Matt is our Sales Manager, and has been a part of the TakeLessons team for nearly two years.  A musician himself, Matt grew up playing the trombone, as well as singing and playing the piano.  In fact, he was one of the dueling pianists at San Diego’s famous Shout House piano bar before coming to work at TakeLessons!

What’s a typical day like for you?

I get in at 7:00 am since we have a lot of early calls from the East Coast.  I’ve always been on the phone a lot talking with prospective students as our main salesperson, but now as Sales Manager my job has shifted to less calls and more motivating, encouraging, and training new and current Sales Reps.  I’m loving it!

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?

Ever since grade school, music has been a huge part of my life!  I was in band and choir in middle school; band, choir, and theater in high school; ended up going to college partially on a singing scholarship; studied business and music in college; worked at the San Diego Symphony out of college; been in too many singing groups to count; done community theater; sang and played piano in a dueling piano bar for a year; and now I work at TakeLessons.  Everything I’ve done since 5th grade has in some way involved music, and I often wonder where I would be if I hadn’t gotten started in music to begin with.  With that being said, it means a lot to me and it brings me a lot of joy that I am personally able to get people involved in music, whatever their age and whatever the type of music lessons they are interested in.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

In grade school and middle school I definitely wanted to be a baseball player; in high school, probably an actor; and during college I wanted to win the lottery and live on the beach!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m very proud that I was able to get through college debt-free thanks to scholarships.

What activities do you participate in outside of work?

I try to stay active.  I like running outside and just exploring more or less rather than the treadmill, so I do that quite a bit.  Living a few blocks from Balboa Park makes that easy!  Just like everyone else in San Diego, I enjoy going to the beach.  I’ve been lucky to be able to do some traveling in the past and can’t wait to do more!  But all of the things listed above take a back seat when football season comes around; then, I am out of commission for a few months.

Where are you from originally and what is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?

I’m originally from Phoenix, AZ.  I love Phoenix and it will always have a place in my heart, but after living in San Diego, how could I possibly go back to the heat and the desert?!  I love the fact that I can be outdoors just about any time of year.  One of the best things (which can also be one of the worst things) about San Diego is that there is always something to do or something going on.  I just bought a Jeep and I am SO excited to take off the top and leave it off all summer!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

This Friday, we’re introducing you to Chuck, our VP of Technology.  Chuck has many responsibilities here at TakeLessons, including developing and testing new features for our website, as well as managing statistics reporting, operations, and IT.  He works hard to ensure that we have a usable and reliable website – an important factor in keeping our students and teachers happy!

How long have you worked at TakeLessons, and what do you like best about working here?
I’ve worked at TakeLessons since April 2006. What I like best about working here is the culture we’ve built to support personal and business growth. I’ve particularly enjoyed building the company, both on the technical side as well as participating in the strategic planning.

What keeps you busy outside of work?
Outside of work I’m spending a lot of time training to run my first marathon in June. Once that is finished, I’m looking forward to spending more time enjoying some of my other favorite activities: hiking, biking, cooking, and traveling. I love food, so I’m always excited to try a new restaurant or recipe. My wife and I also like to travel; we try to hit a new area of the country each year to explore the local attractions.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I’ve never been to Asia, so I think it would be a great experience to visit a place with a strikingly different culture and language. I’m particularly intrigued by the scenery in more rural areas of China.

What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
For me, the best thing about living in San Diego is that it has become a hub for beer culture. There are a lot of great events, restaurants and people that support both local breweries and homebrewing. I also really like the high level of support and participation in outdoor activities here.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
My big personal goal for the year is the aforementioned marathon. A professional goal of mine is to keep learning by reading at least one book per month.

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!