Mattie Ball

Luck, and a bit of mischief, got me into engineering early. I found friends that were smarter than me, and we asked ourselves "can we get companies to pay for us to build even cooler things?" 3D printing, materials, merch for a brand we wanted to build (the OG Fibonacci), we all tried to get businesses to fund. Started there, and went on a wild ride of learning skills, making things, Fibonacci was even an animation studio for about a year. But the missions still there, what problems can we solve for businesses? And overdelivering, always. Forever grateful for the brands that believed in us, and that now believe in me.

I was at Imperial studying mechanical engineering, having worked at Red Bull, doing everything 'right', and I was bored. I missed owning something. So a year ago I brought Fibonacci back, but this time solo, consulting with startups on hardware projects and building full stack web apps. Then 6 months ago I looked at where the most value I've given to companies has been: the websites I built them on the side, hands down had the biggest financial return. That's when I pivoted to building websites.

Over the years we've had perhaps 15 people be on the "Fibonacci HQ" team. The two I started with (I'd call them friends, but also cofounders I suppose), are doing incredible things in other fields, but stay in touch regularly to keep up with how the business is evolving. I still say "we" for the company, because for final reviews, security checks, and tech decisions, I do regularly outsource and have brilliant part time project employees.

Right now? Build brilliant websites that deliver real results. It's so rewarding working for clients and local businesses I can meet with and get personally vested in their results. I want to transform the yachting industry specifically, because their marketing is terrible (sex sells and all that nonsense), and I love sailing. Long-term? I want Fibonacci to be the agency that makes luxury brands look as good online as they do in real life. With a team and brand that means more than just quality, but stands for something.

I sailed as a kid (imagining I was Jack Sparrow at a pirate wheel helm on a 32ft), and for my university yachting society, I spend hours going through yachting sites for booking trips. I find it insane that brokerage platforms, and marina websites that look like they were built in 2008. These are multi-million-pound boats with world-class engineering, and their websites feel like an afterthought. It's such an opportunity for shifting the industry to take advantage of the global trend to valuing access and experiences over ownership. Yachting deserves the same level of craft online as it has on the water.

Competitive sailor, and rower actually. Currently hold the Chiswick Regatta Women's Open XIII 1st place with my university rowing team, and I have my steers licence for the Thames. I love being out on the water, the adventure, even the miserable cold of it all. And got the racing bug through and through, love winning. Helps to be the customer when designing sites that need to get more bookings for yacht charters.

Three things: slow, outdated, and built for the owner's ego instead of the buyer. Most yacht sites have a video of a boat, 10 paragraphs about 'heritage,' and zero clear CTAs. Doesn't help that every single site uses the word "luxury". Meanwhile, the person browsing wants to know: Can I book it? What's the price? Where can it go? I build sites that answer those questions in 10 seconds, not 10 minutes (no buyer will stay searching on a site for that long). Quality doesn't mean complicated, it means effortless.

Short-term: work with charter companies, brokerages, and marinas to give them sites that actually convert. April I'm racing in the universities BUCS race as bow, so improving my sailing skill. Long-term? I want to help shape how yachting evolves. Building big. Oh and transatlantic crossing the moment I'm confident I won't get my crew drowned.