Three Decades in Sponsorship and Matt Yonan is Not Done Yet
By Carrie Allin
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Matt Yonan packed his suitcase and headed to Colorado with
nothing but an unpaid internship at a sponsorship agency waiting for him. After five years of doing everything
from client service, cold calling, evaluating partnerships, and drumming up new business, he was a Vice
President at the agency, The Bonham Group. The success still felt hollow; the agency’s business model was
transactional, and the dog-eat-dog culture and lack of personal investment left him disillusioned.
Ten years after he arrived in Denver, Matt resigned with plans to start his own agency. The summer of 2004,
Tigris Sponsorship & Marketing was born, named after the river Tigris in the region where Matt traces his
ancestry. Tigris is a niche agency that helps brand clients get the most value for their sponsorship
investment; think negotiation, analysis, market research, everything sponsorship. Matt wanted to create an
agency based on what was missing at his old agency, so he built one based on the mantra relationships
matter. Developing relationships with clients and with colleagues made the work better and the job more
rewarding. What drives him as a person is the same thing clients love about him; he is trustworthy, invested
in people, and wants to help. He aimed to create an agency that does incredible work, but that is known for
treating people well and being a fun place to work.
More than 20 years after starting Tigris, Matt looks back on what he’s learned and what still inspires him. The
following is a snapshot of our conversation:
CA: What has been the most rewarding part of the work you do?
MY: Helping people, easily. I love answering a client’s question or providing perspective on something I’ve learned through my years in the industry. I get such a rush from being able to be helpful. That text from a client asking for my help? I love it.
CA: What is a leadership style you’ve tried to emulate?
MY: Maybe it’s the style I wanted to stay away from that helped drive me. I am the kind of person who wants
to be part of a team and I’m happiest when we’re all pitching in together to get the work done. I am not afraid
of confrontation, but I am really trying to build a culture where we all respect each other’s talents and build
on each other’s strengths.
CA: What has been Tigris’ biggest win?
MY: About 3 or 4 years after I started the agency, we went up against my old agency to pitch business. We won the business, and it turned out to be a really large client for us. It was a moment of validation I think, that running a people-centered business that really strives to do things the right way can pay off.
CA: What has been Tigris’ biggest challenge?
MY: Two things. We’ve grown a lot as an agency so being able to maintain those close connections with a larger number of clients is more challenging. We have personal relationships with each client; we know their kids, their birthdays, what they do on the weekends, etc. We love developing these connections, and frankly when we know them on a personal level, it helps us provide good counsel and better understand their challenges. Second thing is talent. Finding the right team is always a challenge – we have high standards, and we expect a lot of our team, so it is not easy to find the right mix of people.
CA: What advice would you give to your 25-year-old self?
MY: Hmm, that’s a deeply personal one. I was so driven and so passionate about work that I often let that creep into my family life. I would tell my younger self how important it is to find balance, to find a way to manage work with the rest of life. Of course you should still work hard, but you need to be present wherever you are – so that means turning off work at a certain point to focus on what’s most important in life: family.
CA: What keeps you inspired and motivated to do this work after 30+ years?
MY: I think it goes back to being trusted by people at major brands around the country. To be part of the decision-making for brands that are household names - I just love that! I love the delicate dance we do with potential new clients where we are getting to know one another, and they are deciding whether we have something to offer. When a new client finally says, “yes, we trust you, we think you can help us,” there is just something special about that type of close collaboration. After all this time there’s still nothing better than being part of the team.