Episode #11
The Fifth Quarter Show Podcast Matt Smith Full Episode
Matt Smith is the founder of Snooze Mattress & Wellness, a sleep shop franchise he started in Pueblo, Colorado in 2019 and has since taken across the United States and into Ireland. He spent 26 years in the mattress industry and close to 20 in franchising. But the hardest part was not selling beds. It was learning that scaling Snooze meant entering the people business. At 19, Matt was stabbed an inch from his spine. His grandmother came to the hospital, stood in the doorway, shook her head and left without saying a word. He calls it the best thing that ever happened to him. Years later, he missed his two-year-old son’s first soccer goal and left the company he loved within three months. Today, he leaves the office at five while still three months behind. Because business will never stop. Your family will not wait. In this episode, we get into: - Why the mattress industry has barely changed since the 1980s - Being stabbed at 19 and the silent moment that changed his life - The mother who gave away her money, then turned a power cut into ghost stories - Why Matt believes positivity is a muscle - The daily routine behind his energy: ice baths, meditation, breathing and reflection - Losing more franchises than they gained during Snooze’s first year - “You showed that you suck at this,” and why he kept going - Leaving the mattress business for the people business without realizing it - The three non-negotiables: good human, grit and coachable - Why caring too much can become an operating liability - Using 30, 60 and 90-day data to remove emotion from difficult decisions - Why the person who helps build a $10 million company may not be right for the next stage - “I don’t need another Matt Smith in the room,” and why he hires for his weaknesses - Why opening 50 stores himself would require $60 million - What prospective franchise owners should examine before investing - Why billionaires are not necessarily happy - Missing his son’s first goal and leaving his former company within three months - “If you’re going to lose one, let the businesses go. You’ll build another one. But your family, you can’t build another one of those.” Matt gets raw about growing up without his father, the divorce rate he witnessed while building his career, and feeling like he is failing at business and family at the same time. We go deep on building systems when you are not a systems person, hiring people capable of reaching the next stage, running a franchise you would actually want to own, and protecting what matters when the work will never be finished. Move with clarity. Build with soul.
