“SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR” FINDS BIG SUCCESS IN BIG TECH
T
o hear Matthew Gardner ’07 tell it, he is lucky to be alive. He taught himself computer programming when he was 11, and, like the proverbial cat, his curiosity growing up sometimes had the potential for dire consequences. “When I was young, I was always taking apart radios and other such things that should have killed me,” Matt recalled. “One time, I tried to open a battery and sliced my hand open. Luckily, I did not slice the battery open because that would have been quite dangerous. I also would open up CRT monitors, and there is a high-voltage tube in those that, if it is not discharged, will literally send you across the room like those cheesy kung fu movies. But somehow, I survived!” Ironically, that same “dangerous” obsession has been a major impetus in driving Matt to the
success he enjoys today as Director of Developer Relations for cloud communications company 8x8 and as an accomplished tech consultant, blogger, and startup enthusiast. “Matt is an extremely smart, motivated young man who, as a student, clearly had an idea of where he wanted to go,” said Robert Roffe P ’12, ’15, Canterbury’s Director of Academic Technology and Innovation and Chair of Digital Communication, Design, and Innovation, who was Matt’s advisor on the hilltop. “He tried different paths, but he knew he wanted to be in technology, whether it was programming, websites, or otherwise. He dabbled in all of it.” That trend continued as Matt’s career took shape, and he has worn many hats in the technology field along the way:
Matt launched his podcast in 2021.
PROGRAMMER
“I was obsessed with programming because I love cooking,” Matt said, forming an intriguing correlation between two of his passions. “The cool thing about programming is you do not need any material to get started. Your resources are infinite. If you burn a steak or burger, you have to get more meat, right? But if you make a programming mistake, you can just redo it without buying anything further. I was also drawn to programming because I did not need to ask for permission. I could just do it!” That passion was enflamed even further when Matt attended Canterbury. “Mr. Roffe was my biggest influence there,” he shared. “We got along very well and shared a love of video games, computers, and programming.”
Matt with his sister McKenzie Gardner ’07 on their graduation day. 12
PALLIUM SPRING/SUMMER 2024
Rob saw the potential in Matt and credits him with inspiring the idea of independent study for gifted students in technology at the School. Each student
develops their own program, Rob approves and oversees it, and they report back what they learned. The experience equates to an actual class with the appropriate credits awarded. And it all began with Matt. “His initial project was learning the programming language Ruby, which is used for websites and similar functions,” Rob said. “It was just as challenging for me. I had to learn it right along with him so that I could grade the project at the end. He even taught me some of it!” Those skills translated well to the professional technology arena— Matt went on to work on projects for top companies such as Apple, Yahoo, and Buffer over the years.
ENTREPRENEUR
His parents were always very entrepreneurial, so it was only natural that Matt would follow suit and become, as Rob described him, a “serial entrepreneur.” As with most everything else