How This 20 Year Old Has Sold $2.5 Million Dollars Worth of Shoes

Meet Matt Feinberg, a 20-year-old sneaker fanatic who turned a passion into a business. A business that’s made over $2.5 million in gross sales, to be exact. 

Matt got his start buying and selling sneakers in 2014. His friend suggested buying a pair of new Nike Foamposites on eBay and selling for some quick money. After that first sale, Matt was hooked. In 6 short years, he’s sold over 5,000 pairs of sneakers, generated over $2.5 million in gross sales, and now holds 2 jobs in the industry. He’s created not only a constant endeavor but a community.

Balancing Life

Matt is a busy man, with 2 roles in the sneaker industry (sneaker reseller and full-time employee at Sneaker Con), being a full-time student at the University of Pittsburgh, and staying active on campus. With the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else, prioritization is important. Having so many things to do in the day only motivates Matt more and keeps him on task. It takes time to adapt to the workload but in the end, it’s worth it.

“When it all comes together it leaves you knowing that you accomplished something special and meaningful at the end of the day.”

Matt Feinberg on balancing his busy schedule

It’s not the same thing day after day. Whenever there is a shift in trends or something as global as the pandemic, his business must adapt. Matt’s job is to research and understand how these changes can impact how his business needs to operate. 

Building A Community

Buying and selling sneakers isn’t the difficult part of his job, it’s dedicating time and establishing relations. After being an avid attendee of Sneaker Con, the world’s largest sneaker convention, Matt wanted to help take their digital platform to the next level. Rather than sitting back and waiting for an opportunity to open up, he took initiative. Approaching the Sneaker Con co-founders with fresh and developed ideas, he landed a job overseeing their digital operations as well as managing the customer and vendor relations departments. 

“Sneakers aren’t about the money, the profits, or the famous influencers; sneakers are a common passion that all of these attendees had that brought a community of tens of thousands of people together under one roof.”

Matt shares about Sneaker Con.

As a result of a strong network of people, his business has been able to flourish. Having established business relations with customers and his network is what lets Matt succeed. 

Knowing His Value

One of the big mistakes that Matt made at the beginning of his career was failing to acknowledge his value. In a self-run business, if you don’t put value in yourself, no one else will. 6 months into his reselling journey, he pitched “Shark Tank” style to his uncle, asking for $5,000 in exchange for 27.5% of the business. Thankfully for Matt, his uncle declined this offer. 

Money, profits, and popularity should never be prioritized above the brand’s foundation of people. A business doesn’t work without the people and Matt’s network is what allows him to grow and expand.

“At the end of the day, I am the CEO of me, Matt Feinberg.”

On how he runs his business.

Matt has been able to travel the world to conduct business and meet people, and get his name out there in the sneaker industry. With the Sneaker Con organization, he’s deeply invested in the digital growth of the platform.

To anyone wanting to run their own business, Matt offers a single best piece of advice. “In a self run business, if you don’t value yourself, there is no value to your business.” Wise words from a successful businessman.