Matthew Jaeh

My advice to every Gator:

If you only learn three things. Learn how to learn. Learn how to manage your time and learn to work with many different kinds of people.

My parents instilled the value of hard work and earning from an early age. When I turned 10, my dad told me that if I wanted a car someday, I would need to start saving for it. He handed me $100 and said, “You can spend some of this, but you’ll want to save most of it.” That lesson stuck with me. I started babysitting and building computers for friends and neighbors. At 14, I got my first real job as a dishwasher. I was later promoted to busboy, and when I got my car at 16, I became the youngest hibachi/teppanyaki chef ever trained at the restaurant. I worked as a chef throughout high school, but by graduation I knew I wanted to pursue a different path outside the hospitality industry.

Before moving to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida, I bought the CompTIA A+ Computer Technician certification book, studied it cover to cover, and passed the exam. That certification helped me land a job as a computer technician at a local computer store. I leveraged that experience to join Best Buy, where I was quickly promoted from part-time sales associate to part-time computer technician, then to senior full-time technician, and eventually to an onsite home and business technology specialist. At the same time, I was playing in a signed independent band.

After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Computer Science, I decided to move to Los Angeles with my band and pursue music professionally. I transferred my position with Best Buy and gave the “rock star” dream my best shot. While Best Buy paid the bills, I was beginning to earn meaningful income composing music for television and film. I also started leveraging my software development skills to build technology products for startup companies. My first startup venture was RealtorClix, one of the earliest companies to aggregate and display searchable home listings from multiple MLS databases online. We were building the business at a time when the real estate industry was still adapting to the internet and determining how online brokerage models would fit within a system designed for traditional brokers. As we grew, we found ourselves navigating significant legal and regulatory challenges surrounding access to MLS data and the role of internet-based real estate platforms. Ultimately, those challenges proved difficult for a young startup to overcome, and the business did not succeed. However, many of the ideas we were pursuing eventually became mainstream.

In the years that followed, companies such as Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia helped transform how consumers search for homes and interact with real estate online. Although RealtorClix was not a commercial success, it taught me valuable lessons about entrepreneurship, market timing, regulation, and perseverance. It also reinforced an important belief that has shaped my career ever since: sometimes being early can look a lot like being wrong until the rest of the market catches up.

Undeterred, I launched another startup called Pupil City with a mission to create a social network where students could collaborate and study online. One feature allowed students to take exams remotely using webcams and microphones. That feature eventually evolved into its own company, ProctorU. At that point, I faced a pivotal decision. I could continue my career with Best Buy, where I had risen to District Services Manager and even participated in ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on behalf of the company. I could continue pursuing music. Or I could dedicate myself fully to building ProctorU. I chose ProctorU. I moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where our startup capital would stretch much further, and committed myself full-time to the business.

Over the next decade, I helped build ProctorU into a leader in online proctoring and educational technology. In 2020, the company was sold for $575 million. Following the exit in 2021, I shifted my focus toward helping entrepreneurs and supporting economic development initiatives. That work eventually led me into venture capital and my role with Techstars, where I lead a team that invests in energy technology, climate technology, and sustainability-focused startups.

Looking back, the common thread throughout my career has been a willingness to take risks, learn continuously, and build, from washing dishes and repairing computers to launching startups, creating new markets, and helping the next generation of founders do the same.

• 2005 Computer Science, University of Florida

• Three Patents
• 40 Gators Under 40 (2022)
• Alabama CIO of the Year ORBIE Award Winner | Corporate Category (2019)
• Birmingham Business Journal Top 40 Under 40
• Gator100 (2015, 2016, 2017)
• Top 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies – #183