We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Kennedy. Matt’s company Unbuilt is a resale marketplace for construction goods. We’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, tell us a little bit about your brand?

We think of ourselves as a ‘process’ brand. Since our individual products are branded by other companies, our brand focuses on the physics and feeling of doing things ‘the right way.’ When people buy or sell with us, they save money, increase quality, get it done faster, reduce clutter, waste & pollution – all at the same time. It’s a way to work that just makes sense; efficient, elegant and beneficial – not just a transaction, a craft. We find this idea resonates well with personalities common to the Design & Construction community.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
When I was a kid in Texas in the 1970’s, my Mom started a resale clothing store for Women in the garage of a neighbor down the street. At the time, the idea of buying or selling ‘pre-owned’ fashion was considered uncouth by the Socialites of suburban Dallas, so the business had to operate confidentially. But the business slowly took hold and grew.

When I grew up, my career took me far away from the main street world, into creative software development. I built my own company in the early 2000’s here in LA, and later worked for Apple and Netflix. All the while, my Mom’s resale business continued to grow back in Texas.

In 2019 my college friend, Sara Noyes, approached me about creating a resale marketplace for excess construction goods. Reselling shoes, sweaters & handbags was a well-proven model at this point. There were multiple start-ups and public companies in the Apparel resale space valued at over $20B – but Construction was new territory. In studying the market, we found a huge supply and demand for goods – but also a lot of logistical challenges involved in sourcing and selling lights, faucets, tile, doors & windows etc.

We had an insight that with the right technology, a lot of data and the right scale, we’d be able to make the business model work, grow and eliminate a really large amount of waste, pollution and carbon emissions. So we built a store, a back-end platform and a marketing funnel to get the word out. Then the Pandemic hit.

Our first instinct was to retreat. It just didn’t seem like it would be possible for us to get up and running while the world was in turmoil. Luckily, the many bad things about the Pandemic were offset by a few good ones. Building was one of the few things that people could continue to do during the shutdown, and our customers were happy to find goods that avoided the long supply chain delays. We were able to adapt, survive, then prosper from something that seemed like an insurmountable obstacle at first.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Whoa. Los Angeles is such a big place. When friends visit, I usually tailor my recommendations based on what they’re into, and people rarely have a lot of time, but here are a few recommendations I’ve made lately:

Santa Monica/Venice:
Rent Bikes & Ride the Strand
Walk Pacific Park
Birdie G’s for Dinner
Take a Bird to Sweet Rose Creamery on Main

Downtown:
Take the Expo Line
Eat at Grand Central Market
Walk the Arts District
Disney Hall, Broad Museum
Dinner: Bar Ama, or Badmaash
Dessert : Churros at Olivera Street

Sunset Corridor – Drive / Tour:
Getty Center
(Westwood + UCLA)
(Bel Aire)
Sunset Strip
Hollywood & Vine
3rd St. Farmers Market
(eat at Pampas Grill Brazilian)

Malibu / Topanga:
Take the 101 (Behold the Valley) to Topanga Canyon
Visit New-Agey shops in the Canyon
Lunch at Malibu Farm Cafe (on the pier)
Drive north to Paradise Cove or Zuma Beach
Dinner at Nobu (if you must see some celebs)

Hollywood:
Catch a show at the Hollywood Bowl or Greek
Eat in Los Feliz / Hollywood.
Universal Studios / Citywalk if you have kids

Orange County:
Day at the Beach
Crystal Cove?
Drive the PCH for a bit
Newport Beach
Laguna Beach

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Launching a start-up is challenging. It requires time investment, financial risk, stress and a lot of work. We tend to think of these things in the context of Entrepreneurs but the reality is – if you have a family, they carry the burden too. My partner Sara and I both have families who’ve acted as our original Angel investors – rolling up their sleeves, helping out on the weekends, and trying to compensate for lost time together. Our spouses (you know who you are) deserve a lot of credit for holding things together, and our kids for inspiring us and encouraging us to do something to help the planet.

Another group of people who often don’t enough get credit in Start-up stories are the early adopters who take a chance working with a company, knowing it’s new and unproven. We’ve had a lot of great partners who’ve bought into our mission and have showed up to help us get going. We’re very grateful to them.

Website: https://unbuilt.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unbuilt.co/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unbuilt-co

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