He calls himself a “Passionate ideas guy and all around decent-ish human,” but for the thousands of people, non-profits and clients that Matt Aubin has worked with over the years, all agree – he is a very inspiring human.
Although Aubin is best known as the founder and CEO of KEEN Creative, a branding agency offering web development and digital marketing, KEEN falls under a much broader umbrella company called Blakhausens. Through Blakhausens, co-founders Matt and Stephanie, along with their team, provide advisory, strategic, operating, investment, partnership and creative support to help emerging business leaders grow their brands.
With the incredible success of KEEN and with more than 20 years of launching and growing businesses, Aubin has a unique view of the corporate landscape. However, his driving goal from the start has remained clear and consistent: he just wants to help people succeed.
In that, Aubin has been, and continues to be, very successful – even though, when the stats show the impact Blakhausens has on entrepreneurs and non profits, his reaction is… “aw, shucks…,” along with his signature smile.
Aubin gave Business in Edmonton a rare and unfiltered glimpse behind the curtain, showing how humble beginnings took him and his family from idea conception to the company that has worked with clients such as Fountain Tire, Co-Op, The City of Edmonton, Nordic Mechanical and hundreds more.
It started with a conversation with a six-year old.
Aubin laughs as he remembers, “My oldest son, Kade, is 21 now, but when he was six, I did a little interview with him. I said, ‘Kid, tell me what you do for a living and what you want to do in the future.’ Kade said, ‘Well, I own a company. It’s called Blakhausens.’ ‘Oh?’ I asked him. ‘What does Blakhausens do?’ Kade replied, ‘We help people, and make all sorts of things out of junk. Like skateboards and robots.’”
Aubin never forgot that endearing conversation and thought to himself, with his own goal of
entrepreneurship as a driving force to uplift others, wouldn’t it be cool if he used that name, Blakhausens?
So, he and his wife, Stephanie, did.
While Blakhausens is diversified across several brands, KEEN is the predominant business in the group. KEEN started in the Aubins’ basement in 2003. Today, KEEN operates out of a sprawling converted warehouse where exposed brick, creative spaces (one of which mimics the outdoors right down to a picnic table), coffee bar, games room and full-service multimedia studio house a growing team.
“It is easy to see the wins,” Aubin points out, “but it is important for entrepreneurs to know the journey comes with significant challenges. In the earlier days, I cannot tell you how many times we leveraged our house to ensure we made payroll. Additionally, not all of the businesses we have launched or purchased have been successful. Winding down a business is as emotionally intense as it is financially damaging. Being on this journey and learning lessons the hard way for more than two decades drives me to help business owners maximize their value and opportunities. Blakhausens supports them with the tools I wish I had at the start, and KEEN showcases and builds their brands on a large scale.”
It doesn’t stop there. Knowing strong communities empower strong individuals, Aubin also helms or aligns with a variety of support systems.
“One of our companies, VentureOut, is about working deeply with entrepreneurs to help them understand and grow their valuations and maximize their exit strategies when the time is right,” he explains. “We also have ownership in an Indigenous tech business that is in startup mode. Then there is our non profit organization called Climbing For Change, which was co-founded with my good friend and fellow entrepreneur, Luke Williamson.”
Williamson, an endurance athlete, describes Climbing For Change as a way to ensure human connection and mutual striving in a world where AI and other technologies keep driving people apart.
After its inaugural event, Williamson posted, “I’ll never forget finishing my first ultramarathon. I was exhausted, but on my final lap. Volunteers lined the course, cheering me on. Behind my sunglasses, tears fell – not just from the effort, but from the weight of everything it took to get there: overcoming health issues, abandoning alcohol and embracing health as a leadership principle, not just a lifestyle choice. It was raw, humbling and unforgettable. That feeling is exactly what Climbing For Change is about. It’s not just another fundraiser. It’s a platform. Like a golf tournament, it gives non profits a stage to engage their communities, raise money and tell their stories. Instead of swinging clubs, we climb. Instead of small talk over nine holes, we find connection in sweat, laughter and grit. Instead of walking away with a scorecard, participants leave with a life changing experience. For non profits, it’s innovative and engaging. For participants, it’s transformational. For our community, it’s real.”
For Aubin, the notion of physically pushing one’s body and how the athletic and team mindset translates directly to business, is also top of mind. An active individual himself, Aubin has run the Grand Canyon Rim-to Rim – a demanding and punishing trail that spans over 34 kilometres and more than 8,200 ft in elevation. This run tested his endurance across wildly shifting conditions, from cold and snow to intense heat, and back again.
