"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
I am Matt Bussolotti and I want to create a world where the ideas of those who believe they can improve the planet can spread, flourish, and become a reality. I do that by helping companies increase sales, ROAS, ROI, customer loyalty, and market share through strategic branding, digital marketing, and business processes.
Coming from poverty and violence, I overcame challenges and graduated with full scholarships from top universities in New York and Amsterdam. I have over eight years of experience transforming the results of dozens of brands, including large corporations such as Tesla.
I run an international creative agency operating in Brazil and The Netherlands, helping clients worldwide. I love DJing, surfing, and cooking and currently live in Amsterdam with my wife Sophie.
This is the story of how I got here.
I grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio is beautiful, but violent. My neighbourhood was surrounded by some of the most dangerous slums in the city and feeling safe was not common for me. I was robbed six times at gunpoint, the first time I was just 12 years old. My family also struggled with everyday necessities so my future did not look so bright.
That reality led my father and I to develop a crazy dream: For me to graduate from an American university. Attending college, even in Brazil, seemed unlikely and studying in America was beyond imagination since we had no money, I did not speak English, and I had not even travelled outside the country before.
In spite of everything, I worked hard as a waiter and DJ, saved for years and was accepted into a university preparation program to learn English in New York.
The problem was that I still didn’t have enough to participate even with the money we had saved. Inspired, my father took out huge loans to pay for me to go anyway.
After nine months in New York, I learned English, completed the program with top grades, and was accepted to Rockland Community College, a State University of New York.
But again, the money from the loans only covered the first semester in college. I had no more money to stay in school or pay rent but had come too far to give up. I would not quit until they kicked me out and put me on a plane back home themselves.
I got two jobs on campus as an Admissions Assistant and Marketing Specialist to pay for food and rent, but it wasn’t enough for tuition. I had excellent grades and joined every extra-curricular activity I could. I wrote letters to every department in the school up to the president’s office asking for financial help.
All that hard work paid off. I received multiple merit-based scholarships, student emergency funds, and donations from people (angels, really) who heard my story and helped me stay in school. Through all of this, I learned how to connect with people, share my story in meaningful ways, and build relationships that have truly changed my life.
Being far from my family, friends, and everything I knew made me grow in so many ways. I had to overcome cultural differences, learn a new language, manage financial challenges, and navigate a different social system. I grew academically, professionally, and built strong values, discovering what really matters to me.
After a lot of hard work and dedication, not only did I achieve my crazy dream of graduating from an American university, but I also received the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor a student in the system of 64 universities and over 400.000 students can achieve. I also met some extraordinary people including Secretary Hillary Clinton in an event in which we both were keynote speakers.
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Because of the pandemic, I had to return to Brazil. It wasn’t planned, but I was still eager to apply my knowledge and take my professional career to the next level. I then realized that many businesses needed help to adapt their communication channels to the digital world and thrive during this period.
So I started Mediafy, a marketing agency helping small and medium-sized businesses build their brand and improve their social media. I focused on making them reach more customers, grow online presence, and increase sales.
It all started in my room with just me and my laptop. In a few months, I already had more clients than I could handle alone. So I expanded the team and the services we offered. In a little less than a year, the company had dozens of clients delivering incredible results to businesses across Brazil.
In my constant pursuit of knowledge and business improvement, I decided to continue my education and acquire more degrees. I applied and received a full scholarship to study Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, elected the best communication program in the world by the QS World University Rankings.
Moving to another country again was a big challenge but a great opportunity for growth. That's when I decided to expand Mediafy internationally and help clients worldwide.
We were now serving clients from over seven countries to increase their online presence and sales and offering services in four languages. I was managing a team of six professionals working from four different countries while completing a full-time degree.
But running a business while balancing school quickly became overwhelming. I had moved to the Netherlands to study, and my visa status and scholarship depended on keeping my grades up. If I fell behind, I risked losing everything and being forced to return to Brazil. Even though Mediafy was doing well, I knew that stepping back from the business to focus on school would set us up for even greater success in the future. It was a tough choice, but I made it to ensure we could come back stronger later.
I was very proud of the work we had done and the incredible career opportunities our results opened for everyone on the team. Sometimes you need to take a step backwards to walk ten steps forward.
That’s when I decided to get a part-time job at the 9th fastest-growing tech startup in The Netherlands, an online ticketing resale platform called Ticketswap. There, I helped improve platform operations and processes. Eventually, I moved to full-time to lead the company’s global expansion into new markets. Working closely with management and C-level, I helped exponentially grow TicketSwap’s revenue by delivering transformative results with communications, data analytics, and project management. On top of that, I was required to complete a full-time internship to graduate.
That was also when I achieved another great milestone in my career. After a lengthy process, I was hired as Tesla’s e-commerce intern for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. I had always admired the company, their mission, and especially their branding. At Tesla, I gained a big-picture view of how mega-corporations communicate, build processes, and achieve results. I also accessed dozens of internal courses and learned communication and leadership skills from Elon Musk himself.
After three years of relentless hard work and exponential growth, I graduated from the best Communication Science program in the world with top grades.
All the challenges, growth, and lessons have led me to this moment, where everything is aligned. Now, I’m ready to take everything I’ve learned over the years and apply it to the business I’ve always dreamed of building. We are officially back! And this time, we’re stronger than ever.
I am very grateful and fortunate to have acquired an incredible range of skills and insights that prepared me to offer the highest level of services to businesses and entrepreneurs. Whether it was gaining a deep understanding of branding and processes at Tesla, mastering data analytics and AI at Ticketswap, or refining my expertise in research and digital marketing at the University of Amsterdam, each experience has shaped how I see the world and how I approach growth.
I’ve built a team of amazing professionals who share my drive and commitment to excellence, and together, we now offer a powerful range of products and services that help businesses and individuals thrive in a crowded digital world. By combining our experience in branding, marketing, data analytics, AI, and business processes, we create strategies that connect with each client’s unique story and strengths. Our goal is to build brands that not only resonate with audiences but also drive real sales.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I would truly love to connect, share ideas, and continue writing these stories together. The journey continues, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.
