Matt Waltz

Dr. Drew said the best way to quit drinking is by going cold turkey, and he's a doctor, so why would you question doctors?

Dr. Drew said the best way to quit drinking is by going cold turkey, and he's a doctor, so why would you question doctors?

So great to be with you, Dr. Drew.

So great to be with you, Dr. Drew.

So the history of New Freedom, a banking contact of mine about six years ago said, hey, I've got three guys you should meet with. They've got a really unique idea. So these three guys came to my office, sat down. These three are my partners in New Freedom today. So one of them was serving a life sentence in prison.

So the history of New Freedom, a banking contact of mine about six years ago said, hey, I've got three guys you should meet with. They've got a really unique idea. So these three guys came to my office, sat down. These three are my partners in New Freedom today. So one of them was serving a life sentence in prison.

And he got sick of seeing these young guys just come back over and over, leave for two months, come back, leave for four months, come back. He became aware there were some federal funds available for recidivism programs. He applied for those funds, got them, and started teaching a class inside the prison, basically how to not come back to prison.

And he got sick of seeing these young guys just come back over and over, leave for two months, come back, leave for four months, come back. He became aware there were some federal funds available for recidivism programs. He applied for those funds, got them, and started teaching a class inside the prison, basically how to not come back to prison.

There were two guys in the addiction recovery world who heard about this. They started writing letters, supporting the guys in the program, started to have tremendous success. At the same time, a partner who was serving a life sentence was working on his appeal. Much to his surprise, he won his appeal and got released.

There were two guys in the addiction recovery world who heard about this. They started writing letters, supporting the guys in the program, started to have tremendous success. At the same time, a partner who was serving a life sentence was working on his appeal. Much to his surprise, he won his appeal and got released.

So these three guys then said, hey, let's take this program and let's scale it up. Let's find a way to do a lot more good, help a lot more people. So they wrote a fantastic business plan, went to some banks. The banks said, great idea, great business plan. No fucking way am I giving an ex-convict and two ex-addicts any money. And about the fifth banker said, no, but I know a guy you should meet.

So these three guys then said, hey, let's take this program and let's scale it up. Let's find a way to do a lot more good, help a lot more people. So they wrote a fantastic business plan, went to some banks. The banks said, great idea, great business plan. No fucking way am I giving an ex-convict and two ex-addicts any money. And about the fifth banker said, no, but I know a guy you should meet.

So they came to my office, they presented this plan. It was a fantastic business plan. They figured the funding out and I just couldn't understand why it hadn't been done already. So we decided to push forward with this idea at the same time, try to answer the question, why didn't this exist already? And I think what we found talking to ESG funds and family offices is

So they came to my office, they presented this plan. It was a fantastic business plan. They figured the funding out and I just couldn't understand why it hadn't been done already. So we decided to push forward with this idea at the same time, try to answer the question, why didn't this exist already? And I think what we found talking to ESG funds and family offices is

people don't love the idea of helping ex-convicts. And so when I learned that meeting with these fund managers and family offices, I became even more encouraged because I think that was the answer to why new freedom didn't already exist.

people don't love the idea of helping ex-convicts. And so when I learned that meeting with these fund managers and family offices, I became even more encouraged because I think that was the answer to why new freedom didn't already exist.

You ever heard of this thing called the coronavirus? So when we would look for a space, the coronavirus lockdown happened the day before. So we walked into a 250 room conference hotel that was empty. The owners basically begged us to buy it. They sold it to us for an incredible price. In order to get licensed, the city had a special use permit hearing.

You ever heard of this thing called the coronavirus? So when we would look for a space, the coronavirus lockdown happened the day before. So we walked into a 250 room conference hotel that was empty. The owners basically begged us to buy it. They sold it to us for an incredible price. In order to get licensed, the city had a special use permit hearing.

No one attended because it was in the dark of COVID. So we got approved. It came together faster than anything I've ever been involved with before. It was incredible.

No one attended because it was in the dark of COVID. So we got approved. It came together faster than anything I've ever been involved with before. It was incredible.