Durham, NC, USA
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Tatiana Birgisson BiographyTatiana Birgisson decided she wanted to become an entrepreneur when she was 7 years old, helping her uncle drive jetskis for his tourism business in the Caribbean.
“I thought it was the coolest job in the world to be your own boss,” she said, adding that she also admired her uncle for driving revenue and tourism to his hometown and taking ownership of what he brought to the market.
Birgisson started her own company, MATI Energy, while living in Duke’s entrepreneurial community, The Cube, during her senior year. What she first brewed as a healthy drink to help her through her own exhaustion and depression has become a rapidly growing business that put up 130 percent year-over-year growth in 2016 and earned Birgisson a place on Forbes’ 2017 30 Under 30 list in the Food and Drink category.
“I was really shocked and pleasantly surprised,” Birgisson said of the recognition. “It came on the tail of having a huge 2016. Everyone had worked really hard, putting in 12 to 14 hour days, and we ended up exceeding our goal. The award came at the perfect time as a little reward.”
The past year was a big one for MATI – the Durham-based company grew from five to 20 employees, built and moved into a 30,000-square foot production facility in Clayton, North Carolina, and became available at five chains in addition to its first chain, Whole Foods.
In 2017, Birgisson plans to grow the brand from 500 locations nationwide to more than 1,600 – which will include expansion into Florida, Texas and Virginia.
All this is huge growth for a company that Birgisson started in her dorm room and expanded with the help of Duke resources, including the Duke Startup Challenge, which she won.
“I wanted to create an energy drink that was healthy from the ground up,” she said. “And to me, that meant no compromise. Nothing fake, nothing that I wouldn’t want to consume every day and multiple times a day.”
Although she’s now changing the energy drink landscape, Birgisson initially didn’t even have an idea for a company, until one of her peers in The Cube suggested she start selling her tea.
“Follow the things that peak your interest and make you excited, the things that make you want to stay up all night working,” she said. “Let that drive your direction. And once you find the opportunity in the market, go at it full force.”
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Tatiana Birgisson and other top speakers and celebrities.
-When energy-drink entrepreneur Tatiana Birgisson was told by several bottling facilities they could test-bottle her product only if she filled 200,000 cans, she went out and found an independent brewer that would fill 1,000. She bought blank cans and stuck Avery labels on them herself. When restaurants didn't want her product, she hand-packaged kegs and sold them to local startups. And when...
It’s a midmorning in July just outside Raleigh, and Mati Energy’s 30,000-square-foot brewing facility is already pretty toasty. Here, Tatiana Birgisson ’12 is leading a monthly meeting with her burgeoning energy-drink team—most of whom are wisely decked out in T-shirts—to determine sales strategies across different states and delivery channels, to wordsmith nutritional content on the...
Tatiana Birgisson, the Durham entrepreneur whose company, Mati Energy, started as a Duke University dorm room brewing experiment, has a pretty simple trick when it comes to pitch preparation: "Record yourself," she says...
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Tatiana Birgisson decided she wanted to become an entrepreneur when she was 7 years old, helping her uncle drive jetskis for his tourism business in the Caribbean.
“I thought it was the coolest job in the world to be your own boss,” she said, adding that she also admired her uncle for driving revenue and tourism to his hometown and taking ownership of what he brought to the market.
Birgisson started her own company, MATI Energy, while living in Duke’s entrepreneurial community, The Cube, during her senior year. What she first brewed as a healthy drink to help her through her own exhaustion and depression has become a rapidly growing business that put up 130 percent year-over-year growth in 2016 and earned Birgisson a place on Forbes’ 2017 30 Under 30 list in the Food and Drink category.
“I was really shocked and pleasantly surprised,” Birgisson said of the recognition. “It came on the tail of having a huge 2016. Everyone had worked really hard, putting in 12 to 14 hour days, and we ended up exceeding our goal. The award came at the perfect time as a little reward.”
The past year was a big one for MATI – the Durham-based company grew from five to 20 employees, built and moved into a 30,000-square foot production facility in Clayton, North Carolina, and became available at five chains in addition to its first chain, Whole Foods.
In 2017, Birgisson plans to grow the brand from 500 locations nationwide to more than 1,600 – which will include expansion into Florida, Texas and Virginia.
All this is huge growth for a company that Birgisson started in her dorm room and expanded with the help of Duke resources, including the Duke Startup Challenge, which she won.
“I wanted to create an energy drink that was healthy from the ground up,” she said. “And to me, that meant no compromise. Nothing fake, nothing that I wouldn’t want to consume every day and multiple times a day.”
Although she’s now changing the energy drink landscape, Birgisson initially didn’t even have an idea for a company, until one of her peers in The Cube suggested she start selling her tea.
“Follow the things that peak your interest and make you excited, the things that make you want to stay up all night working,” she said. “Let that drive your direction. And once you find the opportunity in the market, go at it full force.”
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Tatiana Birgisson and other top speakers and celebrities.
Tatiana Birgisson is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Tatiana Birgisson for your event is available upon request. Tatiana Birgisson generally travels from Durham, NC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jen Martin, Drew Anderson, Joey Grassia, Lizzi Ackerman and Michael Levine. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Tatiana Birgisson for an upcoming event.
When energy-drink entrepreneur Tatiana Birgisson was told by several bottling facilities they could test-bottle her product only if she filled 200,000 cans, she went out and found an independent brewer that would fill 1,000. She bought blank cans and stuck Avery labels on them herself. When restaurants didn't want her product, she hand-packaged kegs and sold them to local startups. And when...
It’s a midmorning in July just outside Raleigh, and Mati Energy’s 30,000-square-foot brewing facility is already pretty toasty. Here, Tatiana Birgisson ’12 is leading a monthly meeting with her burgeoning energy-drink team—most of whom are wisely decked out in T-shirts—to determine sales strategies across different states and delivery channels, to wordsmith nutritional content on the...
Tatiana Birgisson, the Durham entrepreneur whose company, Mati Energy, started as a Duke University dorm room brewing experiment, has a pretty simple trick when it comes to pitch preparation: "Record yourself," she says...
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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.
If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.
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