Meet Luis Mata | CEO of Meat N’ Bone

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luis Mata and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luis, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Effective communication, it is the single most important skill an executive needs to develop. It’s amazing to see how many extremely smart individuals struggle to communicate their ideas. It is not enough to be a subject matter expert, it is not enough to have the knowledge… if you cannot communicate it, it is very hard to turn an idea or a concept into a reality.

No matter what your role is, people process new information in different ways.. and it is up to the communicator to make sure that the message is understood. Some people need a visual aid, others just need to listen and others need to be part of the experience to understand it.

Most projects get delayed because of miscommunications, delays take up resources… and start-ups are usually short on resources.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Meat N’ Bone is an omnichannel purveyor of Premium Quality Proteins for the consumer market. We focus on quality and consistency. Every product we offer has been curated by our expert team and meets the highest standards for quality. We have curated a list of premium products from the best suppliers in the world to offer the customer the best Beef, Poultry, Pork, and Fish. We also import high-end wine, charcuterie, and cheese. We do not source from broad-liners and work with specific farms and programs for all of our products. We have 3 boutiques in South Florida and ship everywhere in the US and Canada.

We started out working in the back of a friend’s restaurant, we rented a small room for about $600 a month. All of our money was spent on inventory. (which meant traveling all over). We developed our whole website and did everything ourselves: sales, deliveries, sourcing, and customer service. Today we have over 50 employees, 3 locations, 8 vehicles, and ship thousands of orders all over the country.

Was it easy? No, it was not. It’s been difficult. It meant that we worked long hours, and it meant sacrificing every holiday for over 5 years. But it has been worth it.

The big lesson? You have to believe in yourself and your team. However, you also have to be aware that your idea is not perfect and that your business will need to evolve constantly.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Every morning grab a quick bite and a coffee, as for the spots…I’m Venezuelan so would of course do the rounds around Majestic Bakery, La Boulangerie, and Doggies Arepa Bar. But at least one day I would make sure we walk around calle ocho and have some proper Cuban breakfast which includes Cuban coffee.

I would of course take him to see my baby, Meat N’ Bone. Give him a tour of our state-of-the-art HQ, then grab some lunch at The Wagyu Bar. I would start with our A5 Nigiris, then have some steaks. I would make sure we come back for the burgers… because I have had every burger in Miami and that is the best.

Sightseeing? South Beach, Wynwood, Hallandale Beach, Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove. I got to say Im a fan of the Miami Zoo, the Frost Museum, and the Fairchild Botanical garden.

For sports, Kayaking, and Biking. Probably at Virginia Key.

I would of course make sure my friend attends one of our experience dinners at Undisclosed.

What restaurants I would visit? To me, restaurants are about food, so forget the club-staurants that are popular. I would hit up Arson, Leku, the taquerias in calle ocho, Like Mike in coconut grove and maybe 1-800-lucky. For fancy dinners Fiola, Cafe Abbracci, Le Jardinier.

Then some clubs…

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I got to say the biggest shoutout goes to my wife, my mom, and my dad (but especially my wife) who have put up with all my intensity and crazy ideas over the years. Outside of that, I am very thankful to almost every person I have crossed paths at some point. I have been part of some amazing companies where I soaked knowledge from extremely smart and successful individuals.

Website: www.meatnbone.com

Instagram: @meatnbone

Twitter: @meatnbone

Facebook: @meatnbone