MOTI: Kayla Matheus
DFA Collaborative | Inside the Studio
Written by Safiya Mitchell
Originating from Concord, Massachusetts, Kayla Matheus is a graduate of Yale University where she studied Art and Mechanical Engineering. She founded the DFA Yale Studio in 2011 and became a DFA fellow the following year.
In June, I sat down with DFA alum, Kayla Matheus to talk about her habit formation tool start-up, MOTI, that she developed through Google’s 30 Weeks program. We met at their office space in Manhattan where she told me of the trials and tribulations of the start-up world. She offered us her three keys to triumph, which are evident in the pieces of her personality that have dictated her path.
Her first must-have to build a successful start-up is perseverance. “I’ve always been told by multiple people, friends and family, that I am like Nike. I just do it,” she said. “I do whatever it takes, if it’s staying up late, if it’s hustling, if it’s convincing people to do this or that. It’s just an inherent part of me that can push through things.”
Kayla attributes much of her professional identity to her dual creative and technological background. At Yale, she double majored in Mechanical Engineering and Art. Suspecting that there was more to learn about this intersection of science and art outside of university resources, Kayla created an opportunity for herself. She applied for and received a stipend to immerse herself in the world of design by spending three months in Barcelona researching industrial design, reading blogs and books, going to museums, and talking to design professionals. After graduation, she was invited to stay in New Haven to co-found the Center for Innovation and Design at Yale. During her stay, she also founded the DFA Yale studio and was later hired to be a DFA fellow, where she was invaluable to the creation of the DFA process guide.
Kayla’s next start-up must-have is a willingness to network yourself. “I’m an introvert, but I act very extroverted in this role.” It is necessary to attend many networking events (where there are potential investors) and talk your product up. As tiring as that might sound, it is much easier if you abide by Kayla’s final start-up tip: love your product and your problem for that matter. “You have to be working on something that feels worthwhile” — something that warrants the long hours, the stress, and the debt. She emphasized creating for the right reasons. “Create something that might better the world,” she urged.
Finally, Kayla leaves us with advice for recent graduates who may be anxious about getting their dream job right out of college. All she wanted to do after graduating was work for a Frog or an IDEO, but she eventually came to realize that “there are other paths to doing what you want to do and…it’s about exposing yourself to different opportunities.” Kayla has gotten a taste of all realms of the design world as a result. After a brief stint in academia teaching design-thinking to freshman at Northwestern, she worked with SC Johnson and later did freelance consultant work for a design firm in Boston. In its inaugural year as a start-up incubator for designers, the 30 Weeks program gave her the resources and mentorship she needed to figure out what she wanted to create. No need to worry about moving from job to job and exploring different interests because “you learn very quickly what you like and what environment you want to be in.”
As MOTI continues forward with product development and testing, Kayla hunts for investors that share her vision for it with the hope of helping people become better versions of themselves. For more information about MOTI and 30 Weeks, read Mia Manavalan’s article, “MOTI: Building Better Habits.”
Illustration by Allison Chen
