480: Matt Ebert—The Billion Dollar Car Wreck
4/21/20261 hr 35 min
Matt Ebert didn't set out to build a billion-dollar business—he just wanted to fix cars the right way. Today, he's the CEO of Crash Champions, one of the fastest-growing collision repair companies in the country, valued in the billions and trusted to bring wrecked vehicles back to life.
Mike sits down with Matt to unpack what really happens after a crash, why the skilled trades behind collision repair matter more than ever, and how a kid with no grand plan or college degree wound up leading a national powerhouse. Along the way, Matt tells how he got his start in the business, proving that sometimes the road to success begins with a single accident (or two) … and a desire to fix it.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMike Rowe· Host0:00
[bass guitar music] The way I heard it, Chuck, it's entirely possible- Yes ... that a guy can just be driving down the road- Mm-hmm ... you know, 17 years old, uh- Okay ... in his beloved car- Yeah ... and, uh, lose control.
Chuck· Host0:16
16, I think he was.
Mike Rowe· Host0:17
Wreck it, and, um, then be worth a billion dollars as a result.
Chuck· Host0:24
Is that what you heard?
Mike Rowe· Host0:25
That's what I heard. I heard the most profitable car wreck in the history of the world is the story we're about to share on this episode of "The Way I Heard It."
Chuck· Host0:35
Yes. It sounds exactly like the conversation that we just did, yes.
Mike Rowe· Host0:39
Although, I don't think we connected the dots.
Chuck· Host0:41
No?
Mike Rowe· Host0:42
Not the way I just did. I mean, I just talked to a guy named Matt Ebert. Matt Ebert is a guy who bought me dinner a year ago. And not just me, I was at SkillsUSA with a room full of people in a private dining room. I was speaking there- Yeah ... at this thing, right?
Chuck· Host1:00
Mm-hmm.
Mike Rowe· Host1:00
And they invited me in, and somebody picked up our whole tab.
Chuck· Host1:03
Right.
Mike Rowe· Host1:04
And then the waiter gave me a note, and it was a nice note from a guy named Matt, who said he admired what we were doing at mikeroweWORKS.
Chuck· Host1:11
Right.
Mike Rowe· Host1:11
And he would love a chance to talk and share some of what his company was doing to help reinvigorate the trades.
Chuck· Host1:18
Yes.
Mike Rowe· Host1:18
I Google him.
Chuck· Host1:19
Mm-hmm.
Mike Rowe· Host1:20
His company's called Crash Champions.
Chuck· Host1:22
Yep.
Mike Rowe· Host1:23
Turns out this guy didn't go to college, just worked in an auto body shop- Yeah ... because he wrecked his car,