Matt Lerner is the Founder and CEO at SYSTM, a startup coaching consultancy that helps high-potential companies grow their business. Matt also authored the book “Growth Levers”, which shares his framework that's helped over 200 seed-stage startups grow as much as 100x. Previously, Matt was on the early growth team at PayPal, a partner at 500 Startups, and a guest lecturer at Stanford Business School.
-
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- Understanding the key drivers of startup success
- Applying the Growth Lever framework
- Several case studies
- Customer-centric growth tactics
- Adapting growth levers for different business models
-
Referenced:
-
Where to find Matt Lerner:
-
Where to find Brett Berson:
-
Where to find First Round Capital:
-
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(03:11) The hidden truth about startup success
(05:10) Popsa's journey: A case study in growth
(07:31) Breaking down the growth lever framework
(11:30) Understanding the customer's journey
(14:14) The art of customer interviews
(18:07) Unlocking growth through customer insights
(24:23) The triple threat: Founder failure modes
(27:32) The power of founder-led growth strategies
(32:42) Unlocking growth bottlenecks
(36:40) Timing and implementation of growth strategies
(39:43) Founder red flags
(41:32) Crafting effective growth experiments
(43:14) Why customer mindset is the ultimate growth driver
(46:19) The power law of business
(48:59) Why startups don’t need paid marketing
(50:47) Growth levers for sales-driven companies
(53:43) Matt's own application of growth principles
(55:39) Growth levers in B2B sales
(57:05) Finding customer "locksmith moments"
(64:08) The mentor who shaped Matt's thinking
