Matthew Brown

is a seasoned entrepreneur and “recovering” attorney dedicated to making play central in the lives of kids and families.  He has spent most of his career leading cross-functional teams, blending science, academics, technology, strategy, and innovation in order to develop and launch branded platforms that inspire developmen­tally rich play experiences.

Currently, Matt is the co-founder and Play Czar of big BOING, LLC, a strategic innovation company committed to promoting happiness and well-being through play and sustainability.  In addition to launching its own award-winning brands, big BOING has worked with partners including Coca Cola, Hasbro, Disney Retail, Kraft, Toys R Us, Playcore and Learning Curve to develop new or revitalize existing brands.

Before big BOING, Matt worked at LeapFrog (1999-2001) where he co-founded and led the Internet Division which created and launched networked, personalized learning systems directly to consumers, as well as to schools nationally in conjunction with the Schoolhouse Division.  He was also the VP of Business Development, where he spear­headed successful educational initiatives in Japan, S. Korea and the U.S.  Prior to that, he co-founded and was president of Primordial, LLC, the creator of Zoob®.  Highly sculptural and dynamic, Zoob is the first building toy based directly on sciences such as genetics, biology and zoology.

Over his 15 years in the play business, Matt has been named on numerous patents and patent applications for building toys, ELAs, activity and creativity toys, video game, social-networking systems, adaptive learning technologies and consumer packaged goods.

Matt has also led teams of 4 to 80 people in the development, customization and implementation of seven different types of curricula: language arts, cognitive, physical/athletic, motivation/coaching, affective domain, whole child preschool and play.  In each case, the curricula ultimately were the basis for most other critical business activities such as research, brand strategy, product development, marketing, sales and even production.

In addition to working with scores of leading scientists, academics, coaches and other experts over their careers, Matt and his partner, Adam DeVito, have assembled a world-class board of play and learning experts that big BOING collaborates with regularly.  Recently, big BOING launched three new companies in the areas of physical fitness, interactive health and wellness and leading edge video-gaming.  Matt is on the board of each of these start-ups.

Matt is on the board of GoAnimate, a social-networking animation start-up; is on the Play Panel of advisors for Playskool®; and is an advisor to ReeLife and Playing For Keeps, non-profits committed to enriching lives of kids and teens through play and creative expression.

Matt has spoken at E3, Playing for Keeps and other conferences, and has been quoted in numerous parenting and toy trade magazines, as well as on TV and radio.  His company is featured in Spark, a book about the power of innovation through co-creation.

Prior to embarking on a career in play, strategy and innovation, Matt practiced law and clerked for the Honorable Oliver Seth, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Matt graduated from Georgetown University and Villanova Law School.

More than anything, Matt is a very proud father and happy husband in Berkeley, CA.