From Car Dealerships to AI Startup: Matt Copley's Founder Journey | HRIZN Co-Founder - Part One

This episode is proudly sponsored by FounderCatalyst. Get 5% off their services by clicking this link: 2ly.link/1zDIJ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Emotional Ride of Building Horizon: AI, Autos, and Entrepreneurship | Matt Copley on Founders Unplugged 🚗✨ In this episode, Matt Copley—Co-Founder and CRO of HRIZN (Horizon)—joins Greg McCallum to unpack his journey from selling cars to reshaping the automotive industry through generative AI. From coaching his son’s baseball team to bootstrapping a high-growth AI startup, Matt shares an unfiltered view of what it really means to build something from the ground up. 🎙️ We explore: The evolution of vehicle acquisition and automotive ad tech Navigating burnout, layoffs, and starting over The emotional rollercoaster of being a founder and a father The real value of asking for help—and how it shaped HRIZN’s growth Why continuous onboarding matters more than ever Bootstrapping, product-market fit, and the discipline of building slowly The power of execution vs. having “the big idea” 📌 Chapters: 💡 Top Takeaways: Execution beats ideas—every time Founders must sell the vision daily A strong support system is non-negotiable Asking for help opens unexpected doors Bootstrapping allows for creativity and control -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Matt on LinkedIn here: linkedin.com/in/matthewcopley Check out HRIZN here: hrizn.io Want a 1-hour free advisory session with our host, Greg McCallum? 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/meetings/gmccallu... 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications for Part 2 — where Matt shares what’s next for Horizon’s closed beta, customer growth, and the future of AI in automotive.