Though he’s been with us for just eight months, Business Development Representative Mathew Jackson stands out as a problem-solving whiz. He’s a pro at helping clients find the right solutions to meet their needs, and has recently closed his largest deal to date.

He does it all while embodying our ideals of being brilliant, hardworking and kind. We sat down with him to learn more about this sales superstar.

Big Nerd Ranch: Congratulations on being voted Big Nerd of the Month! Will you start out by sharing what brought you to Big Nerd Ranch?

Mathew Jackson: I knew a handful of current and former Nerds from my previous job at Apple. I’m a huge fan of the Ranch culture, and I love working with brilliant people. A friend gifted me the Objective-C book, and although I’m not a developer by any means, I found the coding world fascinating—I couldn’t help but be curious.

BNR: We should thank that friend for leading you to us! While you may not be a developer, your sales expertise is one of the reasons that you won the award. What do you think Big Nerd Ranch offers its app development clients that no one else does?

MJ: Our overall start to finish value is truly second to none. No other dev shop can say they have the best instructors and developers. When there’s new, awesome technology in the mobile world, we not only know about it first, but we’re also the first to teach it.

Our business development team is great at helping our clients understand technical concepts. We have some of the most knowledgeable, hardworking developers and designers around. Together, we do a great job of finding a creative, customized approach to solving the problem, and building a great partnership along the way.

BNR: You don’t just have excellent business development skills, we hear you also play a mean air drum. What’s your favorite song to play along to?

MJ: The cliché answer would be Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” or Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls,” and for good reason. How could you not air drum to such awesome solos? But my favorite band is Led Zeppelin, so it’s hard to find a song better built for air drumming than “When the Levee Breaks.”

That said, I mainly stick to the air drums as I’ve never officially learned to play any real instruments. I come from a large family (I have two brothers and two sisters), and none of us have any real musical talent. We all filled our time playing some kind of sport.

BNR: A man of many talents. Which sports do you play?

MJ: I will seriously play any of them. Lately, I’ve had the chance to hone my snowboarding skills (I go out to Utah every year), I’m in a bowling league every Tuesday (279 high game, 194 avg), pickup basketball and soccer games, tennis with friends, golf as much as I can.

BNR: That will keep you busy! When you’re relaxing, which teams do you watch?

MJ: I lived in California for a while when growing up, so I split allegiances between both coasts. I’m a fan of the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Francisco 49ers. I have the best memories of going to Braves games as a kid.

BNR: Looks like you’ve got lots of inspiration when it comes to adding new swag to the Big Nerd of the Month trophy; something tells us it might just be sports-related. Thanks again for chatting with us, Mat. Your win is well-deserved.

Think you’ve got what it takes to become a Nerd? Check out our open positions and apply to join the team.