What if the only time your company failed was when you tried to be like everyone else?
Matt Briggs is the CEO of Four Hands, one of the hottest brands in the furniture industry. He grew up in South Africa without TV until he was nine, went to boarding school at 12, and came to America through a Rotary exchange expecting California—and got Peoria, Illinois instead. A ski trip to Colorado changed everything. He fell in love with skiing, took a job as a photographer on the mountain, and started seeing opportunity where others saw transactions.
Matt shares how he went from selling $9 Mexican pots for $89 to flying to Austin to buy antique Indian trunks from a guy named Brett who had just started a little company called Four Hands. He explains the pivot from middleman to design house—a Herculean shift that happened because the writing was on the wall: you can't control your destiny buying from creative people and selling to retailers while both sides squeeze you.
He talks about two miserably failed attempts at upholstery because he made the mistake of doing what the market was doing instead of staying authentic. The moment Four Hands went back to their DNA—in stock, their aesthetic, their way—it worked. He wraps with why market still matters ("it's like the exam at the end of the semester"), why he acquires tech companies and art printers instead of competitors, and why he still believes you can't fight the human condition.
Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.
What is The Market Makers?
Every creative professional knows the power of a before and after. It’s a classic transformation arc - whether it’s a renovation, glow up, or an old-fashioned make over. But reinvention doesn’t just apply to products or spaces. It also holds true for our lives and our careers. The sketch on the napkin that becomes a collection. The risk that changes everything. The work that turns a brand into a lasting presence.
The Market Makers is a weekly podcast from ANDMORE, home to markets that have been the stage for so many of these transformations. Hosted by CEO, Jon Pertchik, each episode pulls back the curtain on the lives of creative professionals across design, furniture, home, lifestyle and beyond.
From industry icons like Thom Filicia to leaders at heritage brands like Bassett Furniture, guests share the moments that shaped them, not just the before and after, but the process in between.
Whether it’s finding your aesthetic, carving out a niche, scaling a business, or turning a side hustle into a lasting brand, The Market Makers goes beyond the showrooms and into the creative lives of the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.
Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes every week.