Matt Higgins

Apr 8, 2024 | hbr.org | Ayelet Israeli |Jill Avery |Leonard Schlesinger |Matt Higgins

In recent years Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney earned more money from selling their liquor brands, Aviation American Gin and Casamigos tequila, than from their movie deals. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, retired from sports, now generate significant earnings through the sale of their apparel and skin care lines, S by Serena and Supergoop. Rihanna and Dr. Dre make millions selling their own brands of cosmetics and lingerie and headphones, respectively.

Jun 19, 2023 | hbr.org | Matt Higgins

I couldn’t have been more petrified. I was 16 years old, and I had just dropped out of high school to turbocharge my path to college, adulthood, and a job that could help lift me and my disabled, struggling mother out of poverty. I had used my Queens College ID to talk my way into a $9 an hour position in the office of my local congressman, Gary Ackerman, but I knew I had to prove my worth.

Jun 12, 2023 | cnbc.com | Matt Higgins

I grew up poor in Queens, New York and dropped out of high school at 16. I worked side hustles like selling flowers on street corners during the day, then attended college at night. I was scrappy and set lofty goals for myself. Since then, I've backed businesses and sold them for hundreds of millions of dollars, been an investor on "Shark Tank," taught at Harvard Business School, and ran two NFL teams. But I often wonder what I'd do if I went broke and had to start all over again.

May 22, 2023 | cnbc.com | Matt Higgins

It's graduation season, which means many parents will observe a sacred rite of passage: dispensing terrible life advice to their kids. Mom and Dad mean well. But the class of 2023 will enter a job market during one of the worst periods of uncertainty since the 2008 financial crisis. I've endured similar crises, from growing up in poverty, to dropping out of high school to providing care for my disabled mother, to holding down two jobs while earning my college and law degrees.

May 22, 2023 | cnbc.com | Matt Higgins

It’s graduation season, which means many parents will observe a sacred rite of passage: dispensing terrible life advice to their kids. Mom and Dad mean well. But the class of 2023 will enter a job market during one of the worst periods of uncertainty since the 2008 financial crisis. I’ve endured similar crises, from growing up in poverty, to dropping out of high school to providing care for my disabled mother, to holding down two jobs while earning my college and law degrees.