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Career Paths: How Matt Schottland Turned a Love of Numbers into a Dual Degree and a Startup

Matt Schottland is building Brain Buffs, an adaptive SAT prep platform, with a CU alumni/student team鈥攚hile wrapping up undergrad, starting a master鈥檚, and tackling tax season at KPMG.听


Matt Schottland

Matt Schottland鈥檚 (Fin, Acct鈥25) love of numbers was sparked at age 12 when his dad sat him and his siblings down to explain the stock market. 鈥淚 really liked it,鈥 Schottland said, 鈥渂ecause it taught me about the world around me and how companies work.鈥澨齌wo hours later, he was the proud owner of a single share of Domino鈥檚 Pizza.

Since then, there are other numbers that have stood out to Schottland. One is the 4+1 Bachelor鈥檚 Accelerated Master鈥檚 Program鈥攁 lure for coming to Leeds (and after a disappointing freshman year elsewhere, his family鈥檚 Buff legacy was also too compelling to overlook).

That defining event when he was 12 convinced Schottland that finance would be his future focus. At Leeds, he also discovered he loves the concrete rules associated with accounting. Blending that with the often unpredictable nature of finance led him to pursue a major in both.

A few more numbers have defined his time at Leeds. He has a 3.98 GPA, he has worked at three competitive internships (Medtronic, Lockheed Martin and KPMG), and last year, he launched his own startup,听, which now includes a team of nine CU students and alumni.

Brain Buffs is an AI-driven, adaptive learning platform designed to help students improve their SAT scores through personalized test prep. To date, the company boasts that students using the platform have improved their scores by an average of 150 points.

The benefits of real-world experience

This spring is no exception to Schottland鈥檚 desire to excel. He took the semester off to fully immerse himself in the 鈥渃razy busy tax season鈥 at his internship at KPMG.

鈥淢y mindset has really been to try as many things as I can while I鈥檓 in a position where it鈥檚 acceptable to do so." He has intentionally sought internships to explore both the finance and accounting realms, in line with his dual interests.

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鈥淢y mindset has really been to try as many things as I can while I鈥檓 in a position where it鈥檚 acceptable to do so."听

Matt Schottland (Fin, Acct鈥25)

Now preparing to complete his senior year this fall, Schottland is especially excited about how the BAM program is structured.

鈥淭he program is run very well. 鈥 They鈥檙e really intentional in how they plan it. In my final semester of undergrad this fall, I have concurrent enrollment, with classes that apply both to my undergrad and to the grad school. That made the program compelling.鈥

Entrepreneurial momentum

The idea behind Brain Buffs took root in high school, but it was the entrepreneurial energy at CU that gave it momentum. Together with his brother, Logan (a 2024 CU alumnus now working as a software engineer at SpaceX), they launched the company with their team and began a yearlong development journey that resulted in partnerships with five Colorado schools and plans for expansion across the state and beyond.

As the team continues to refine their algorithm, they envision broader applications鈥攑reparing students for the ACT and many other types of learning. Despite the trend toward test-optional admissions, Schottland believes standardized tests like the SAT will remain important in states like Colorado, which still require the test to gauge proficiency levels.

Learning by doing

Even as he enters the master鈥檚 phase of his education, Schottland is doubling down on growing Brain Buffs. He sees a direct link between his coursework and the startup鈥檚 evolution鈥攑articularly experiences like the BCOR Applied Semester Experience (BASE), which he described as a critical turning point.

鈥淵ou work with successful companies 鈥 You鈥檙e writing out financials, doing opportunity summaries, you鈥檙e looking at competitors 鈥 these aren鈥檛 just theoretical. It鈥檚 actually doing these things.鈥

A cycle of support

As Brain Buffs scales,听Schottland has tapped into a wide range of resources offered through Leeds and 精品SM在线影片. At the time of publication, the company had applied to the New Venture Challenge and was awaiting results to see if they will qualify for the next round.

鈥淚f we went through the entire competition and didn鈥檛 win funding, I would still be happy,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great connections, and you get to be part of a great community of startups. That鈥檚 amazing to be part of, and it鈥檚 great publicity for Brain Buffs.鈥

Brain Buffs also participated in听Startups2Students鈥攁n initiative that led to hiring four CU students鈥攁nd collaborated with the听Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, a partnership Schottland said saved the company nearly $50,000 in legal fees.

鈥淭he more you get involved, the more impressive CU鈥檚 startup culture is. All these amazing people with all these smart ideas, and they鈥檙e just going for it. They鈥檙e making a real impact.鈥

鈥淚n Leeds and CU in general, there鈥檚 a sentiment that no idea is too crazy, and nothing is too hard to solve. It鈥檚 not 鈥楥an this happen?鈥 but rather, 鈥楬ow can we do this?鈥欌

鈥淭here are so many resources to make you successful,鈥 he said.听That mentality, combined with听 programs like听Peer2Peer Mentoring, has helped Schottland build meaningful relationships with fellow students and industry professionals alike.

golden bar

鈥淚n Leeds and CU in general, there鈥檚 a sentiment that no idea is too crazy, and nothing is too hard to solve. It鈥檚 not 鈥楥an this happen?鈥 but rather, 鈥楬ow can we do this?鈥欌

Matt Schottland (Fin, Acct鈥25)

鈥淚t鈥檚 worth it to get involved early because Leeds鈥 resources are well built-out programs. They鈥檙e really intentional and they pay a lot of dividends as you progress at Leeds.鈥

For Schottland, one major dividend has been the reward of knowing he is helping other students. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working a lot, but it鈥檚 because I love it. It鈥檚 just so rewarding and fun for me. If I鈥檓 up at night working, I know there鈥檚 a student out there also working. The students really drive me to keep going.鈥


Want to get your entrepreneurial ideas off the ground? Connect with the Deming Center.听