Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Miller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Patricia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Transitioned from the Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries as a marketing executive focused on building brands and strategies/ launching products globally and in the US, to take over MATRIX 4 July 2014 with a passionate interest in becoming part of writing the next chapter of American Manufacturing, challenging the status quo, bringing in outside industry perspective, and redefining a business model/ strategy/ culture. In summary, I wanted to be a bad ass change agent in a traditional, conservative, space. And I was excited to become engaged in a space of physical, tangible products. We are taking an entrepreneurial, start up approach to redefining and building a business outside of an existing shell.
Graduated from University of Iowa with (Honors) BBA and BA in Marketing and Journalism, minor in Spanish and Certificate of Entrepreneurship. Completed an MA Legal and Political Theory from University College of London and worked for Labour Party Headquarters before moving to Hawaii to work for Senator Ihare. Left politics to join Eli Lilly where I had various roles from Sales, Market Research, US Brand Launch, Global Brand Launch as well as building a grass roots cultural change group underneath the CEO, and lived in Indianapolis, Shanghai, and Connecticut before leaving Fortune 500 to take on commercial role at Biotech in San Diego. I was ready to get off a jet plane, do something meaningful in a different way, and saw how much the Midwest was impacted by the recession and how many manufacturing companies and industry was gone from the area.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road overall has not been linear, although I have loved all of the aspects along the way.
And it has very much been a journey of life, embracing experiences, opportunities and challenges. Becoming an entrepreneur and in manufacturing, has been the hardest thing I have done. There are so many aspects to manufacturing that make it more challenging and many aspects specific to taking over a dead manufacturing company that exacerbated those challenges. It is a traditional, conservative, male dominated industry segment, insular in nature, not super progressive or open minded, requires a ton of capital investment, so much hustle for little margins, many variables in the manufacturing process, realizing the amount of energy, time and investment in revitalizing a building, repairing machines, bringing a team on board, building the business, that I did not think would be as hard. We had to lift the tide and all boats at the same time, build the ship as we sailed it, and get a very steep learning curve to manufacturing and technicality of it.
Learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur, the risk/reward, the lifestyle, the scary nature of it and will it succeed.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Matrix 4 – what should we know?
I have so much heart for this company and what we do. MATRIX 4 is a design and manufacturing house of plastic products. The 4 phases of the house are design, engineering, tooling and manufacturing. We love working with small and large makers.
We 3D print and full-scale manufacture plastic products. What drives our business is our culture. We run the business agile, nimble and high energy/ entrepreneurial but operate with best practices to drive the business and strategy. I am beyond proud to pull a team together and build a company in an industry segment that has been dramatically impacted but continues to be strong driver of communities, economies and job creation.
And, we make products that matter in every day applications.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Having true clarity in a strategy/vision and what you stand for and continue driving to that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 610 E Judd Street,
Woodstock, IL 60098 - Website: www.matrix4.com
- Phone: 8153384500
- Email: pmiller@matrix4.com
- Instagram: _MATRIX_4
- Twitter: _MATRIX_4
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