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

Hi Matthew, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Expression. Expressing yourself is something everyone can do, and the reason it makes me happy is because there is no right or wrong way to express yourself.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
FilterGrade is an online marketplace for creators to buy and sell their digital editing tools. Michael Moloney (brother) founded the company in 2013 in Greenville, South Carolina while he was a Junior in high school. After a few years of blogging and small growth, I joined the company and we both began strategizing for the future. We decided we wanted to pivot from selling our own hand-made products, to selling products made by our favorite creators that we knew personally and online in exchange for a revenue split. The marketplace officially launched around mid-2016 and by the end of the year, we had partnered with over 50 creators to start selling their products, and help them earn passive income for their creative skills. Fast forward to 2023 and we’ve partnered with over 4,000 creators added thousands of products to the marketplace, and paid out over $2M in profits to our partners.

Since then, Mike and I have continued to run the company while also branching out to pursue other creative endeavors as well. Now, most of my time is spent making and selling paintings and sculptures out of my home studio in Boston, MA, while also operating my other companies, Hummus Film Lab and Grounded Media. Hummus Film Lab is a place where local photographers and film enthusiasts can drop off their film for developing and scanning services with quick turnaround times. Grounded Media is a platform that I have created to host my personal and freelance projects, with a focus on the community.

Mike spends his time as a freelance photographer and filmmaker while also managing his other online websites GlutenBee and PSDFilm. GlutenBee is website where people with an allergy to Gluten can check if a food that they are interested in consuming is gluten free or not! PSDFilm is a similar concept to FilterGrade, except with an emphasis on Photoshop actions that emulate analog film looks.

Obviously, both of us try to keep busy, and if there’s one thing both of us can attest to, is to keep trying – rewards come to those who take the most steps.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you’re in Boston for a few days, we highly recommend checking out the Institute of Contemporary Art located in the Seaport District. After hitting the museum, you can stop by Cisco Brewing Co. for some drinks and food. Depending on the season, you have to see a Boston sports game. Whether you’re at the TD Garden watching the Celtics/Bruins, or at Fenway watching the Red Sox, you’re bound to have a good time. If you’re near Fenway, be sure to stop by the House of Blues for a concert, too!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Midas BKS, a collective of creatives based in Brockton, Massachusetts has always been a huge inspiration to us as well as a really good group of friends that we’ve grown close with over the years. Watching the growth in their creative photography endeavors and music/fashion/art events in Boston has been truly incredible and I’m proud to work with them.

Not only have they inspired me, but I’ve watched them inspire tons and tons of other creatives in the Boston community over the years at the fashion pop-ups they’ve thrown, the wild parties and concerts they’ve hosted, and even while working in studios and on set.

      

Website: https://filtergrade.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filtergrade/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/filtergrade/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/filtergrade?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsbNijrUfsWRQooTlfIhU6A

Image Credits
Michael Moloney, Matthew Moloney Main photo – Aleksa Samardzic

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