Matthew V. Blackwell has spent his life building, learning, and starting again with purpose. Raised in Fairfield and Monroe, Connecticut, he grew up in a close family as the oldest of four siblings. From an early age, he saw what dedication looked like. His mother built and scaled her own company, showing him that discipline, curiosity, and persistence matter over the long run.
Matthew balanced structure and creativity early on. He played guitar and trumpet, rowed crew in college, and developed a love for football that still follows him today. He graduated high school with honors and earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from Union College, where he learned how systems, planning, and execution shape outcomes.
His professional career began at ACNielsen BASES, followed by more than a decade at his family’s company, Aurora Products. There, he worked his way up to Vice President of Operations, gaining hands-on experience in leadership, operations, and growth. Those years taught him how businesses really run and where they break.
In 2016, Matthew stepped into entrepreneurship, launching an electric bike company and later returning to operations leadership roles. Each chapter added perspective. In 2023, he started Woodbridge Farms, an e-commerce business, and SeaSide Properties, which manages his family’s real estate portfolio.
Today, Matthew lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut, where family comes first. A father of three with one stepchild, he balances work with school events, hobbies, and community service. He volunteers regularly with the American Red Cross and supports local causes. His story reflects steady progress, resilience, and the value of moving forward with intention.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My days start early because that’s when I think best. Before emails or calls begin, I review orders and operations for Woodbridge Farms and check on anything urgent related to SeaSide Properties. I focus on execution first, not strategy. Inventory, fulfillment, and customer issues come before planning. Productivity comes from removing friction. If something causes repeated delays, I adjust the process rather than work longer hours. Afternoons often revolve around family logistics, so I plan work around that reality rather than fighting it.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Ideas usually come from something not working. When I see inefficiency, I write it down and test a small fix. I learned this approach after launching CyclElectric. I waited too long to test assumptions at scale. Now, I test ideas cheaply and early. A product tweak, a new vendor, or a process change all start small.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’m encouraged by the shift toward smaller, quality-focused e-commerce brands. People are paying attention to sourcing, reliability, and service again. That trend rewards businesses that care about operations, not just marketing.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Clean Inbox! I treat my inbox as my to-do list. Once a task is completed, I file it away into the right folder for reference later on. With so much of our work life being spent communicating through emails, removing the clutter is important.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t attach your identity to a single business or outcome. Careers evolve. The skill is learning and staying steady in the face of change. Also, be a sponge. Listen to industry professionals and learn from both their mistakes and successes.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
Failure isn’t motivating. Stability is. When life is stable, I take better risks and make clearer decisions.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Review past decisions regularly. Not emotionally, but objectively. Ask what actually worked.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I shrink the task list to one action. One email. One operational fix. Momentum usually follows.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Operational discipline. At Aurora Products, success came from repeatable systems, not heroic effort. That lesson stayed with me.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
CyclElectric didn’t survive a quickly changing market and inconsistent demand. I accepted the outcome, stepped back, and learned. It taught me about timing, innovation and knowing when to stop.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Create a weekly operations dashboard with five metrics only. Revenue, costs, inventory, customer issues, and time spent.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Google Sheets. I track costs, priorities, and simple forecasts there. No complexity.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Atomic Habits by James Clear. It reinforced how small systems beat motivation. I also listen to How I Built This because the long timelines feel honest.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
The Last Dance. It shows discipline, pressure, and the cost of sustained excellence.
Key learnings
- Operational discipline matters more than big ideas.
- Stability enables better decision-making and sustainable growth.
- Small process improvements compound over time.
- Learning from past outcomes builds long-term resilience.