Meet Matt Swinney

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matt Swinney a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

First, let’s just be clear that imposter syndrome is real. And I suffer from it all the time — even now. But what I wish entrepreneurs talked about more often is failure. The reality is that all business owners suffer “failures” — it’s what you do with them after that counts. I guess my confidence comes directly from those failures, that I don’t view as “failures” in the traditional sense at all.

“Failing” at something implies that no success was gained. And as an entrepreneur, you’re dead in the water if you can’t find the successes. Everyone would just quit and society would shut down if we just took failures at face value and didn’t gain a chip on our shoulder because of them.

When I first started Austin Fashion Week, I had ZERO background in fashion. Everyone who was a “fashion person” looked down their nose at me. And they had every right to. But I knew what made sense from a business standpoint and the only way to get them on my side was to prove it by action. There were huge misses along the way, but I think I gained respect by talking about the misses and doing what I could to resolve them in the future. So “failure” was just a stepping stone to whatever was next.

You do that enough times and you start to realize that eventually you’ll find the right path. With that comes confidence that making a mistake really isn’t that big of a deal.

I tell people all the time that I was a super shy introvert even through college and my first couple of jobs. I really hated public speaking and barely wanted to have a conversation with anyone. They’re shocked when I say that and they think I’m lying, but it’s the truth. It wasn’t until Austin Fashion Week really started to blossom that I found my voice. And now I can’t shut up.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I have several hats in the business world and more in my personal life. In addition to being a husband, dad and baseball coach, I’m most known for being the founder of Austin Fashion Week.

Austin Fashion Week is the 4th largest fashion week concept in the United States and we’re entering our 17th year in 2025. I feel like AFW is the glue that holds the Austin fashion industry together and gives it a reason to celebrate each other a couple of times every year. Events this Spring are May 8-10 at The Domain.

AFW really focuses on fashion designers and brands that just haven’t had their “big break” yet. They’re immensely talented but just need that public push to help them find the right direction. I feel AFW does that for most of them. I’m proud of our diversity and how we’ve really embraced those that other parts of the industry have completely ignored.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Resiliency. The reality is that every entrepreneur will get the crap kicked out of them — likely multiple times. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, cry in a corner, and then get back to work. If you can’t do that, then you should probably get a “normal” 9:00 – 5:00.

Trust your instincts. Plenty of times I’ve taken advice to zig when I thought we should zag. And more times than not, I should have trusted my gut. It doesn’t mean others are wrong — they just don’t have the same insight as the person who lives, eats and breathes whatever it is you’re doing. You’re the one with the passion and drive, so trust what you know. It’ll take you much further down the road than listening to others most of the time.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

Honestly, my wife Kara. People think she works for Austin Fashion Week, but she doesn’t. Never has, never will. She hates the idea of working with me on a daily basis.

But dirty little secret. She works with me on a daily basis. The reality is that she’s the yin to my yang and when I’m faced with a decision in the business, it’s not one of my partners or employees I go to. It’s her. She knows me better than anyone and she’s right there taking every risk with me. I trust her judgment more than anyone else on the planet and it’s her guidance and sometimes brutal honesty that allows me to develop whatever I need to be successful. She may not be in the office collecting a paycheck, but she’s definitely by my side in every decision I make.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://austin.fashionxtexas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fashionxtexasofficial/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattswinney/

Image Credits

Images by Todd White & Gregg Cestaro