Matt Lerner

Startup growth strategist, Ex PayPal, 500 Startups VC, Founder @ SYSTM

I founded SYSTM to help startups find their big growth levers - the small actions that can have the biggest impact on their growth. We’ve worked with over 200 companies and earned a 96% founder “likely to recommend” score.

Before founding SYSTM, I was the London-based Partner of 500 Startups, an early-stage VC fund, where I built and ran an accelerator seed-stage growth program for our portfolio companies.

Prior to joining 500 Startups, I worked for many years building and managing growth teams for three  startups (two disasters, one exit), and later at PayPal. 

I approach my work first as a general manager and then as a marketer, product manager or both, as needed. My lens is quantitative, but rooted in deep customer insights and testing, and based on fast iteration. I’m always learning, and I really enjoy teaching and helping those around me to learn and improve. Skip to the references below, you'll see that I'm regarded as a thought leader in many areas of business, and an inspiring people manager who reliably delivers ahead of expectations.

Founder & CEO

At SYSTM (formerly Startup Core Strengths), our mission is to help early-stage startups find their big growth levers (and pull them). We've noticed that great startups don't waste time on small stuff, so we  focus everyone on the most impactful work.

Magnus Carlsen has a coach.

So does Serena Williams.

And Lewis Hamilton.

Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods – all had coaches.

Asking for coaching doesn’t signal weakness.

It signals a hunger.

Founder @ SYSTM, Ex PayPal, 500 Startups VC

What your founder secretly wants from you.
I climbed from doing marketing scut work to running an $800 million business when I figured out one thing…

Founders desperately want to promote you.

They'd love nothing more than for you to run part of their business, if they believed you could do it well.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰

Early in my career, I started working for a guy we’ll call Alex. He was 28 years old, and running the largest division of a publicly traded tech company. (I was 27) 

I kept asking myself, "Why is he the VP, and I'm just a marketer?" I studied his every move.

In C-level meetings, he spoke like he owned the business. He talked about the work I was doing, but took it 10% further – connecting it to shareholder outcomes – revenue and growth.

Nothing esoteric. He just drew a line from my work to revenue, growth and profit.

So I did some digging to find out where this wunderkind got his MBA.

Turns out he didn't have one. Just a Bachelor of Arts. In theater. 

That's when it clicked: Alex wasn't running a business because of some credential, he was running a business because he played the part – he thought and spoke like a business owner.

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲
All I did was shift to an owner’s perspective. For example:

• Instead of "We increased engagement by 20%," I'd say: "We're retaining 20% more customers in month 2 – if it holds, that's $2M ARR over 24 months."

• Instead of test results, I'd share insights: "We learned that customers aren't price sensitive if they understand our value."

• Instead of optimizing channels, I'd think in systems: "Meta users have better retention than affiliates, so we’ll shift affiliate spend to Meta."

That’s all.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁
It worked. Within six months, I was getting invited to strategy meetings. Finance people started asking for my input, and defending my work when I wasn't in the room. 

Promotions came. Eventually I worked my way up to that GM role – running a nine-figure business at PayPal.

𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢
Imagine your CEO's point of view – Busy and overwhelmed. They don't want to micromanage you! They’d love to hand you more responsibility. They pay recruiters massive fees to find people who think like owners.

You could be that person.

Just do that last 10%: Think like an owner. Talk like an owner. Become an owner.

Helpful? Re-post to pay it forward to your network.

This is weird... 

Products make up only 16% of GDP, but 47% of stock market earnings.

And services are 72% of GDP but only 53% of stock market earnings.

Why is that?

I have a theory... 

Product companies only work at scale – logistics, sourcing, volume discounts, mass production, distribution deals, expensive to develop new products.

They're just not viable below a certain size. That's why most D2C startups end up getting acquired by big companies. When they do IPO, it usually fails (e.g. GoPro, FitBit, Peloton, Sonos)

But services businesses can be viable, even profitable, at micro-scale: Law firms, ad agencies, nail salons, medical practices, consultants and accountants – don't need money from public markets.

But services don't IPO, because they can't scale revenue independent of headcount. A law firm rents out lawyers, a radiology practice rents out radiologists.

Until now.

AI breaks the fixed relationship between revenue and headcount in services businesses – profits can scale far ahead of salaries and other fixed costs.

That's why VC and Private equity are snapping up small local medical practices. And boutique law firms, agencies, tax preparers... will all get rolled up, or rolled over, soon.

There's a lot at stake – 72% of GDP!

Are you working in a services firm? Because AI adoption is a matter of life and death.

They didn't forget; they objected.

Instead of "activation" or "abandonment" emails, try this...

People don't abandon checkouts and free trials because they 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵, they abandon because they 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵. 

