With around 1 in 200 people experiencing homelessness in most international cities, it is easy to feel helpless. Matt Granfield didn’t – and he decided to do something about it after his uncle passed away in tragic circumstances.

But to fix a problem, you need to understand it properly. When Matt learned more about the complexity of homelessness, he realised something that significantly shifted his perspective: the average ‘face’ of homelessness is actually a 25-35-year-old​ woman, most likely escaping a violent situation. She may be living in her car, on the streets, or in a hotel room.

Matt realised that, with hotels running at an average occupancy of 75%, there were more than enough vacant safe spaces to end the homeless housing crisis. He argues that it’s often these simple solutions that can solve complex problems. Matt is a writer, entrepreneur and business person with 15 years’ experience in the marketing, start-up and tourism industries.

By day, Matt is in charge of marketing the City of Brisbane, as General Manager of Marketing and Communications at Brisbane Marketing – the city’s economic development and tourism board. When the sun goes down, the cape comes out, and he is founder and chair of Spare Keys, a ground-breaking charity that makes spare hotel rooms available to people who need a roof over their head.

Matt studied marketing at Harvard Business School, has an MBA from the University of Queensland and is a proud Queenslander, father of two, retired hipster and occasional author.

Matt Granfield TEDx Speaker

Matt Granfield
TEDx Speaker

Matt is a writer, entrepreneur and business person with 15 years’ experience in the marketing, start-up and tourism industries.

By day, Matt is in charge of marketing the City of Brisbane, as General Manager of Marketing and Communications at Brisbane Marketing – the city’s economic development and tourism board. When the sun goes down, the cape comes out, and he is founder and chair of Spare Keys, a ground-breaking charity that makes spare hotel rooms available to people who need a roof over their head.

Matt Granfield
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane
Matt Granfield Delivering His TEDx Talk At TEDxBrisbane