on a napkin over drinks, or even in a flash of entrepreneurial inspiration, but in a dusty parking lot in Westport, Connecticut in 1987.
Matt comes from a family that embraces hard work. The year he turned 16, he took a job at the local farm stand selling fresh produce under a plastic tarp in the sweltering Atlantic humidity. That summer held unforeseen lessons for Matt and would plant ideas that he would bring into Tigris many years later. Hard work, great customer relationships, and personal service would become fundamental pillars of Matt’s future business philosophy. Foremost among the farm stand’s lessons though, is what we at Tigris refer to as the “Pineapple Theory.”
One day, the stand had a surplus of fresh pineapple that would not sell. Matt and his boss realized their customers simply hadn’t experienced these pineapples firsthand – they would need to taste them first. The team decided to cut open a pineapple and start offering samples.
They sold every single pineapple.
