From basketball to business: Ohio State's Matt Terwilliger starts own company
There was a time that Matt Terwilliger’s name helped open a few doors. As an up-and-comer in the financial world, Terwilliger was only a few years removed from a four-year career at Ohio State when he would talk with potential clients who knew him as Matt Terwilliger, the basketball player.
Those days are mostly in the past. Today, when Terwilliger meets with clients, they know him as an established certified financial planner and now the founder and senior wealth advisor of his own company.
“After a couple months in the industry I realized that hard work can eliminate a lot of shortfalls, and that was something that Ohio State and basketball taught me very well, was how to work hard,” Terwilliger said.
Now roughly six months removed from launching Iterhic Wealth Advisors, Terwilliger is enjoying the fruits of a dozen years of working his way up the financial ladder. A letter winner for the Buckeyes from 2005-08 and co-captain as a senior, Terwilliger appeared in 118 games and averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds as a part of teams that won the 2006 and 2007 Big Ten titles, reached the national title game in 2007 and won the NIT championship in 2008.
He then graduated from Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in family resource management and consumer affairs. It was more financial than it sounds (current students on the same path now graduate ready to sit for their certified financial planner designation), and it allowed Terwilliger to prepare for a future in family financial planning (and to help play a role in the era of name, image and likeness rights).
First came a professional basketball career that saw the 6-foot-9 Terwilliger spend three seasons before deciding to retire so he could focus on the next phase of his life. Stepping away from the game that had been a central part of his life for so long was a difficult decision, he said, but one that came with a caveat: if he was going to stop playing, he had to be officially done. And with that decision made, Terwilliger knew he wanted to pursue a wirehouse practice manage development program, one of the most difficult training programs in the financial industry.
He just needed a foot in the door, so he reached out to his coach, Thad Matta.
“In true coach Matta fashion, he said, ‘You know what? I don’t even know where my bank account is, but I can make some introductions to a couple of people,’ ” Terwilliger said with a laugh. “That was a great way to get things started. I knew that this was what I wanted to get into, and so all I wanted was a foot in the door and I’d hit the training program and work my way up just like anybody else.”
It wasn’t always the most enjoyable process. At one point, Terwilliger’s early duties entailed cold-calling potential clients, many of whom weren’t pleased when a stranger called them at 6:30 p.m. on a weekday.
“Overcoming rejection was difficult, because I’d had a few jobs before but none of them were sales positions,” he said. “They were all labor positions, so I had to learn not to take it personally when people tell you no … I was not a great cold caller, but I did it and I’ve gotten a couple clients from it, but it wasn’t fun. It’s not the way I choose to prospect now, but I can appreciate what it taught me.”
Terwilliger eventually worked his way to a position of first vice president at Morgan Stanley. Each stop presented new challenges, he said, but there remained a constant: always do what’s best for the clients.
That ultimately led to the decision to start his own business. In doing so, Terwilliger said he is positioned to help clients who are roughly at the same stage of life as he is prepare for retirement without getting overwhelmingly stressed.
“Iterhic is a Latin word made up of two root words,” he said, crediting his wife, Meg, for coming up with the name. “It translates to ‘journey to here,’ so the basis of that is valuing the present. All the industry talks about once you get to retirement then you’ll be happy. What I saw over 11 years of doing this was that people were postponing their happiness.
“I’ve focused really hard on taking everything that I’ve learned in this industry and processes in place that show people there is a clear path to their financial future – that they’re going to fine and they’re going to be able to retire the way that they want so they’re also allowed to be happy now.”
After sitting with The Dispatch outside the practice gym inside the Schottenstein Center, Terwilliger had to cut some catching-up with fellow Buckeyes short in order to help a client with a situation.
That’s how it works when you’re the boss, and it’s exactly where Terwilliger said he has always hoped to be.
“I’ve got a great support system behind me,” he said. “It feels natural. I was a captain of my high school basketball team. I was a captain at Ohio State. I think owning my own business is a natural progression for me, for the passion I have for my work and my clients.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State grad Matt Terwilliger founds financial business
