Matt Meyers can recite obscure movie quotes from 100 films running simultaneously in his head. Ask him about a conversation from yesterday? Complete blank.

“That’s the kryptonite in my superpower,” he admits. “I couldn’t remember what I wrote, so I had to look at the cheat sheet.” Growing up, his family communicated in movie lines—a tradition he continues that drives his younger employees crazy when they’ve never heard of the classics he references.

But Matt’s real superpower isn’t memorizing Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It’s finding people who genuinely care about what they’re doing. “Apathy is death,” he says bluntly. At Be Myers and Company, everyone must be a “true believer” because their work has life-or-death consequences. “We help good people shoot bad people in the face at night in weird places,” Matt explains—an intentionally polarizing mission statement that weeds out those who aren’t fully committed.

The production motto? “Build it right, save a life.” Every detail matters because someone’s son or daughter in harm’s way depends on their equipment working perfectly. Matt, one of the few at the company with recent combat experience, reminds his team: “Every day you’re not in boots, every day you’re not doing the job, it’s just one day you’re less relevant for that discussion.”

His goal? Making Be Myers “one of the most end user centric defense companies out there.” You can’t design effectively if you don’t genuinely care about the end user. “If you’re designing engines for hydroplanes and have no interest in boats whatsoever—that’s a rough gig,” Matt notes. Creativity requires genuine excitement. Without it, you can’t deliver creative solutions when reality gets difficult.

This philosophy traces back to Earl Nightingale’s “Acres of Diamonds,” a recording Matt’s father gave him at age 10. His dad, an infectious enthusiasm personified, went with his own father to see Nightingale speak in person. The experience shaped everything. “You’re not going to appreciate this right now,” his dad told young Matt. “You’re going to think it’s stupid or boring. But listen to it and keep listening, because it’s all true. The reason I’ve had any success in life is because of the principles in this tape.”

Matt’s dad was right. At 10, Matt didn’t get it. Now he listens quarterly, sometimes annually. The core message resonates deeply: “There’s no growth of any kind without risk. Risks are good for us. They brighten the eye and get the mind cooking. They quicken the step and put a new shining look on our days. Human beings should never be settled. People start to die when they become settled.”

Matt’s father embodied that energy—always trying weird, illogical ideas that somehow worked better than carefully planned cost-benefit analyses. The difference? Energy. “I’d always bet on just human enthusiasm,” Matt says. “It’s palpable. It’s contagious.”

Case in point: Before Black Rifle Coffee sealed their $75 million IPO, Matt met founders Evan Hafer and Jared Taylor. Their energy was “bonkers”—off the charts even for high-energy Matt. They mentioned starting a coffee company. Matt, a Folgers guy, thought politely: “There’s a lot of coffee companies… I’m sure a couple people might buy it.” He tried to order, couldn’t reach anyone, figured it wouldn’t work out. “They all blew past us in a rocket ship,” he laughs. “Raw, unbridled energy” beats well-oiled plans with no enthusiasm.

The episode concludes with Matt’s travel philosophy: go now, because things change or disappear forever. A week before his India trip, there was a terrorist attack at the Taj Mahal. He went anyway. Within a year, the Mumbai hotel bar he’d visited was attacked too. “Something that was there forever is gone forever.”

His best father-son experience? A spontaneous desert road trip with 12-year-old Jack when all their Salt Lake City flights were canceled. They drove home to Seattle via historic Route 66, photographing dying neon signs from the 1950s-80s. “You never know when something’s going to be gone forever or radically change,” Matt reflects. “And you’ll never see it the same way either, because you’re always different.”

About Matt Meyers

Matthew Meyers is the Chief Executive Officer of B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc. headquartered Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1974, B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc. remains a leader in the field of visible and infrared laser technology (photonics), optics, and systems integration for the Aerospace and Defense industries. As a shareholder in this family-held firm, Mr. Meyers acts as the Family Representative to the Board of Advisors, and facilitates the corporate strategic planning process.

Previously, Mr. Meyers served as the Director of Marketing and Business Development for B.E. Meyers & Co. Inc., revitalizing the family brand by implementing a campaign of aggressive new product development efforts, re-focused customer engagement, as well as new marketing methods and media styles to address an ever-evolving landscape of military and law enforcement end-users, program offices, and government entities.

As a Product Manager, prior to his term as Director of Marketing and Business Development, Mr. Meyers was involved in the company’s DoD Programs of Record and development efforts with the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC-Crane), PEO Soldier, PEO Sensors and Lasers, PEO Crew Served Weapons, and the USN Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) along with a variety of Original Equipment Manufacturers. The scope of these development efforts ranged from Crew-Served Weapon lasers, to integrated photonics packages for rotary wing aircraft and UAVs, and into leading technologies such as Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR), Mid Wave Infrared (MWIR) and Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) lasers and sensors for battlefield observation, targeting, and communication.

Prior to working at B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc., Mr. Meyers was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 2001. His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division located in Baumholder, Germany. In 2003 he was deployed to Baghdad and Iskandariyah, Iraq for 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His second deployment was to Camp Buehring, Kuwait for six months between 2005 and 2006, which was also in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now a Captain, Mr. Meyers served in positions as a Mechanized Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps Battalion US Officer-in-Charge, Mechanized Infantry Company Executive Officer, Support Platoon Leader, and Chief of Logistics (S4).

Following these duties Captain Meyers was assigned to an Embedded Training Team for 12 months between 2007 and 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Herat, Afghanistan. There he was tasked to operate alongside Afghan Police and Army units as part of the Afghanistan Regional Security Integration Command (ARSIC-West). Captain Meyers later served as the Operations Officer of the Border Police Mentor Team, as the Executive Officer of the Delaram Afghan Police Mentor Team, as the Future Plans Officer for ARSIC West, and finally, as the ARSIC-West Chief of Intelligence (S2) conducting operations throughout western Afghanistan.

Mr. Meyers holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in International Studies from the Virginia Military Institute. Originally from Issaquah, WA, he is married to the former Nicolle Burke of Bellevue, WA, and has two children, Jack and Lillian. When not running B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc. Mr. Meyers enjoys shooting, hiking, and foreign travel.

Links:

• Website – www.bemeyers.com
• Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/matt.meyers.bemeyers/

About Tracy Crowley
Tracy Crowley has always been an entrepreneur. Whether it was making gowns for fellow Army wives, taking portraits in black and white, or working on her other businesses, she is always learning something new.

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