Matthew Schneider - 40 Under 40 USA 2025

A Journey From Novelist to Profound Founder

Matthew Schneider

President and CEO

Building, Inc

A Journey From Novelist to Profound Founder

Matthew Schneider

President and CEO

Building, Inc

Curiosity that refuses to stay in one lane often produces leaders who see systems others overlook. It also creates paths without maps, mentors, or certainty, which means learning to be patient with problems that don’t have obvious answers. Over time, that way of thinking shapes how decisions are made, how risks are weighed, and how structures are built to last.

That mindset defines Matthew Schneider, Founder, President and CEO of Building, Inc. His journey moves across capital markets, proprietary trading, blockchain research, real estate tokenization, and urban systems, shaped by early ventures that exposed the hidden fragility of data, compliance, and valuation inside real assets. Beyond building companies, he lectures globally, advises standards bodies, and hosts Code and Concrete, which translates complex infrastructure into practical insights. In an exclusive conversation, TradeFlock spoke with him about this journey, the challenges encountered, and the thinking guiding what comes next.

How have your cross-disciplinary experiences shaped how you lead and decide?

I’ve always considered myself to have an open mind, so my thought processes and leadership never developed within a single lane. Moving between disciplines gave me an awareness that decisions rarely exist in isolation. Writing sharpened my sensitivity to structure and narrative, while entrepreneurship forced me to test whether ideas actually work in the real world.

Capital markets were where theory first met consequence. In 2019, working as a day trader with an independent proprietary desk, every decision had immediate financial feedback, leaving little room for interpretation. Fundamental and technical analysis became less about prediction and more about understanding how information moves through systems. Those frameworks carried forward as I moved into real estate and blockchain in early 2020.

Building a startup at that intersection required immersion well beyond the core concept. Construction, supply chains, banking, fund administration, and trade finance also became important to me. Real estate tokenization is my primary focus, but that broader experience helps me see patterns across different sectors and challenge my own assumptions. As a result, my decision-making process focuses on understanding the full range of inputs and consequences before acting. That shift also explains my interest in urban planning and smart cities; real estate affects infrastructure, mobility, environmental impact, and daily life. Good leaders recognize that every decision is part of a larger ecosystem.

What do most leaders overlook about global leadership?

Power dynamics and framing are often underestimated. My early international speaking engagements were largely pitch competitions, formats designed to limit authority rather than expand it. Shifting toward panels, keynotes, and workshops changed the dynamic, placing expertise rather than persuasion at the center.

Walking into rooms backed by thousands of hours of research eliminates nervousness. I stopped trying to impress people and focused on being clear. Nervousness usually stems from information asymmetry, the fear that someone else understands the subject more deeply. That fear dissolves with mastery. From there, confidence compounds, invitations follow, and leadership becomes self-reinforcing.

What legacy do you hope to leave as a leader?

Young people don’t see enough role models building things that last. Online personalities are celebrated while inventors, engineers, and those shaping the built environment receive less attention. That creates real problems. Changing that trajectory matters to me.

My path did not begin with wealth or elite networks. Progress came through persistence, risk-taking, and recovery after failure. That path is replicable, and visibility matters. Inspiring that mindset within the built environment feels particularly urgent. Shelter, infrastructure, and social systems took thousands of years to develop. If they’re going to last another ten thousand years, they need to evolve. We can’t afford to be complacent. Building better systems is a generational responsibility.

What early lessons continue to influence how you think and lead?

I learned early on that things are rarely as clear as they seem, and people often aren’t either. Repeated exposure to inflated numbers, concealed intentions, and confidence used as a substitute for substance exposed how transactional many environments are, particularly in deal-making.

In those early years, I confused speed with progress. I accepted claims too quickly, assumed we were aligned without verifying, and mistook momentum for truth. Over time, that instinct became costly enough to correct itself. Discipline replaced urgency. Due diligence became foundational rather than procedural. Questions grew sharper, observation mattered more than presentation, and independent verification no longer felt optional. I stopped seeing walking away as failure and started seeing it as good judgment.

Pace emerged as another signal. The speed at which someone pushes, or delays, is often very revealing. It’s critical to control the frame of the conversation, or the other party will take control.

What will reshape real estate leadership over the next decade?

Real estate has historically resisted rapid technological change because buildings are long-lived assets with serious consequences when change occurs. That resistance to change can’t continue. Remote work, capital constraints, climate risk, and efficiency pressures have pushed the industry beyond a point where innovation remains optional.

Several shifts will occur in parallel. Demand for reliable data will intensify. Artificial intelligence will automate portions of many roles. Capital and materials will continue to globalize, while generational priorities reshape how assets are valued and operated. All of this will push digitization through every phase—design, construction, operations. And leaders will need to think in systems, not silos. Early forms of autonomous buildings will emerge, capable of monitoring, optimizing, and executing functions with minimal intervention. The leaders who succeed will be the ones who see buildings as living systems, not just fixed structures.