# Matt Curl

> Matt Curl is the CEO of Apollo.io, the AI-native go-to-market platform approaching $200M ARR with nearly 100,000 paying customers. A career operator who scaled companies from seed to exit at Fivestars and led product launches at Checkr before joining Apollo as COO in 2024, Curl was elevated to CEO in February 2026 after effectively running the company for a year. His thesis: AI should not merely recommend - it should act.

- **Role:** CEO at Apollo.io
- **Organizations:** Apollo.io, Checkr, Tessera Data, Fivestars
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BBA in Management Information Systems, Texas A&M University
- **Known for:** Scaled Fivestars sales team from 20 to 225 people from seed stage to $317M acquisition, Launched Checkr Self Serve, growing it to over 100,000 unique customers, Served as CEO of Tessera Data, a Checkr subsidiary formed from four acquisitions

## Career timeline

- **pre-2018** — SVP of Operations at Fivestars (Y Combinator-backed), growing company from seed round; built sales team from 20 to 225 people over ~4 years
- **2018** — Fivestars acquired by SumUp for $317 million
- **2018-2023** — SVP and General Manager at Checkr ($5B consumer reporting agency); launched Checkr Self Serve to 100,000+ customers; served as CEO of Tessera Data, a Checkr subsidiary
- **2019-2020** — Began advising Apollo.io, building relationship with founder Tim Zheng
- **2024-07** — Joined Apollo.io full-time as Chief Operating Officer (COO)
- **2026-02** — Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Apollo.io; Tim Zheng becomes Chairman

## Achievements

- Scaled Fivestars sales team from 20 to 225 people from seed stage to $317M acquisition
- Launched Checkr Self Serve, growing it to over 100,000 unique customers
- Served as CEO of Tessera Data, a Checkr subsidiary formed from four acquisitions
- Led Apollo.io to its best month, best Q4, and best fiscal year on record as COO
- Drove Apollo.io to nearly $200M ARR with nearly 100,000 paying customers
- Achieved 5x growth at Apollo since the Series D while maintaining capital efficiency
- Accelerated growth at scale while improving profit margins at Apollo.io

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Appointed CEO of Apollo.io; Tim Zheng transitions to Chairman of the Board
- **2026-02** — Apollo.io reported its strongest January, Q4, and fiscal year on record under Curl's leadership
- **2024-07** — Joined Apollo.io full-time as first-ever Chief Operating Officer

## Links

- Website: https://apollo.io
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-curl-51470714

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/matt-curl
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16