Meet Matt North | CEO & Dirtbag Adventurer

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

Hi Matt, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
Starting a business has risks, those risks compound the larger the company gets and knowing when and how to invest back into your company can be terrifying. The hardest decision I ever had to make was signing a 3 year lease to double our current space without having the work to justify it. When the opportunity presented itself, in this case a commercial building becoming available, I had to decide if it was the right move at the right time and if we would be able to increase our revenue to be able to pay for it. Sometimes that decision can be backed with data, trends, and profit margins. Other times its a total gut feeling. While everything at that moment told me I couldn’t afford it, the market wouldn’t respond, or it was just too big of a move; I decided to take the leap. I believe when your vision is clear for where you want to take the company sometimes blind passion, dedication, and whole lot of work can see you through.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Titan Vans was established in the summer of 2017 with the sole purpose of creating beautiful and durable vans in a supportive and rich work environment. We are passionate about alternative living, and we strive to get people outside doing what they love. Everyone who works at Titan Vans is a climber, skier, mountain biker or dirt-bagger extraordinaire. We don’t just sell van life; we live it. We’ve spent years living out of tents, trucks, vans, Subarus and more. We are travelers and adventurers, and our passion for our trade, environment and community is inherent in our products. We have risen to the forefront of our industry by relentless improvement and by demanding quality in areas where the market did not. We have failed, a lot. But we have instilled and promote a culture where those failures don’t stop us from looking at ways to make it better. The team makes dozens of improvements a day. Whether it is process, workflow, physical organization, or product, we look at all aspect of the company as areas to improve. We adhere to the Toyota production model and lean manufacturing. Each morning, every employee (owners included), spend 30 minutes 3S’ing, which stands for Sweep, Sort, and Standardize. By doing this we find problems and make improvements before they are issues and by allowing everyone to participate we end up with more unique ad novel solutions than just one person could dictating from the top. Creating this kind of ownership culture takes work though, we practice everyday and yet often we still miss the mark. We hold each other accountable, in a respectful and constructive way, and focus on long term gains versus short term profit.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not much of a city person, my passions lay in the outdoors. A perfect weekend for me involves all the sports. 1. Mountain biking out the front door, hitting Lyons Colorado’s local trails.
2. Don’t forget to pack the summit beers.
3. Float the North St. Vrain and catch the tunes at Planet Bluegrass.
4. Back country skiing in the Indian peaks wilderness.
5. Bouldering at the satellite boulders in Chautauqua park.
6. Beers and dinner at the Southern Sun.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife Allison and son Kai. For allowing me to follow my passion; to fail yet still succeed.

Website: Titanvans.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/titan-vans

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TitanVans