# Matt Lerner

> Matt Lerner is the founder and CEO of SYSTM, a growth coaching and accelerator program for seed-stage startups. A former PayPal GM who helped grow the SMB business from $800M to $10B+, and ex-500 Startups partner who ran the Distro Dojo growth program in London, he now works personally with up to 80 founders per year helping them find their growth levers. He is the author of 'Growth Levers and How to Find Them,' an international bestseller advocating that 10% of what startups try drives 90% of their growth.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at SYSTM
- **Organizations:** SYSTM, 500 Startups, PayPal
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Built PayPal's first website marketing team, driving 85%+ of SMB acquisition and generating $67M over 3 years, Helped grow PayPal's SMB/B2B business from $800M to $10B+ during his tenure, Founded and ran 500 Startups' Distro Dojo - Europe's first structured growth program for post-seed startups

## Career timeline

- **pre-1998** — Early Silicon Valley career as growth marketer and general manager
- **1998** — First company exit
- **2004** — Joined PayPal as Marketing Manager; built PayPal's first website marketing team
- **2004-2015** — Rose to GM of PayPal's SMB/B2B business ($800M+); drove 85%+ of SMB acquisition; generated $67M over 3 years from marketing team. PayPal grew from ~$800M to $10B+ in annual revenue during tenure
- **2015** — Joined 500 Startups as Partner in London; founded and ran the 'Distro Dojo' growth accelerator program
- **2015-2018** — Invested in 35 seed-stage companies at 500 Startups; portfolio averaged 250% YoY growth
- **2018** — Left 500 Startups full-time role; founded Heretix (later renamed Startup Core Strengths, then SYSTM)
- **2022** — Rebranded company to SYSTM
- **2024** — Published 'Growth Levers and How to Find Them' - became an international bestseller
- **2024-present** — Running SYSTM; working personally with up to 80 founders per year across 10-week programs; 200+ startups coached to date

## Achievements

- Built PayPal's first website marketing team, driving 85%+ of SMB acquisition and generating $67M over 3 years
- Helped grow PayPal's SMB/B2B business from $800M to $10B+ during his tenure
- Founded and ran 500 Startups' Distro Dojo - Europe's first structured growth program for post-seed startups
- Invested in 35 seed-stage companies at 500 Startups; portfolio averaged 250% YoY growth
- Founded SYSTM, coaching 200+ seed-stage startups, many growing 10-100x
- Published international bestseller 'Growth Levers and How to Find Them'
- Guest lecturer at Stanford Business School, Harvard, Imperial College London, LSE, and Berkeley
- Had 2 exits as an entrepreneur before corporate career

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Published 'Growth Levers and How to Find Them' - international bestseller
- **2024-06** — Appeared on First Round Review podcast discussing growth levers framework
- **2025-01** — Continuing to run SYSTM 10-week growth programs, having now coached 200+ startups

## Links

- Website: https://www.systm.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewlerner/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/matthlerner

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/matt-lerner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-26