Draft:SimonHem

Matthew Pohlson

Matthew David Pohlson (born 30 November, 1977) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Omaze, an entertainment company with a social purpose. They offer the chance to win dream houses and once-in-a-lifetime experiences to benefit charity.

Early life and education

Matthew was born in Orange County, California. His father, Gary, was a lawyer and a judge, while his mother, Teri, was a hospital worker. He has a brother, Ross, and a sister, Traci.

Pohlson had a near-death experience at birth. He had an ileal atresia, a blockage of the intestine. Doctors had to operate to save him, removing two-thirds of his small intestine.

Matthew attended Santa Margarita High School, where he was Student Body President and achieved a perfect score in his verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

A keen basketball player, he was part of his school’s California Interscholastic Federation Championship basketball team in 1996. He was also a member of a team based in inner city Los Angeles that won the AAU National Boys Championship.

He earned a BA in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University. He later gained a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Wharton College, University of Pennsylvania.

Notable classmates at Wharton included the founders of glasses retailer Warby Parker, footwear company Allbirds, non-profit outdoor equipment organisation Cotopaxi, vegan food producer Beyond Meat, and shaving brand Harry’s.

Career

After Stanford, Matthew decided to pursue an interest in film and acting. He appeared in theatre in Los Angeles, before securing his first TV part in the drama series Everwood (2004). Other TV and film appearances included Scrubs (2005) and Hollywood Dreams (2006).

Pohlson's passion is storytelling to inspire action. He worked on Girl Rising, a documentary about girls’ education in the developing world that was narrated by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and many others, Ricky and Ravi (Are in Between Jobs), for Fox Television Studios; and A Decade of Difference. This was a concert to mark ten years of the William J. Clinton Foundation, which aims to strengthen global interdependence. Through these projects, Matthew wrote and created content featuring Jay-Z, Bono, Bill Gates, Matt Damon, Ben Stiller, Barbara Streisand, Sean Penn, Lady Gaga and many others.

Omaze

Matthew wanted to find a better way to make a positive impact in society, so enrolled at the Wharton Business School for his MBA. While in school, he attended a Boys & Girls Club of America charity event in Los Angeles, with his friend Ryan Cummins. Their childhood hero Magic Johnson was auctioning the chance to play basketball with him and go to an LA Lakers game. The event was attended by many high-net worth individuals and the winning bid was more than $15,000 – out of reach of Matthew, Ryan and most other people.

The two men decided to create a model where everyone around the world could participate in such fundraising opportunities, not just high-net worth individuals at a particular event. In 2012, they launched Omaze. Customers could earn a chance to win dream experiences and support charities through sweepstakes.

Matthew and Ryan used their entertainment-industry contacts to secure experiences with various celebrities as prizes. After a slow start, Omaze started to become successful when it offered a chance to go to special Breaking Bad screenings with actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in the famous RV from the series. The sweepstakes raised $1.7 million for Kind Campaign.

They partnered with a range of top talent, athletes, and leaders, like Michelle Obama, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brady, the cast of Star Wars, and many more. Some notable prizes included riding in a tank with Arnold Schwarzenegger and crushing things; winning a Lamborghini, where Pope Francis handed the winner the keys;  performing karaoke and doing shots with Charlize Theron; and having dinner with George Clooney at his house in Lake Como.

These prizes supported over 350 charities, including UNICEF, the United Nations, Make-A-Wish, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, the Red Cross, and Team Rubicon.

Some of Omaze’s most notable impact projects included funding a brand new ECMO ambulance for the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre and building a $1 million community centre with People Assisting the Homeless.

In 2020, Omaze launched the Omaze Million Pound House Draw - its first house draw in the UK, a £1 million property in Cheshire. The prize draw raised £250,000 to support Teenage Cancer Trust.

“Everybody dreams of a new house,” Matthew told The Times in October 2022. “We said: ‘OK, let’s try it [in the UK] for the first time.’ And [the draw] just worked incredibly well.”

The UK house draw soon became Omaze’s most successful offering, so in 2023 Omaze decided to focus on this model alone, moving its head office from Los Angeles to London. He has said that house draws can raise 20-40 times as much as celebrity prizes for a similar amount of work.

Omaze now offers houses, cars and cash prizes. Seventeen per cent of gross ticket income goes to charity, irrespective of costs. Omaze guarantees a minimum donation of £1,000,000 for every charity partner. The draws have raised over £51 million, as of August 2024, for charities including the NSPCC, Breast Cancer Now, Marie Curie and Dogs Trust. From all its different prize draws, worldwide Omaze has generated nearly $300 million for charity.

Omaze has given away 28 houses, up to August 2024, all worth £1 million or more. Locations include Cornwall, the Lake District, the Cotswolds and London.

Honours and awards

Ernst and Young awarded Matthew a Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2021. Omaze earned the Corporate Partner of the Year honour at the 2023 British Heart Foundation Heart Hero Awards.

Fast Company named Omaze in its top 50 Most Innovative Companies 2020 and number one in social impact They were also named Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business. They have won multiple awards for creativity including the Webby and YouTube Video of the Year for "Arnold Schwarzenegger as Surprise Terminator."

Personal life

Matthew lives in London and has no children.

He had another near-death experience in 2018 when scar tissue from his infant bowel operation broke off, caused an obstruction and stopped his heart. He flatlined for four-and-a-half minutes on the operating table. His mother burst into the operating room while he was flatlining and, along with the medical staff, helped coax him back to life.

He told Inc Book Smart podcast that the experience shifted his leadership and life philosophy. "I think about [what happened] every single day… As a result, I practise gratitude every single day. And I think that helps it to be maybe not an overwhelming but an empowering experience."

References

External links

Jazz Shapers profile interview, Jazz FM: https://planetradio.co.uk/podcasts/jazz-shapers/id-2148983/

TalkTV. Interview with Trish Goddard, 9 April 2023 (from 2 hrs 39 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhnF41eejx0

Side panel

Born

Matthew David Pohlson

30 November 1977 (age 46)

Orange County, California, United States of America

Nationality

American

Education

BA Economics and Political Science, Stanford University

MBA, Wharton College, University of Pennsylvania

Occupation

Co-founder & CEO, Omaze

Awards

Greater Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year award

Social media

Instagram: @mattpohlson

Twitter: @mattpohlson

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-pohlson-4313b05/