and the high emotional IQ necessary to recruit great talent and connect with customers, partners and investors.
What are you most proud of in your professional career? If you could do something over in your life, what would it be?
Matt: I've had some pretty remarkable mentors throughout my career, individuals who have helped me more than I think they know. Strong meaningful relationships, the kind that can change your career, are rarely built in a 15 minute intro (though in Techstars that happens shockingly often!). You build them by continually out-executing, having unique insights, and giving as much as you can to help that person, mindful that the give should always outweigh the take. I'm very proud of the people I call friends, and almost every great professional opportunity I've had was the direct result of these relationships.
If I could do something over in my life, I'd have learned to play the banjo as a kid. It's much more difficult to find the time now.
Tell me about an instance where you had to go against the flow to realize your goal.
Matt: When I was 25, I had the opportunity to join a large record label Sony Music as an executive. This was at a time when music sales were plummeting, and the industry was generally accepted as in decline. Many told me I was making a horrible decision. I loved music, however, and there were so many pain points I felt were imminently solvable, I thought I could move the needle. I had a blast. I met some of the sharpest, most interesting people working at Sony, and I had the opportunity to build some really cool and successful products. It was an amazing career opportunity, and while I no longer work in the music industry, I'm so glad I did.
You're overseeing the first ever Techstars Healthcare Accelerator program in partnership with Cedars-Sinai. Tell us more about the program, and what will you look for in the application process?
Matt: Healthcare can be a very challenging industry for technology startups. Most hospitals are very risk averse when it comes to working with new technologies. Understandably, anything new and risky that may threaten the quality of patient care will be rejected, and so hospitals will typically turn away early stage companies. That makes it very hard for exciting, young companies to gain traction. With Cedars-Sinai, we're building a program that will give the best, most promising new healthcare companies deep direct access to Cedars-Sinai executives, doctors, nurses, clinicians, and administrators. We believe that by providing companies ongoing, direct feedback and mentorship in a structured intensive environment (both from Cedars-Sinai and Techstars' mentors), and ideally a path towards a pilot or implementation, our companies will grow exponentially faster.
As with any Techstars program, there are 5 factors we pay really close attention to in our applications: Team, team, team, product, market. Team is everything. Who are they? Why are they doing this? How do they work together? Can they lead? Do they have the experience and commitment to make this work? If the team is strong, the rest will click. Some of our most successful companies such as Sphero came in with a strong team, abandoned the product they originally applied with, and hit a home run in program with something new.
If you were to give advice to your 22-year-old self, what would it be?
Matt: Learn to code, start jogging, and pick up some Pappy Van Winkle while it's still $80 a bottle.
Follow Matt Kozlov at @Koz, and check out the other interviews in Going Against the Flow series at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/. Join our movement to empower 1 million female entrepreneurs in 2016 at goagainsttheflow.com.