Jeremy Matuszewski is the CEO and founder of Thunderstruck Ag, where he helps farmer-invented products reach global markets. A marketing strategist with over 20 years in sales and marketing, Jeremy specializes in bringing innovative, real-world solutions to competitive industries. Raised blue collar, he pairs grit with creativity to drive results and empower the agricultural community.
Company: Thunderstruck Ag
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Jeremy Matuszewski: I’m Jeremy Matuszewski, founder of Thunderstruck Sales & Marketing and Thunderstruck Ag. We specialize in connecting farmer-driven innovations with the global agricultural market. Our mission is simple: take innovative, practical solutions that farmers create to solve problems on their farms and help them help other farmers. Over the past decade, we’ve grown into a partner for farmer-inventors, distributing their products worldwide and helping them make a real impact in agriculture.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Jeremy Matuszewski: Our biggest strength is how much we are about helping farmers succeed, and that we are not focused on the way things have always been done, but are always finding new ways to market, sell, and distribute our innovative products around the world. We often say we are world class at ‘giving a sh*t’ and it carries through everything that we do.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Jeremy Matuszewski: Keeping employees happy starts with them believing in the mission and the goals of the company. We share our goals with our people and are open about our wins and losses, and our team feels directly connected because of that. People want to feel valued, heard, and part of something bigger. We also put a big focus on collaboration and accountability. We empower our team to take ownership of their ideas, roles, and celebrate their contributions. By fostering a culture of trust and shared purpose, we’ve built a team that’s motivated and engaged, even during challenging times.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Jeremy Matuszewski: The digital shift is massive, and agriculture isn’t immune. Farmers are researching, shopping, and connecting online more than ever. For us, that means doubling down on digital marketing, creating engaging content, and making it easy for farmers to find and trust our solutions. We’re leveraging this wave to expand our reach and build stronger relationships with our customers.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Jeremy Matuszewski: The biggest challenge right now is balancing innovation with practicality. Farmers are open to new ideas, but they need solutions that are reliable and cost-effective. Our job is to bridge that gap, bringing cutting-edge products to market while ensuring they deliver real value.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Jeremy Matuszewski: The most underestimated part of running a company is keeping everyone moving in the same direction and bought into the same vision. A good example of this would be when COVID shut down Trade Shows and our team decided to hold events called the Thanks for Farming Tour that would allow us to still meet with farmers while following the regulations that were in place. Not everyone was on board at the beginning, but once we had the vision of what we wanted to accomplish and our team could see where we were going and what we were trying to accomplish, we pulled off something that to lots of companies would have been impossible.
This question got me thinking about the most underestimated part behind launching a new product, and so I wanted to share that as well. It’s definitely the storytelling. People think it’s all about the product, but the story behind it is what connects with customers. For example, when we launched the Razors Edge Concaves, we didn’t just talk about the specs—we shared the journey of how it was developed, tested, and refined by farmers. That story made all the difference.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Jeremy Matuszewski: If I could pick any business superpower, it would definitely be the ability to grow globally at a faster pace. It is harder to launch into markets where you don’t speak the language or have the same connections that you do in North America, so just being able to snap my fingers and have offices, teams, and warehousing set up around the world would be cool!