Instead of sending “reminders,” figure out 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 and address the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 – Not just in your emails, but at the root cause, before they abandon.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
If you ask ChatGPT, it'll tell you to offer free shipping and enable guest checkout – but you know it’s not that simple. Fixing “process friction” will only get you so far – most abandonment is caused by 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, like an unanswered question or a nagging doubt.

𝟲 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺)

1. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Is it compatible with…? Does it do X thing? 
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Live chat & detailed Q&A
   
2. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 [𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹]?  
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Show the main use cases, testimonials with specific results
   
3. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁? Or forget it but keep getting billed? 
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Generous cancellation / return policies
   
4. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – What will my boss / team / spouse think?  
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Give them a story to justify the purchase to themselves (e.g. “it's cheaper in the long-run” or “you only live once.”)
   
5. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲? (e.g. Coders, non-native speakers, gen Z women?)
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Say & show who it’s for
   
6. 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 – They are switching from their last product for a reason, so they need to believe your product won't have that flaw.
   𝗙𝗶𝘅: Position against your competitor’s flaw (e.g. “99.999% availability,” or “24/7 live support.”)

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

Don't speculate. Ask your 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴: 
1. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 – “What are the main objections you hear from prospects?”
2. 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 – “What made you almost not buy?”

Prospects who abandoned probably had 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 as the ones who bought.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲
Many people will say they’ve “been too busy.” That’s bullsh*t. Reality: either they don’t understand how it helps, your product or site confused them, or they don’t actually need it.

Helpful? Re-post to help others in your network.

Co-Founder & CMO at Better Nature Tempeh 🌟

Hi! I’m Elin. I co-run Better Nature - we're on a mission to SAVE the world from so-so protein, chicken, and get everyone eating SUPERCHARGED protein, tempeh. Learn more here: betternaturetempeh.co 

When I’m not chewing your ears off about the latest at Better Nature, why we all need to be eating better protein or sharing my hundreds of learnings over the years, I talk about how supercharging your life supercharges your business.

To me, supercharging your life means living a life that’s fun, energising, healthy, interesting and purposeful - in the way that works for you. 

As a founder, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that prioritising this has on running a business. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum, and the difference in how I've felt in myself and how my business has fared has been huge. 

As a founder, an EMCC-certified Executive Coach, a former counselling student, and an Experimental Psychology graduate, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to supercharge our lives. And wondered why it's not more prioritised in the business world. 

I want to change that. I'd love for you to join me.

Elin Roberts

What a way to kick off 2026!

I've been waiting to share this for months...

Introducing Better Nature's brand new look & range 🤩

We've made some BIG changes...

⭐ New logo

⭐ New packaging

⭐ Consolidating of the range (no more Pieces)

⭐ A brand new zingy flavour to help give chicken the night off: Peri Peri 🔥

Last year was a big year of listening, learning and growing.

It often felt uncomfortable and at times pretty sad (our old packaging was my baby!).

But we knew things had to change.

To achieve our mission to get millions of people in the UK and beyond to give chicken the night off.

We needed to:

⭐ Stand out better on shelf

⭐ Make our proposition clearer and more appealing

⭐ Showcase just how delicious and easy to cook our products are

⭐ Make our range easier to shop

⭐ Be bolder about being a supercharged chicken swap

⭐ Bring our joyful, energetic, supercharged brand to life

Quite the challenge...

So we set to work.

Through the hard work, creativity, insight and courage of Noora Pärssinen, Ursa Dornik, Victoria Harrison, Ruby Smith, Fabio Rinaldo, Helen Atkinson, Dr. Ando Ahnan-Winarno, Christopher Kong, Eluney González, the fab team at White Rabbit Creative Ltd., the wonderful Tessa Stuart and our excellent partners and advisors, we've created a refreshed look and range that I'm really proud of.

Through all the consumer feedback we've gathered throughout the process (a lot!!), I'm confident we've nailed the brief.

And I cannot wait to see the results!

Watch this space 🤩

PS. Peri Peri is now in 226 Tesco stores across the country and Mediterranean is now in 526 Tesco stores as well as Ocado Retail 🔥

PPS. Big thanks to Packshot Factory Ltd for our brilliant front of pack images and Amy Grover and Vicki Smallwood for our gorgeous new brand imagery. Very lucky to be working with such talented people.

Co-Founder & CEO at Better Nature 🌟 I Forbes 30U30 I Qualified Executive Coach

BIG news. We've made the Startups.co.uk 100 🤩

I’ve followed this list for years.  

Quietly admiring from the sidelines.  

Watching some seriously brilliant start-ups make their way onto it.

Knowing this is the go-to list for the UK's bright stars of the future. 

Big dogs from Deliveroo to Monzo Bank have featured.

