Matthew Manos

Matthew Manos wants to change the way businesses do business. Manos is the Founder and Managing Director of verynice, a global design-strategy consultancy that ignites movements, builds brands, and challenges perspectives. verynice has a very unique business model; the company gives half of their work and time away for free to nonprofit clients.

Recently Matthew spearheaded Models of Impact, a strategic business-design toolkit for Educators, Entrepreneurs, Designers, and Non-Profits, that aims to promote legacy and entrepreneurship in the social impact community by developing resources that make it easy (and fun!) to design disruptive business models. The method is comprised of a simple 4-step process: Learn, Invent, Program, and Report.

It is available on a “Pay-What-You-Want” basis for immediate download.

Aside from changing the world, Matthew Manos is an artist, strategist, neo-philanthropist, and an author interested in experimental economies, “business as a medium,” conditional systems for creative inquiry, and new methods for writing restriction in poetry and fiction. He describes himself as a recovering graphic designer turned full-time design entrepreneur.

Matthew’s work and vision go together like playing a mandolin while riding a unicycle.

Q. What’s the last free thing you got?

A really awesome pen/marker hybrid. Although I might have actually stolen it by accident, I’m not sure. I was doing a book signing at the Core77 Conference last week, and by the time I came home, I realized the pen was in my suit coat pocket. I hope they don’t read this and get mad at me 🙁

Q. What dead poet would you love to have a beer with?

Oh, that is easy. Charles Bukowski. That man was practically fueled by beer. The sad thing is that most of his favorite dive bars in Downtown LA have closed since his passing, so I guess if I had beer with him, I would also hope to go back in time in order to see what it was like in Downtown a couple of decades ago while I’m at it. Maybe I’ve just been watching too much Back to the Future.

Q. How do you feel about the term Millennials? Be honest.

The idea of categorizing people by the “generation” they fall under has always bothered me. Not so much because of the marketing/demographic angle, but more so because of the fact that it segregates people. “Age” and “experience” don’t always correspond, and when we try to bucket people into these groups, we create false expectations (or lack thereof).

Q. Radiohead or Coldplay?

Radiohead.

Q. What body part would you give up to never have traffic again in LA?

My belly. Two birds, one stone.

Now caption this bad stock photo.

“Bread! Bread! BREAD! BREAD!!!!!”

 

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The Complete Series of Interviews