Matt Kavet '94

Matt Kavet ’94 Knows What's Cool — and How to Sell It

As founder and president of novelty designer and wholesaler Boston America, Matt Kavet makes his living predicting what will tickle the curiosity (and the funny bones) of pop culture fans. Boston America, he proudly states, is purveyor of "the world’s most creative impulse items."

 

With a keen eye for the next big thing to dominate water cooler chit-chat and "tween" Twitter storms, Kavet develops, licenses and wholesales gum, toys, drinks and other small, but irresistible items. Early product lines featuring the Three Stooges, Beavis and Butthead and South Park lines laid the foundation for a burgeoning enterprise that operates out of a brick building in Woburn, Mass. One of his current hot sellers is Bob Ross, (yes, the artist with big hair), which the company offers along with Minions, Sonic the Hedge Hog and a host of other themes. He employs a team of skilled designers who come up with prototypes and others who handle logistics, marketing and distribution. Kavet is the salesman in chief, spending most of his time in Asia brokering manufacturing deals.

How did it all begin? As a newly minted Skidmore graduate, Kavet signed on as a sales rep for the Far Side greeting card company. He loved the "big hits" he scored from sealing a deal with large retail chains. When an opportunity to buy out a line of novelty cards fell into his lap, Kavet jumped on it. Through a contact with MTV, he was able to leverage the emerging popularity of Beavis and Butthead to create mock-up items that he pitched, along with his business plan, to a retail executive.“The guy thought I was nuts,” Kavet recalls. Later, his “tongue-in-cheek” novelties would sell like hotcakes in video and specialty stores nationwide.He followed up by buying the rights to South Park. Boston America boomed and the rest, as they say, is history. 

How did your Skidmore experience influence your career direction?

“I came in not knowing what kind of career I wanted. Although I chose to major in management and business, there were other experiences that prepared me for the work I do today. Of course, I didn’t realize it at the time. I was a tour guide sophomore year; the training helped me become confident that I could persuade people. It was nice bumping into former tour participants as freshmen. It meant a lot to me when they would say things like “You really helped to make the right choice.” 

I firmly believe that true selling is a transfer of confidence. As a businessman, I wear many hats, but my passion is still sales.  Spending junior year in Australia provided another form of training. I lived in an isolated flat with three other Americans; it was tough to meet Aussies. So I had to work at developing a network of local contacts, a skill that is key to salesmanship. 

By my senior year, I was captain of the ski team, which, although very competitive, had just transitioned from club status. With no budget to speak of, my job was to figure out how to fund the team. I got a list of Skidmore alumni and started essentially “cold calling” them — and they responded! The next step was pleading with SGA, pretty much the same way I do with my buyers now! All these experiences shaped me. Skidmore helped me discover talents I didn’t know I had. That is the beauty of a good liberal arts education."

What’s it like coming back to Saratoga as a grown-up?

"It's emotional for me; I spent the best four years of my life here. We always have fun, of course, visiting old haunts like Marinos and Desperate Annie’s. In fact, while attending a conference at the City Center a couple of years back, I invited a client to DA’s for a few rounds of pool. As I continued to run the old table, he asked, 'How did you get so good at that?' There are so many great memories, including some that are relatively recent  One night, after helping with the Freirich Competition, a few of us went to the Parting Glass with Roy Rothheim. We talked until 1 in the morning."

—Mary Monigan