So to be on here ourselves feels very surreal! 

Especially as we're alongside some fab other brands like Bold Bean Co | B Corp™, STOCKED and JUX Food. 

The recognition means a lot.

Obviously we wouldn't have got here without the best team, advisors and partners. 

I feel lucky every day to work with such an incredible bunch of people. 

Especially Dr. Ando Ahnan-Winarno - thanks for everything, including making the killer Teriyaki Tempeh we're enjoying in this photo 😋

2026 is going to be a big one! 🔥

Another hot take from me 🫣 

I was quite outspoken about Better Nature no longer shouting about Veganuary last year. 

At the time, it felt really scary - it didn't feel like an opinion I'd heard much before. 

Especially from someone who is a huge advocate for plant-based food. 

I was SO nervous about being misunderstood. 

As if I was just trying to be as outrageous as possible to grab headlines. 

But I knew what I was trying to do - to help normalise, not other, plant-based foods - and so I persevered. 

Well, now I'm back with another one. 

I don't think we should have a plant-based aisle. 

The biggest challenge for a lot of plant-based products isn't that there isn't interest in or demand for them (despite what some media may try to suggest!). 

It's that a lot of people just don't see us 😭

They never make the journey down the plant-based aisle. 

Because they see it having weird alternatives, not everyday staples. 

This is especially challenging for proteins like tempeh, which has a similar protein content to chicken and is 100% natural. 

It's also Indonesia's most highly consumed protein. 

This is not a plant-based alternative - it's a protein - and the sooner supermarkets reflect this, the sooner it can have much more mainstream adoption. 

Thank you to the The Grocer for letting me share this and Amanda Thurston for organising. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the article. Read here: https://lnkd.in/edjp5Egx

We just placed one of the biggest bets we’ve ever made 🤯

A rebrand. 

Ours was a brand evolution rather than a revolution. 

But I'm not sure that made it that much easier or quicker. 

We still spent hours upon hours planning the project. 

Obsessing over every final detail. 

Doing SO much consumer research. 

We had to deprioritise a lot of other things to give this the time and focus it needed. 

And we paid the price in many ways. 

But we were confident enough that it was worth it. 

That it was going to pay off - in a big way. 

At the end of the day, it was a bet. 

With a bet, no matter how much research you do, you can never be 100% sure it's the right one. 

You just need to go off your best instinct, and this was ours. 

Now it's out in the world, I'm equal parts excited and terrified. 

The feedback so far has been brilliant, but the proof of our bet will come over the next few months... 

Let's see if we've hit the jackpot 🔥

What do you think?

Who needs Nando's?! 

When you can get all the benefits of chicken: 44g protein per pack, versatile, a firm meaty bite and cooks in 5 mins. 

With a flavour you love: a zingy Peri Peri marinade that livens up wraps and bowls 🔥

And lots of supercharged benefits: gut-friendly, high in fibre and 100% natural 🤩

Our brand new Better Nature Peri Peri Tempeh is now available in 226 Tesco stores. 

Another milestone in our mission to give chicken the night off. 

I'm really proud of this one. 

Big well done to Fabio Rinaldo for making it so delicious. 

If you try it, please do let me know what you think 🌟

Not every day you get to celebrate a friend launching their THIRD cookbook 🤩
 
Very proud of my wonderful friend and certified miso queen, Bonnie Chung, for the launch of MISO. 
 
Being at the launch party last night made me reflect on just how much this book represents. 

Not just a cookbook, but a decade of hard work, belief and perseverance.
 
Because trying to get people to care about a food they don’t yet know... 

It’s slow.

It’s exhausting.  

And at times, it feels pretty hopeless.
 
But when you know it's game-changing - miso for flavour, tempeh for protein - you keep going. You have to.
 
Seeing Bonnie rework this book to show how far miso has come in the last 10 years is incredibly special. 

Miso is well and truly in the mainstream. 

Alongside other advocates around the world, she’s played a huge part in that shift.
 
Bonnie, thank you for being a constant source of inspiration, support, kindness and joy ❤️
 
Now please do the right thing and go buy this book! https://lnkd.in/eXnBSzMj

I used to dream of articles like this 🤩

For so many years, they felt so far off. 

"What's tempeh? Never heard of it" 

"It will take a long time for that to catch on" 

"I wouldn't even bother with the supermarkets, they won't be interested" 

"Surely you should diversify?"

But the tide is FINALLY turning. 

People are paying tempeh the attention it deserves. 

Thanks so much to Dene Mullen at The Grocer for this fab feature about tofu vs tempeh. 

And for asking for my views on it! 

Both excellent protein sources but of course, tempeh pips tofu to the post for me.

I appreciate it's much a smaller market for now, but I think the pace of growth will only increase. 

