Now he's quit his job and plans to start a new company.
You know who this terrifies?
Matt Van Horn's wife.
Lauren Van Horn went to law school, and then worked at a startup which was bought by Facebook.
She's written a blog post explaning how, even though risky entrepreneurship is a normal part of life in Silicon Valley, being married to a guy who just took the leap is "terrifying to me."
She writes, "Maybe Silicon Valley feels the same, and just never talks about it, but my heart definitely dropped the moment I entered the 'married to an entrepreneur' world."
"I was raised in a very traditional household. You were either a doctor or a lawyer, and that's about it. Sure, I broke out of that mold a couple years ago when I quit my law firm and joined a small startup (2 weeks later to be acquired by Facebook), and sure I now embrace the unknown, the rollercoaster, the success and the failure, and the insanity. And yet, I am terrified! A lawyer can only be a non lawyer part of the time (fact). No doubt, I am inherently a planner, who loves security, and tries to counter this by doing crazy things every so often, all the while knowing that those crazy moments are way beyond my comfort zone."
Despite her fears, Van Horn says she fully supports her husband and that she's as excited for him and proud of him as she is worried.
One reason she's able to be so supportive is that her husband totally prepared her for this day.
"He made sure to repeatedly remind me throughout our past 7 years together that this would in fact happen. He wanted no misconceptions about our future: We would partake in some traditional life commitments (marriage, dog, house, children, in no particular order), but everything else was up for grabs, with guaranteed! career instability. He would be a founder and CEO of a company, he would change the world (intense, yep), and we would enjoy it every step of the way. Such confidence, right? One of the many reasons why I adore him."