Matinee started as a dream.

Not a happens-during-your-sleep dream. But a “Man, what if we did this?” dream.

Before the dream, though, there was a chance meeting. In Muncie, Indiana, of all places.

Matt, just returning to the U.S. after teaching English in Asia, took a copywriting job at his uncle’s print and design shop. Despite its Muncie address, the shop was pushing out some amazing creative work. And the person primarily responsible for it was a young designer named Amy. 

Matt had the good fortune to become Amy’s creative partner, and soon, a friendship bloomed. They bonded over music (Rufus Wainwright and the Beta Band) movies (Kicking and Screaming—the Noah Baumbach one, not the Will Ferrell one) and beer (they both earned plaques at a local tap room for drinking 100 of them in 6 months. Ah, youth).

For awhile, Matt and Amy were inseparable. But soon it became clear that Amy was too talented to stay put in little old Muncie. So she moved to Indianapolis, where she worked for a couple of ad agencies before starting her own business, Amy McAdams Design, in 2005. That same year, Matt followed Amy (who by this time had become his girlfriend) to Indianapolis for a job as a reporter at the Indianapolis Star. 

Amy’s business flourished; so did Matt’s career at the Star. Then, like an uninvited yet curiously charming guest, came the dream. 

Its details were fuzzy at first. But the big idea was pretty simple: Matt and Amy would  launch a business, combining their skills to provide agency-style creative services to small and mid-sized businesses. “Yes,” they thought. “That is what we should do.”

First, though, Matt would hone his chops. He leapt from journalism to advertising, eventually landing at Well Done Marketing, where he became associate creative director. Then, in 2015, he convinced Amy (now his wife) to join him there. Together, they helped lead one of the finest creative teams in Indianapolis.

And things were pretty good for awhile. They loved their colleagues. They loved their boss. But something nagged at them. It haunted their sleep. It hovered over the dining room table during dinner. It lingered a few steps behind them as they walked their dog. 

The dream.

It never died. If anything, it had gotten stronger, and more persistent. You could say Matt and Amy were powerless to resist it. But the truth is, they offered no resistance. They were ready.

So, on a cold winter day in January 2018—nearly two decades after Matt met Amy—Matinee was born.

And what we’re wondering right now is: What’s your dream? And how can we help?