As I say in the article: 

"We love tofu, but it can't challenge chicken - the UK's most popular protein - like tempeh can. 

A lot of people have made up their minds about tofu, whereas tempeh has a mostly clean slate. 

It'll take some time for tempeh to grow beyond tofu, but I'm confident." 

Watch this space 🔥

I love seeing our team members flourish 🤩

A big well done to Ruby Smith for featuring on The Grocer.

As founders, we get a lot of the spotlight. 

But so much of the important work that goes on to build a brand happens behind the scenes. 

Done by hard-working, creative, passionate, switched on and energetic people like Ruby. 

We're very lucky to have her in the Better Nature team. 

I love that Charles Wright showcases the experiences of team members. As do people like Mitch Lee ❄️🫐 with The Unfounders.  

I also like that it demystifies what it's like to work in food & drink which can feel like quite an opaque industry. 

I certainly had no clue what to expect before starting Better Nature. 

It's a fab read, I hope you enjoy: https://lnkd.in/e4ZpJJWm

I was on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning?! 🤯

Speaking to Will Bain on his Wake Up To Money programme. 

At the ungodly hour of 5:50am 🥴

I was talking all about the plant-based category, where it's been and where it's going. 

For those who follow me on here, what I shared won't surprise you: 

⭐ We're moving away from seeing foods as vegan and non-vegan

⭐ We're instead looking for added-value foods: high-protein, natural, high-fibre, gut-friendly 

⭐ The future is championing these added-value plant-based proteins (tempeh, tofu, beans), not othering them

⭐ Last but not least, why tempeh is so incredible - supercharged protein! 

Moments like this remind me how far I've come... 

Firstly, people actually care about my opinions on this!

Secondly, I spoke comfortably and confidently doing something I would have been very daunted to do a few years ago. 

Feeling proud and grateful. 

And very tired and ready for the weekend 😅

If you'd like to give it a listen, you can here (I speak about 47 mins in, though plenty of good stuff before then too): https://lnkd.in/eGUBnjAZ

Happy Friday!

11.5k followers in less than 4 months 🤯

SO proud of my brilliant co-founder Dr. Ando Ahnan-Winarno for managing to grow his Protein Doctor account so quickly. 

Last year, we reflected that we weren't making the most of Ando's expertise. 

He's a food scientist, a protein expert and one of the leading voices on tempeh across the world. 

What an incredible brand asset. 

However, we weren't pitching his knowledge in the right way. 

We needed to make it more accessible to our target consumers. 

So, with the expert guidance of our social media queen Ruby Smith and the vision from our PR superstar Amanda Thurston, we got to work. 

From there, The Protein Doctor was born ⭐

Protein science, simplified. 

What have we got right with protein? What have we got wrong? What can we do better? 

Ando explains all this and more, in a clear and easy to understand way. 

Always speaking objectively, but of course mentioning tempeh - what he believes to be the healthiest in the world - when relevant. 

Helping to grow its awareness among his growing followers. 

I can't wait to see how it continues to grow in 2026 - watch this space 🤩

I have got so many things wrong with the Better Nature brand 🫠

The list really does go on and on. 

It's tempting to berate myself, especially when I see some brands that seem to nail it right off the bat. 

But I remind myself that: 

1) We're bringing a food that most people haven't heard of into the mainstream - not a easy job at all

2) Making mistakes is how we learn and grow - something I feel very lucky to do

3) It's easy to hide away from the mistakes but I'm proud that instead we lean into them and make changes

4) Me talking about our mistakes will hopefully help other people avoid the same and save lots of time and money

I loved chatting all things brand with David Endersen on his Bear Mind podcast. 

When we recorded this, we were in the early stages of our rebrand. 

We had finally nailed our brand proposition but our branding didn't reflect this. Until now. 

It reminds me just how far we've come in a short space of time. 

Always learning, growing, evolving, and bringing our supercharged brand to life in everything we do. 

I hope you'll enjoy giving it a listen: https://lnkd.in/eYME9aCu 🌟

Team traditions build culture 🤩
 
About 3 years ago, we started a simple one: Thursday team lunch.
 
Paid for by Better Nature.  

Booked out in the diary (bar emergencies).  

Non-negotiable together time.
 
It’s our weekly pause to catch up, laugh, decompress - and obviously explore everything Deliveroo has to offer.
 
It’s honestly become one of my favourite parts of the week.  

I get very excited about what we’re eating that day and spending quality time with the team. 
 
Shout-out to Ruby Smith for flawlessly coordinating orders for a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 diverse palates (looking at you, Dr. Ando and your unwavering aversion to salads 😄).
 
Small tradition.  

Big impact on connection, culture and energy.
 
What team traditions have you built that you’d never want to lose?

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