Matthew Manos, the philanthropic founder of VeryNice
It seems nice guys can finish first — even in the competitive world of design. Founded by Art Center alum Matthew Manos, VeryNice has a unique (and successful) business model rooted in social responsibility instead of profit margins.
The design consultancy, which was recently featured in Forbes, donates half of its time for free to nonprofits so volunteering is part of the job instead of an after-hours pursuit.
“Cleaning up a beach is great … but creative people especially want to contribute with the skills they have,” said Manos. “This is a way to do that.”
Manos started the business at the age of 19 with the goal of doing only pro-bono work. But as the startup and bills grew, he found a way for the company to make money while still giving back.
“It’s sort of a joke, but if we take on twice the amount of projects a regular design studio would, we have more bandwidth,” said Manos, who graduated from Art Center’s Media Design Practices program in 2012.
With a full-time staff of two, VeryNice has essembled a network of 100 volunteers spanning six continents so projects meet clients’ creative needs while keeping the company profitable.
“The youngest volunteer we had was 15 and the oldest was 60,” Manos said, adding that he matches volunteers’ skills and passions with projects.
So far, the Los Angeles-based firm has donated more than $300,000 in services to nearly 20 causes, including LGBT equality, animal adoption and cancer research. The company’s corporate clients include Facebook, MTV and Disney.
