Matt Lerner

SYSTM

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.

Founder & CEO

TransferGo

During my part-time interim role, our team more than doubled the YoY growth rate of acquisitions while lowering CPAs and improving retention and revenue per transaction. I also sourced their full-time VP Growth, and hired 4 other diverse and talented marketers to the team.

Interim VP of Growth

500 Startups

I led 500 Startups operations in London, investing in 35 seed-stage companies including Storemaven, SimplyCook, ZenJob, AirSorted, Popsa, Settled, Lexoo, Thriva, CharlieHR, HonestBrew, Fy and Second Nature. I also set up and ran the "Distro Dojo" growth marketing program for our portfolio companies in London and Berlin, which I was able to staff with a handful of the most extraordinary growth marketers in Europe.

Partner, London

PayPal

I led business-to-business marketing for PayPal UK, and oversaw the SMB/SME merchant business as a general manager.

Director, SMB

Created and lead PayPal’s first website marketing team, including conversion specialists, web analysts, developers, designers and writers. With a $3.5M budget, I oversee all business-facing areas of PayPal.com, driving over 85% of PayPal’s small business acquisition. The team boosted conversion (visitors to signups) in 2011 by 28%, generating an extra $67M over three years.

Director, On-Site Marketing

Built and managed a team of direct marketers who oversaw all marketing to PayPal’s existing small business customer base including activation, cross-sell and retention, generating $30M in incremental revenue.
+ Led pricing in North America.
+ Oversaw all marketing for the PayPal Debit Card, a $60M business, accelerating growth from 7% to 20% YoY in 12 months.
+ Deployed a propensity model targeting our most promising new customers with a high-touch “welcome” experience, boosting their value by 34% vs. control. The program generated an extra $11M in revenue in the first year and $55M over three years.

Group Manager, Merchant Engagement Marketing

Promoted within the same role, grew the team to 18. Developed processes & metrics around go-to-market. Oversaw the launch of many of PayPal’s most popular small business products.

Group Manager, Product Marketing

Built PayPal’s first outbound Product Marketing team. We oversaw all outbound B2B product marketing, launched a dozen major products and features.

Sr. Manager, Product Marketing

+ Originally hired to oversee developer marketing
+ Managed partner marketing through our shopping cart partners including GoDaddy and Yahoo!
+ Ran PayPal’s first consumer engagement campaigns
+ Launched Website Payments Pro, which currently generates over $100M revenue/year.

Marketing Manager

Macromedia

Brought Fireworks MX 2004 to market. The launch exceeded sales forecast by 20%. Planned subsequent release including researching and writing the MRD.

Product Manager

Visited 36 countries, wrote a book, climbed two 18,000 ft. Himalayan peaks, dove some of the world's best reefs, and learned to "think globally."

International Traveller

+ Led the successful development and launch of two products and discontinued a third product without alienating valuable customers.
+ Led demand generation among designers and developers for four of Macromedia’s largest launches including the flagship Dreamweaver product. Sales consistently beat forecasts. Tactics included print advertising, online media, direct mail (Harte Hanks) and email (Digital Impact) campaigns.

Product & Marketing Manager

Elemental Software

Poppe Tyson

Led B2B online marketing programs for clients including Novell Inc., Edward Jones Inc. and IDG.

Assistant Account Executive

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.

First Round Capital

Leading our editorial efforts, including the First Round Review, a long-form online magazine dedicated to sharing untapped knowledge and incredible insights that can transform the way people build companies.

Editorial

Writer

Evernote

Wrote some words, working on everything from longer-form blog posts and Medium articles to campaign concepts and email newsletters to tiny bits of copy for social channels and web pages.

Marketing Copywriter

McChrystal Group

• Ghostwrote bylined articles for firm’s senior leaders, (appearing in HBR.org, Inc, Fortune, Entrepreneur)
• Managed content marketing editorial calendar, drafting and editing posts for LinkedIn and Medium
• Developed brochures and in-depth white papers to assist in the sales process
• Managed firm’s social media presence (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook); new initiatives led to increased engagement and +4500 new followers; ran advertising campaigns
• Wrote speeches/keynote presentations for senior leaders
• Rewrote website copy, gaining WordPress and basic HTML/CSS experience

Marketing Associate/Staff Writer

Researcher, writer, and editor on General McChrystal’s 2015 New York Times bestseller, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

• Wrote sections of copy, conducted and synthesized research on various topics
• Edited and fact-checked entire manuscript, creating robust end-notes section and adhering to Chicago Manual of Style
• Coordinated with publishers on final pass efforts, including copyediting, layouts and cover design, logistics
• Assisted in publicity planning, talking points, media training, media tour, social media campaigns

Research/Writing Assistant

U.S. Department of Commerce

•Interned in the office of Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Europe and Eurasia, in the International Trade Administration’s Market Access and Compliance division.

Intern - Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Europe and Eurasia

U.S. Department of State

Interned at US Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia while studying abroad.

Public Affairs Intern

U.S. House of Representatives

Interned for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Legislative Intern

Interned at US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary.

Political/Economics Intern

Editorial at First Round Capital

Storyteller with extensive experience in communications and content. Whether it's writing long-form profiles, ghostwriting, interviewing, editing, comms and messaging, or social media management, I've spent my career helping tech companies, executives, and leaders tell their stories.

Jessi Craige Shikman

Any time I have to name anything (a new series, program etc.) the first person I turn to is Arielle Jackson. She is a naming whiz and is spilling all her secrets in a detailed guide on The Review today so more founders can DIY naming.

Open article: What’s in a Name? A Lot, Actually. Here’s How to Pick the Right One For Your Company by review.firstround.com

What’s in a Name? A Lot, Actually. Here’s How to Pick the Right One For Your Company

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