Aubin completed the Rim-to-Rim in nine hours.
“As humans, when we complete challenging things like this, we learn that we have so much capacity and resiliency,” Aubin says. “Through Climbing For Change, we not only raise money for local charities, the participants come away with physical, mental and spiritual growth and a much stronger mindset.”
He continues, “Through Climbing For Change, we were able to support about 17 different charities. Over the last two years alone, we have raised nearly $150,000 for local charities with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the organizations. It is all thanks to the wonderful people who come together to create a lot of good.”
Then, it all came crashing down. Very literally.
Some time after the Grand Canyon run, Aubin, an avid mountain and gravel cyclist, was pushing through a challenging downhill mountain bike trail, and crashed. What came next tested his resiliency, along with the strength of his family and businesses.
Aubin reminisces, “I was downhill mountain biking and there was a fairly large jump line that I had done tons of times before. Basically, I just came up short on about an eight-foot high jump. I had to be evacuated off the mountain and put into the ICU. I had broken six ribs, punctured a lung, and had significant swelling and muscle contusions over 50 per cent of my body. That was three years ago, and the physical impacts continue to this day with some nerve damage and other lingering issues.”
This came at a time when Aubin was buying out a business partner. This, and everything else he had going on in his life, came to a screeching halt as he could not get out of bed or walk without a cane for several months. The effect was not only physical. While pushing through the pain, Aubin also felt defeated mentally and his confidence dropped.
Then, something amazing happened.
The team he built, the community he supported, the entrepreneurs he mentored and the family he loved all said, “We got you.”
Everyone stepped up and stepped in. KEEN president, Nicole Poulette, took the helm of the company. Aubin’s family, friends and community put their lives on hold and rallied around him. Thanks to the love, energy, expertise and drive Aubin poured into every aspect of his life, the structure was there to keep not just the company moving forward, but also the driving mission of helping others. This time the energy was directed right back to him, allowing time for physical and mental healing until he could step back fully into his many roles.
The accident had a lasting impact on Aubin in seeing not only his own resiliency, but also the resiliency of those around him. This continues to inspire him to keep building strong support systems through businesses, communities, associations and charities.
There is only one word he uses to sum up that time; a word that carries immense weight beyond its meaning.
“I am,” he says with emotion, “extremely grateful.”
Aubin, whose journey has been full of highs and lows, has nothing but praise for Edmonton, and for Alberta.
“It’s not easy!” he is quick to admit. “Locally, actually all across Canada, there are significant challenges. However, what I see in Edmonton are incredibly supportive, hardworking, kind, caring people who support each other. I see this more than in many other cities across the nation. Edmonton’s business community is also incredibly humble. One could be in a room with a local billionaire, and you wouldn’t have a clue. There are no class distinctions; most people are just giving and kind to everyone. In Edmonton, there is such mutual respect for people across socio-economic lines. This became even more apparent when we opened an office in Dallas, Texas. The experience there was different, where a person’s material success was held up as a measure of their worth.”
He points out that it is not to compare, but to praise Edmonton – and Alberta – for how it champions hardworking people, be they the head of a multinational corporation or serving coffee at a bistro.
KEEN, Blakhausens and Aubin have received many prestigious awards and recognitions over the years, including Aubin’s Leaders award in 2025.
To which, about it all, he comments, “….aw, thank you, I’m just focused on the work.”
“Oh boy. I feel so undeserving! I get the luxury of being the face of these organizations, but I won’t take all the credit. There is always a team behind everything we do. I am surrounded by amazing, talented people and my amazing, talented family. Overall, I just feel so fortunate and so grateful to all the people I have met over my career and who allowed me to engage with them.”
Aubin says a very big thank you to his family – Stephanie, Kade and Josh – and to his extended family for their constant support, to the teams across the companies in the Blakhausens group, to the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and the EO Mavericks.
Aubin knows where his journey goes next – the same place where it has headed since day one.
“Continued impacts! I want to keep making a difference in the community – and beyond! I want to keep growing businesses, working with entrepreneurs and inspiring and being inspired by people. I want to keep creating opportunities for the team. I want to grow and learn. I am just so excited for the future!”
Years ago, a six-year old put a name to what was already becoming a movement. Today, quietly and humbly, Blakhausens continues to be a driving force behind brands, behind people and behind communities.
With the interview wrapped up, the curtain on the inner workings falls back into place and Aubin goes back to doing what he does best – being an incredible inspiration while helping to change lives.
Learn more online at www.blakhausens.com and keencreative.com.