Meet Matt Mendrala | Franchise Owner & Recovering Tech Guy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Mendrala and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Stephanie was working at STEM School Highlands Ranch in 2019 when the shooting occurred. My daughter Eden was a student there. I was working at Charles Schwab at the time. I remember getting the text from Stephanie telling me there was an active shooter in the building. My daughter at the time was texting her brother (who was attending college in Durango) to say goodbye in case she didn’t make it as she hid with the other students. I remember driving my car down 470 heading to the school and talking with, shouting at God while still more text messages came in…Shots fired…I’m so scared! Of course the whole world knows the rest of the story. Kendrick Castillo died and several people were injured. My wife and daughter survived. That was a pivotal point in our lives. It brought everything into sharp perspective. A few months later Stephanie got Joy tattooed on her arm and we both agreed that we had to start looking for opportunities to bring joy into people’s lives. That incident just underscored for us the importance of being intentional about giving back to the world and leaving it a better place. I’ve been in tech for 30 years and I had always hoped I could make a positive impact that way. While I’ve certainly made some positive contributions, in recent years it just seems like everyone is out for themselves. Then there are people like Kendrick. Kind of makes it hard to just accept the status quo. So since then, and especially with COVID, we’ve just been keeping our eyes open for a sign I guess…some signal from God or the universe that we should shift gears and do something different – something that brings joy to others (and hopefully to us too). So last year I was working for a company that makes a handheld ultrasound device. I took a position there because I wanted to help save lives and this device really had the potential to positively impact a lot of people, especially people in underserved and at-risk communities. But then, for all kinds of reasons I can’t go into, the company went through several rounds of downsizing and I eventually lost my job. In the past finding a new job would have been pretty easy, but something was different this time. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it just felt like the tech world had suddenly changed and the whole job application process had become much more dehumanizing. Just about every job I applied for had hundreds of applicants. I had a few phone interviews and even a few second and third interviews, but I also got ghosted…a lot. Suddenly I was just a number, a statistic, a matching score. The algorithms were now in charge and I apparently didn’t fit their profile of a perfect match. So that was the sign. That door slammed shut pretty hard. And then, we were approached about becoming franchise owners. I took a personality test and an actual human matched me/us with Hawaii Fluid art – a franchise focused on creating joy through art. And that was the beginning of our journey.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I (Matt) got my bachelor’s degree in cognitive science in the late 80’s, which was a new program at the time. I was originally majoring in computer science. Then after my sophomore year my parents went through a tough financial period so I took a break and went into the US Army so I could take advantage of the GI Bill. When I cam home I learned about this new program that was created by Donald Norman at the University of California San Diego. I was really fascinated by the idea of studying intelligence and cognition as well as UX and AI (really groundbreaking ideas back then). Right out of college I got my first job at a human factors lab working for the Navy developing new user interfaces for the Aegis Cruiser. My title was staff scientist and I absolutely loved it. My boss was really great and the work was very exciting and fulfilling. I spent much of my time creating a software simulation to test new ideas and also a lot of time brainstorming new UX approaches. Many years later my old boss sent me a picture of some of our designs actually deployed on a new ship. I was pretty proud of that. After a few years I decided to go to graduate school in Santa Barbara to get a PhD. At that time I was really fascinated with multimedia and learning. Then about the same time that Stephanie and I met and fell in love, the Internet was just starting to get going. So after we got married I put a pause on the PhD (a permanent one it turned out) and started working in technology, mostly creating multimedia. A few years later, after our son was born, we moved to Colorado so that I could take a job as Chief Architect at a travel startup. This was at the height of the Internet boom. That was a really exciting time and I had a lot of success. I think designing software systems definitely appealed to my analytical and scientific mind. And designing software that people actually liked using really leveraged my cognitive science background. A few years later the company was going through an acquisition and I was in a position to become a millionaire at a pretty young age. But then 9/11 hit and my stock options lost 90% of their value overnight. Looking back, I think at that point I should have gone back to academia and finished my PhD, but with two kids and a new house….well, I stayed in tech for the next 25 years. I wore lots of hats in that time and worked at a few more startups, as well as some Fortune 500 companies, and eventually moved into management. I would have to characterize most of that time as really stressful. While I was good at my job, and I loved learning and creating new things, I just never really fit in. While I am analytical, I’m also extremely empathetic and creative, and that combination just isn’t ideal for the tech world, at least not the tech world I experienced. I think I thrived most when I was able to help drive the vision and strategy, or when I was helping other engineers navigate their careers. I remember at one point in my career learning about personality types and strengths-based management. This was a real revelation for me. I naturally gravitated towards these ideas and concepts because of my cognitive science background. But I also became keenly aware of the hiring biases that exist in many large organizations. I had a real aha moment when I looked at my own profile compared to the average profile of employees at one of the Fortune 500 companies I worked for. My style and the way I think and approach things just isn’t the norm in the tech industry and I think I felt that pretty deeply. For a time it seemed people were willing to talk about this kind of thing, but things seemed to have swung in a different direction recently. At this point I am kind of philosophical about the whole thing. I realize that it was all a learning experience. Sometimes you learn who you are by being in a role where your strengths are appreciated or belonging to a group where people accept and value your differences. And sometimes you learn the most about yourself by being a fish out of water. I’m at a point in my life where I really like being that fish, and running an art studio really allows me to be myself and to embrace some of those things that I had to suppress or put on a shelf in the tech world. I think I’m still learning how to find my way back to a place where I can really be myself and embrace all the things that make me unique and different. Owning an art studio is definitely a major waypoint on that journey.

