July 2025: Bring on the Fireworks
I’m pretty sure I paid someone’s bonus at Delta this month.
As much as I appreciate business travel, I really miss being home with my little dude. The upside? Travel gives me space to think, reflect, and grow.
The downside? I’ve missed Ford’s first belly laugh, his first rollover, and more than a few smiles.
So, what did I learn this moth?
Oh, and nothing beats a Michelin Star restaurant in Paris.
Enjoy!
The One Where I Keynoted in Paris
I’ve always avoided telling much of my story in professional settings. Part of me felt ashamed of my background—and some of the things I’ve been through. But despite it all, and despite the things I’ve put myself through, I’ve managed to get back up, grind, and persevere.
A guy like me—with my background—doesn’t typically end up delivering a keynote at a tech conference in Paris. I was left for dead by a targeted Iranian bomb. I’ve been homeless.
And yet, there I was.
The single trait that’s helped me overcome every challenge is resilience.
As the world faces growing uncertainty—from AI to economic and geopolitical upheaval—I figured maybe it was time to be a little vulnerable. To see if I could inspire resilience in others.
That was the theme of my talk in Paris: Resilience.
AI is changing everything. But let’s be honest—we’ve been here before. This isn’t the hardest thing you’ve lived through. You made it through that, and you’ll get through this too. So keep looking for opportunity, never stop learning, and move when others pause.
If you’d like to check out the webinar version of the presentation, you can watch it HERE.
Big thanks to Planisware for having me.
Ford’s First Flight.. To Cleveland.
Ford’s first flight was uneventful, he did great, but the trip itself was a heart-stopper.
The three of us—Jenelle, Ford, and I—almost died.
We had traveled home to attend my stepsister’s wedding. Wanting to do what was best for Ford, we flew into Cleveland and planned to drive to the wedding on Saturday. The idea was to avoid combining too much driving with a flight on the same day.
The drive started off great. We passed through small towns I hadn’t seen in decades. Driving those old country roads, I quickly fell into old habits, like coming to an almost complete stop at 4-way intersections, even when it’s only a 2-way stop. Growing up, I remembered too many accidents at intersections like that, so I always double-check.
And thank God I did.
We came up to one of those intersections. I looked both ways, cleared the crossing, and we rolled through. That hesitation, maybe two seconds, made all the difference.
Just after the intersection, we entered a downhill stretch with a blind curve, a guardrail, and a sheer drop on the other side.
Suddenly, a truck came flying around the curve. In our lane. Doing something like 70 MPH.
It would’ve been a direct head-on collision with our little VW rental. If I hadn’t slowed down just moments earlier, we would’ve been in that exact spot at that exact second.
There would have been no time to react. No room to swerve. No way out.
We’d be dead.
I haven’t been able to shake the feeling since. Normally, things like that roll off me, but this time, with my little family in the car, it hit different.
So let me say this:
Don’t text and drive. Don’t drive drunk. Don’t speed.
Someone’s little family thanks you in advance.
Needless to say, I’ll never forget Ford’s first flight, or Lydia’s wedding, but not for the reasons I’d hoped.
More About Bean’s.
I recently sat down with my friend Glenn Smith who talked me into sharing more about the Bean’s Power Clean story. Reluctantly, I complied.
In this episode, Adam Mattis shares the story of Beans Power Clean, a home services startup he co-founded with his wife and scaled quickly. With strong demand, great branding, and a clear operations model, everything pointed to success. But just four months in, Adam made the difficult decision to shut it down. Why? Because despite the metrics, it wasn’t the kind of business he wanted to run, and the personal cost wasn’t worth the payoff.
We explore the tension between what appears to be success from the outside and what feels right on the inside. Adam reflects on risk, identity, and motivation—how leadership lessons from the corporate world don’t always translate to frontline businesses, and why founders need the courage to walk away when the fit is wrong. It’s a practical, honest look at what it means to let go of a promising business before it consumes you.
You can listen to the episode HERE.
A Small Business to Know: nVeris.
My friends Brian and Millie Paniccia are amazing people. They started their first company, TecVeris, after having their first child with a goal to strike the right balance between the consulting work they loved and the time they wanted to spend with their growing family.
Clearly, they were on to something. The company quickly attracted executives who were also seeking balance, fractional roles, and a way to put family first. The firm has done incredibly well.
nVeris began as a side project for the TecVeris team, and it quickly took off. The platform uses AI to rapidly define and map complex value streams inside enterprises and in environments that require compartmentalized security.
Nerd talk aside, it’s a really cool solution and it’s growing fast.
I love seeing good people win. And Brian and Millie are truly some of the best.
A Bit from the Homefront.
This photo says it all. Ford is 4.5 months old, hanging out in his highchair, happily gnawing on a piece of steak. He’s the happiest little guy with the biggest smile—and he already knows how to get exactly what he wants.
Jenelle is doing great. She’s home almost full-time and works two hospital shifts every six weeks. She and Ford have been to the pool, story time, and on a ton of other adventures. It’s been incredible to watch her grow into an amazing, protective mother with so much to teach our little dude.
I’m so grateful for this little family of mine.
The Mattis Foundation
Jenelle and I are excited to announce the launch of The Mattis Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities, developing future leaders, and helping individuals thrive.
This fall, we’ll be hosting our first event: a garden party to fund our inaugural initiative, The Kevin J. Smith Memorial Scholarship. As some of you may know, Kevin gave his life to save mine in Iraq. It’s only fitting that our first act of giving honors his legacy.
Follow the Foundation on Insta to stay updated on upcoming events, like the garden party, and future investments in our community.
Happy Independence Day!
I hope that all of my US-based friends take the opportunity to enjoy Independence Day this week! Jenelle and I are looking forward to getting dressed up with our little dude, eating good food, and enjoying an French75 or two.
Enjoy!
-Adam