I’m Matthew Glotzbach, CEO of Quizlet, and This Is How I Work
Matthew Glotzbach is the CEO of Quizlet , a learning app that uses flashcards, games, and quizzes to teach thousands of subjects. He joined Quizlet after 12 years at Google, most recently serving as VP of Product Management at YouTube. Prior to YouTube, he co-founded Google Apps and led the development of Google Apps for Education. Matt studied mechanical engineering at Cornell and grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We asked him how he runs his company and his life.
Location: San Francisco, California. Current job : CEO of Quizlet, husband and father of two wonderful girls. One word that best describes how you work: Focused Current mobile device: Google Pixel XL Current computer: Macbook 11 “
First of all, tell me a little about your past and how you became who you are today.
My upbringing in the Midwest has definitely shaped me and my passion for education today, but not in the way you think. My mom is a teacher, and like most teachers, she gave her whole soul to the work of teaching her children. My father worked at International Trucks for 35 years. I had a wonderful, relatively easy childhood, but my sister and I learned to work hard for whatever we wanted and always did our best to succeed.
“All we could” then meant that we got the best marks we could get, tried to be the best in our sport, in our instrument, in our leadership role in any club we ran, etc. And twenty-odd years ago that brought us to good colleges and eventually stable jobs. This is very different from the environment that today’s students face, so I’m lucky to have the opportunity.
I started in tech right out of college and joined Google a few years later as a product manager (PM) just a few months before they went public. I have worked at Google and YouTube for 12 years, working on everything from building Google Apps from scratch to running YouTube’s EMEA business (which gave me the opportunity to live in Zurich for several years) and helping launch YouTube Red. I joined Quizlet as CEO in Spring 2016.
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
I am multi-platform and work with my personal laptop, work laptop, phone, tablet, home iMac, and kitchen Chromebox (with touchscreen monitor). I live almost entirely in the cloud. I love G Suite , but I admit I got addicted to being part of the founding team that created it. My home screen on my Pixel includes Google Photos , TickTick , Keep , my password manager, Drive , Calendar , Podcast Addict , Kindle, and NPR One .
How is your workplace arranged?
Simple. I prefer minimalist efficiency, so just my laptop, power cord, small notebook and pen. I have a permanent table. The only non-work related items on my desk are a custom Matthew Glotzbach CEO of Quizlet mug that my daughter made for me when I got the job, and a mini mini golf tabletop range (that’s not the real thing).
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
I try to only touch something once (like email, tasks, etc.), and I try to make good use of every minute of my work time so that I can be present when I’m at home with my family. I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks, but I listen 1.2 to 1.5 times to be more effective (depending on the material; too fast, you miss out on tone and nuance). I make a zero mailbox and clean it out in the evening before bed.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I am using a combination of TickTick plus, pen and paper. I’ve been using TickTick for many years as a task list manager on the web and on mobile devices, but I try not to take out my phone or computer during meetings (it doesn’t make sense to be in a meeting if you’re not paying attention), so I take tasks in my too. notepad. Then I either complete the task and mark it in my notebook, or I submit the task to TickTick and “X” from the notebook.
What are some of the things you do best in everyday life? What’s your secret?
I don’t think I’m the best at anything, but I do think that 1) I work very hard and 2) I can manage many things at once (going back to my roots in the Midwest, where the value of hard work was instilled in me). I like chaos, I can hold a lot of balloons in the air and at the same time I can focus on the details.
What do you listen to while you work? Have a favorite playlist? Maybe we can talk on the radio? Or do you prefer silence?
I consume a lot of NPR and podcasts ( Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal , Planet Money , Masters of Scale, and most recently Pod Save America ) in the morning and evening and during my workouts. Most of the day, however, I prefer nothing. I find it difficult to concentrate and listen at the same time.
What are you reading now? Or what would you recommend?
I try to read a lot of books, and this is a change for me. As a child and early in my career, I was not interested in reading books, but this has changed over the past decade and I try to read a book every week. I usually read a lot of scientific and technical literature. Some recent books that I liked were:
- End of Middle: How We Prosper in a World That Values Similarity , Todd Rose
- Creative Schools: A Massive Revolution Shaping Education , Sir Ken Robinson
- Shoe Dog: Memoirs of Nike Creator Phil Knight
I’m also a big fan of the public library. I try to get most of my electronic and audiobooks from the Menlo Park Public Library; It’s amazing how flawless the process of converting your library to Kindle is. On a recent trip to the library with my 4th grade daughter, I explained to her how the public library works and she was shocked to have such an amazing “free” resource at our disposal. “How does Amazon stay in business?” she asked with complete sincerity.
How do you replenish? What do you do when you want to forget about work?
I love to ride a bike. Exercise clears my head and is good for my soul. This summer I am going to finish two stages of semi-Ironman, and that worries me a lot. Unfortunately, I tore my cruciate ligaments too many times to run more, so I focused on swimming and cycling.
What is your sleep pattern? Are you a night owl or get up early?
When I was 12, I had a paper route that started at 5 am. Since then, I got up early. I get up at 5:15 every morning and either work a few hours, spend time reading, or do an exercise (swimming or cycling). I usually calm down in the evening around 10:00 pm watching TV or reading and usually go to bed by 10:30 am (or 11:00 at the latest).
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Finish what you started. Today, I think we call it “hardness,” but from the beginning, my parents always instilled in me a commitment to complete what I started. I didn’t have to sign up for this event again (like sports, science fair, etc.) next time, but I always followed through on the commitments.
What else would you like to add that might be of interest to readers and fans?
Safe driving. Study hard. Have fun!