The Creative Chaos of One Spark
Back in 2013, I co-founded One Spark, which became the world’s largest crowdfunding festival. It was wild, experimental, and beautifully chaotic—in all the right ways. At its peak, it brought over 350,000 people into downtown Jacksonville and gave thousands of creators a real-world platform to test, pitch, and build what mattered to them.
It wasn’t just a festival. It was a catalyst—for ideas, for community, and honestly, for me. It taught me what it means to build movements around innovation, and more importantly, to listen deeply to those taking the first step into the unknown.
I’ve learned more than I can write here today about leadership—what to repeat, what to adapt, and what to let go of.
Building Things That Last (and Ship)
In truth, it wasn’t an obvious path. A great friend called and asked, “What do you think about manufacturing hairpin legs?” My honest response? “What the h*ll is that?”
At the time, I was fortunate to be working with the founding team at Prota Ventures on the early framework for StartupRocket. Will had written most of it, and I was giving revision feedback while testing the model with physical products instead of just digital startups.
After getting married, stepping away from One Spark, and volunteering at my local church (my wife said I needed to get out more, so I did), the pieces fell into place. All of that led to cofounding DIY Hairpin Legs, launched with a simple promise: make the best quality legs in the U.S., ship them fast, and give makers the freedom to use them however they imagined—all the sizes, all the colors.
A lot started with a $65 Harbor Freight hand bender and a dungeon of a facility in Springfield, Jacksonville, FL. Matt, I still don’t know how you got us going. Wild.
That early stage led to a much longer journey (you can read more on the website) that took me across the country and eventually to Seattle in 2019.
In late 2019, we made the decision to double down on our belief: “It means more when you make it.” DIY Hairpin Legs had been a great test bed, but the brand and product line were limited. Then came Semi Exact—a more refined platform for modular furniture kits and components. We signed the lease for our first facility in Nevada on March 1, 2020—right before the pandemic.
We didn’t start with massive factories or teams. We started with principles: simplicity, transparency, American-made steel, and empowering customers to be creators themselves.
Growth, Grit, and the Hard Parts
Of course, it wasn’t all clean lines and powder-coated perfection. This has been one of the toughest—and most rewarding—entrepreneurial journeys I’ve taken.
There were fits and starts, cash crunches, machinery breakdowns, and 40%+ CAGRs that kept us constantly adjusting. At one point, we were shipping thousands of orders a month while one of California’s largest wildfires approached our facility and team members’ homes. We grew 50% month-over-month, added trade customers, and raised capital—all at once.
It was amazing and horrible all in the same moment.
There were setbacks. Delays. Thousands of mistakes. Learning curves that stretched us beyond what we thought we could handle. Some customers were incredibly happy; others, understandably, not. Through it all, we remained grounded in our priorities: faith, family, team—and everything else. Our team appreciated our commitment to transparency, and our customers stuck with us. For that, I’m endlessly grateful.
We were lucky to have incredible investors, team members, and partners who believed in the vision and helped us grow smarter—not just bigger.
Why MRCA, Why Now
Earlier this year, Semi Exact and its related brands were acquired by MRCA, a group that shares our belief in vertically integrated, values-driven brands—built in the U.S., by people who care about craft, quality, and innovation.
Now, I’ve stepped into a new role as Head of DTC and Ecomm Brands at MRCA, with a simple and ambitious goal: build the next generation of U.S.-manufactured consumer brands by crafting every part of the experience—from design and production to fulfillment and storytelling.
I still believe it means more when we make things. With the resources and scale of MRCA, I’m excited to support our customers in continuing to create—and to help redefine what domestic manufacturing can look like.
We’re doing this through the lens of Industry 4.0 and AI-enhanced operations. That means smarter systems, faster lead times, more personalization, and radically better customer outcomes. It also means something deeper: reconnecting people with the story behind the things they buy.
Having visited dozens of factories and spoken with hundreds more, I believe the time is now. It’s time to rediscover how things are made—and how that matters.
What’s Ahead
There’s a lot of work ahead. I'm thankful for my experience from Interline brands growing from a few hundred million in revenue to north of $1 Billion through acquisitions. A lot of the experience gained there will be at the forefront with MRCA.
There’s a lot of work ahead. Semi Exact and its sister brands are in the thick of an operational integration with MRCA. We’re working around the clock to align production, streamline systems, and rebuild trust after a tough stretch of delays.
We’re not there yet—but we’re getting closer to a reliable, predictable production process out of our new Texas facility.
In partnership with the team at MRCA, I’ll be sharing frequent updates on progress across our websites: semiexact.com, diyhairpinlegs.com, and steeltablelegs.com.
This blog marks the first of many updates. I’m inspired to write again. Call it a new season, a new chapter—or maybe a new volume. Whatever it is, I’m excited to share more—from systems thinking and leadership to how we’re reimagining domestic manufacturing for the next generation of builders and brands.
If you’ve made it this far—thank you. To everyone who’s been part of this journey, I’m so grateful. And to those just discovering it—welcome. There’s a lot more to come.