What Happens When Passion Drives the Business? With Matthew de Gruyter, Co-Founder and CEO of Next Level Burger

Matthew de Gruyter is the Co-founder and CEO of Next Level Burger, America's first 100% vegan and plant-based burger joint. Before delving into the world of vegan fast casual food, Matthew honed his professional acumen in private equity and venture capital, notably serving as an executive for oil and gas venture firms. His journey, from a US Marine to majoring in communication at Metro State University to leading ventures in Denver, Dallas, and Newport Beach, culminated in his decision to champion sustainable eating in the Pacific Northwest.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

Sometimes, you can differentiate your brand through its ideals, and those ideals are often things you are passionate about. Does strictly adhering to your passion and ideals always make perfect sense in business?

According to Next Level Burger’s Matthew de Gruyter, who co-founded the world’s first 100% vegan burger joint in 2013, following his passion has paid off. While Matthew acknowledges the importance of balancing idealism with pragmatism, he says his brand has found ways to reach its business goals without compromising its value set despite struggling at times. He points to three specific instances where Next Level Burger’s direction could have been altered by compromising its ideals to make things easier, but Matthew said no on each occasion, and he doesn’t regret it. 

On this episode of From Persona to Personal, Roger Hurni sits down with Matthew de Gruyter, CEO and Co-founder of Next Level Burger, to discuss the challenges of building a brand that offers products born out of a strict set of ideals. Matthew is passionate about fighting climate change, and he talks about his desire to build a restaurant that reflects that passion. He explains why he believes Next Level’s business surged during the pandemic and shares how the brand uses technology for marketing.