(Stephanie) I began as a secondary French and Social Studies teacher 26 years ago. I taught Middle School and High School for many years, then moved into Instructional Coaching and then school leadership. For the past few years I worked in Edtech and then just recently returned to the classroom. I went into teaching initially because I loved working with students and wanted to share my passion for world languages and world history. Teaching has brought me so much joy over the years. I truly love teaching – whether that be adults or students. It’s a blessing to be a part of the process of someone learning something new…and watching their excitement!

The greatest challenge I had in my profession was being a victim of a school shooting. Both my daughter and I were on campus during the STEM School shooting. Needless to say it was terribly traumatic and we are are still healing emotionally. This event is one of the reasons Matt and I chose to open Hawaii Fluid Art. We wanted to create a space for people to come to, to relax, find joy and celebrate life, love and each other! Life is short…live it well. And we hope we can provide that for our community at Hawaii Fluid Art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
(Stephanie) I love Colorado for the beautiful outdoors! I think we would have to start with the iconic Red Rocks. Such a beautiful area, and the little town of Morrison is great fun to walk around and grab a drink or some food. We could keep going and head up to Evergreen for another leisurely hike at the Three Sisters. We would definitely need to head to Denver to the LoHi neighborhood and dine at Linger. Another fun outing is cycling along the Platte river. It such a lovely route, especially if you start in Chatfield, and then stop at some of the great coffee spots and restaurants along the way.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well I would definitely give a shoutout first and foremost to Maya Ratcliff – the founder of Hawaii Fluid Art. She has such an amazing story and heart and without her creation we would probably still be searching. I would also give a shoutout to Trinity Kirk who was instrumental in getting us onboard and through the rough early stages of the process of becoming Hawaii Fluid Art franchisees. Really everyone at Hawaii Fluid Art has been amazing. Shawn Myers who talked us through our panic attacks. Anderson Wilms who taught us how to set up and operate our studio. All the Zees who gave us advice along the way. FranFund and Huntington Bank have been great. And our landlord, Doug and Tina Decker, have been so helpful. Our contractor Brett with CQL-2000 Constructors – I don’t know where we would be without all of his help. Let’s see, the town of Castle Rock. The Castle Rock Chamber – especially Nicole Rudy. Our friends and family have all been super supportive, A special shoutout to Niki and Vance Peacock – fellow pilgrims and entrepreneurs. The businesses next to ours have been so helpful and supportive as well. I would also give a shoutout to Bill Burnett and Dave Evans – the authors of Designing Your Life. That book had a huge influence on our decision to try something different. Also author and poet David Whyte who taught me to look for meaning and purpose in work. I would also give a shoutout to Skyler Grove – our intrepid art instructor who is just always so positive and so great with our customers. For me (Matt) I would also give a shout out to Ed Milstein who has really encouraged me over the years to believe in myself. Of course our children have been super encouraging and supportive and though there have been a lot of ups and downs, there’s no way Stephanie and I could have got this far without each other’s love and support, especially on those late nights wrestling with anxiety and trying to reassure each other that we are doing the right thing. I guess last but not least is our dog Bonnie who is our go to for stress relief and unconditional love.

Website: https://hawaiifluidart.com/castle-rock-co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hfacastlerock/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiFluidArtCastleRockCO

Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hfacastlerock

Image Credits
These images were all taken in our studio by Matt Mendrala. All people shown in these images consented to use of images taken in the studio for marketing purposes.