Matt Mershon

Matt Mershon came to Terre Haute for his freshman year of college at Indiana State University in 2001 and he’s been making a difference in the business world ever since.

Mershon, who is originally from Crawfordsville, Ind., completed several internships before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems in 2005, including one his sophomore year in Indianapolis at Inland Container, a corrugated board manufacturing company, where he worked in the corporate office.

His future in business was a no-brainer. Through high school, he started to see it was the path he wanted to take in life. His mom was in the business field and worked on computers at Inland; when he saw his mom come home and talk about her day, he’d help her troubleshoot. It got him interested in MIS and he knew that was his path coming in to Indiana State.

“Indiana State prepared me with business and computer coding courses that were offered, which helped keep me relevant in the industry so I could dive right into the workforce,” Mershon said.

When he graduated, Mershon went straight into a position at Sony, where he focused on digital technologies and software development for 10 years. Using creative thinking skills and coursework from Indiana State, Mershon’s position allowed him to travel throughout the U.S. and abroad before he left in 2015 to work for entrepreneur Scott Jones in Carmel, serving as operations manager for a start-up company, Eleven Fifty Academy.

When the company moved to Fishers, Mershon reached out to a former co-worker who put him in touch with two men wanting to do a start-up company in Terre Haute involving corrugated board. He became the first employee for BoxUp.com and helped the company get off the ground before breaking off to get a year of sales experience with another local company.

Recently, with his past experiences, Mershon decided to start a nonprofit, 1834 Sanctuary – a farm animal sanctuary in North Terre Haute. He also started working for a company in California, Thought Foundry, where he has been working remotely and flying to California once a quarter to meet clients and team members.

Mershon also works for Launch Terre Haute, a local co-working and innovative collaborative space, and started Turn It Live, a tech consulting company that does website development for Terre Haute businesses and universities. Last November, he and a business partner started LaundryOnUs.com – a local wash, dry, fold service.

“Understanding your pathway is very important going into college or when trying to start a career. I help local students and the community by understanding their pathway through a local nonprofit, Launch Terre Haute,” he said.

He’s working with Launch Terre Haute and the four local universities to help retain students in Terre Haute, not just educate them and send them away.

“Indiana State strives to be the best, offering great academic programs that help gear up students for today’s work environments,” Mershon said. “Networking, connecting, and learning as much as you can throughout life experiences, including Indiana State University, will help ensure success in anyone.”