GenXYZ: Matt Rowe, 36

Senior partner Littleton-based Carruthers Group and owner, consulting firm Tuesday

Maria Martin //February 10, 2014//

GenXYZ: Matt Rowe, 36

Senior partner Littleton-based Carruthers Group and owner, consulting firm Tuesday

Maria Martin //February 10, 2014//

Rowe identifies himself as a “serial entrepreneur.”

In a nutshell, what does a senior partner at an outsourced business development firm do?

The Carruthers Group is a face-to-face SEO company. We figure out what our clients really need, perhaps why they’re stagnant in growth. Then we put a team in place, go out and find people and create real relationships.

Why is that face-to-face time important?

People are starting to get impersonal with business. You get a million emails, ‘Buy from me.’ We go out there and take action. We find the perfect fit, put a team in place and help the company reach a goal.

How do you help them reach those goals?

We create a rulebook based on what a company does really well. Most people get frustrated at work simply because they don’t know how to do something.

Did you follow a rulebook when you started out?

I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs who taught me a lot. When I said, ‘Hey, I have this idea and I’m going to run with it,’ they’d say, ‘That’s great.’ They never said, ‘You’re nuts.’

Do you look for an entrepreneurial spirit in a new hire?

Without a doubt. I could care less, to some degree, about your skills. I can teach you how to make a phone call, but I can’t teach you how to be nice.

Have you been humbled in life?

I’ve had some great successes, but I’ve had some failures. I had a failure that was a test to my marriage and my own self-worth, where I thought, ‘Maybe I just suck and I should pull the plug.’ But the next thing I ask the job candidate who says they’ve been humbled is, ‘What happened because of it?’ I’m looking for someone who can learn, and who can be a problem-solver.