We made the Inc. 5000!

We’re truly honored to have made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America. It’s been a wild ride, one that started in a bygone era called 2010. Back then it was just Jackie, Steve and a one-room office separated by a divider (for interview privacy).

Today, we’ve opened our doors in Austin and Los Angeles, and placed some of the most talented creative professionals this side of the Mississippi. In the end, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

I thought we’d take this opportunity to catch up with the M and the P in M+P, and see how they’re both feeling, five years after forming the first creative staffing supergroup.

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When you first learned that M+P had made the Inc. 5000, what noise did you make?

Mathys: I said holy sh**.

Potestio: There might have been a giggle. Maybe I thought a giggle.

What special significance does the number 878 have for you?

Potestio: It’s the number we placed in the Inc. 5000.

Mathys: Sounds better than 879.

Tells us about M+P’s earliest days. How did it all start?

Mathys: We were rivals. After 15 years each of recruiting and placing creatives all over Portland, people knew the names “Mathys” and “Potestio,” just never in the same sentence. In 2010 we decided to team up and cram both names onto one door. That was a good idea.

Potestio: I don’t remember but Jackie made me do it. Like many of the people we place in jobs, I was a freelancer doing my thing. I had sold my shares in my previous company, the whole collecting checks from the mailbox thing had grown tiring and I wanted to build something great again. But this time, build it and keep building it. Not build-it-and-lose-our-way kind of building. Build and keep building. Jackie gave me that opportunity.

Which of the secrets to M+P’s success are you most worried will fall into enemy hands?

Potestio: No one can replicate our success. As arrogant as that sounds it’s based in who we are…former designers and writers who’ve pounded the pavement for work, had doors slammed in our faces—who had to steal slices of pizza to eat (OK, I bought one and wanted two). We’ve struggled to survive and we want to make the struggle easier for everyone else. Recreate that, and you might have stolen one of our secrets.

Mathys: You know. That one.

Let’s say tomorrow the feds roll in and demand, by order of the president, that M+P radically change its name and business model, or risk World War 3. What’s our new name and business?

Mathys: Mashed+Potatoes. Food cart.

Potestio: Skynyrd’s Inyrds. We’d be a tribute band for Lynyrd Skynyrd 1973-1977. The real band.

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A huge congratulations to all the other business in Oregon, Texas and California who made the list. Thanks for providing fantastic places to work, and for professionals young and old to grow their creative skill set.

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