Serial Entrepreneur (2 exits) & Growth Advisor • Founded AllPaws (Sold to PetSmart) • Co-Founded Saturday App & Snap Interactive (100m users & $100m revenue)

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗠 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 & $𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗠 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 • 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿 𝘄/ 𝟮 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘀 • 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Serial tech entrepreneur, business operator, and strategic advisor with deep experience starting and growing consumer-digital businesses. 

As a growth and product-driven startup founder, I have a proven track record of building and growing innovative products used by millions. I have achieved successful exits while overseeing multiple C-Level executive roles for publicly traded, growth stage, and venture-backed startups. I have a bias for action and a passion for solving big problems. Proven ability to innovate and deliver rapid revenue and user growth. 

At the intersection of my passion for pets and online dating expertise, I co-founded AllPaws. This innovative, online dating-style pet adoption platform quickly gained millions of users and was acquired by the pet industry leader, PetSmart. 

Before that, as co-founder I helped build and lead publicly traded SNAP Interactive from inception to rank as the 36th fastest growing technology company in North America with 4,400% revenue growth over 5 years, $20 million+ in annual revenue, and over 100 million users of our online dating apps and social products. 

Today, I advise businesses and startups on optimizing their digital and product growth strategies. Additionally, I coach entrepreneurs and business leaders on building high-income personal brands, and advise top influencers, models, and creators on growing and monetizing their audiences.

I continue to work on new projects, explore new opportunities, and advise. 

Been featured in ABC News, Bloomberg, Good Morning America, TechCrunch, Fox 5 News,  Huffington Post, Mashable, Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, and many other top tier publications. 

SPECIALTIES: Growth, Optimization, Digital Strategy, Product Strategy, Personal Branding 

Start-ups | Digital Strategy | General Management | Product Strategy and Development |  Rapid Revenue Growth | Strategic Vision | User Growth & User Acquisition | Marketplaces | Business Strategy | Business Operator | Problem-Solving | Business Operations (CEO, COO, GM) | Product Management | Conversion Optimization | A/B Testing | Web and Mobile Analytics | Mobile Applications | Mobile Growth | iTunes App Store Optimization | e-Commerce | Social Media Marketing & Strategy | M&A Process | Pet Industry | Online Dating Apps

Darrell Lerner

The key to growing a startup in 3 steps.

Test → Learn → Iterate

Then double down on what’s working.

Tight feedback cycles let you gather data and make progress as quickly as possible.

(Quick clip from a podcast I did with Adam Metwally on growth + why virality is harder than people think.)

But here’s the part nobody really wants to admit:

You can’t really “engineer” virality.

Everyone thinks they know what will go viral…

until they post something they’re sure will rip, and it flops.

Then they post something random…

and it takes off...

That’s why “going viral” isn’t a strategy.

The right systems are.

You can’t force outcomes.

But you can run enough reps to find them.

That’s how you win in growth when there’s no formula.

The winners don’t predict virality. They build systems that find it.

What’s the most surprising post you’ve ever had take off?

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🔔 Follow me Darrell Lerner for more on entrepreneurship, startups, personal branding, and mindset.

2x Exited Founder & Growth Advisor • Built AllPaws (Acquired by PetSmart) • Co-Founded SNAP Interactive (100m users & $100m revenue)

I tackle Burnout at the Root with proven methods to 2x your time, and maximize productivity | Certified Counselor | Public Speaker | Podcast Host | Sub to my newsletter in my featured section ⬇️

For as long as I can remember, I lived to please others and rarely gave any resistance to the demands of those around me. This led to chronic procrastination, perfectionism, horrible boundaries, and various addictions to numb the pain.

Burnout was a way of life for me. As a manager, I found myself not wanting to delegate tasks for fear that the output wouldn't fit my perfect vision.

Operating out of a fear of rejection, colored all of my interactions with others.

As an employee, second guessing all interactions and never saying no to any projects.

This constant pressure from all sides had become a mental prison, which lead to seeking unhealthy outlets and addictions to numb the pain that I refused to address. 

I learned alot about my triggers, behavior patterns, but also specific to harness them and use them for maximum productivity. 

You’re over capacity because:

❌️ Fear of rejection is your primary motivation, it will lead to decision fatigue and analysis paralysis

❌️ Your thoughts are always riveting by over-calculating every scenario at work and home in hopes of perfection

❌️ You put yourself last, but are full of resentment and bitterness

❌️ You place unrealistic demands on yourself, team, and potential clients

❌️ You experience turnover in personal and professional relationships, because you go overboard in trying to prevent it

I was willing to go to these places to find out the WHY behind my WHAT, and it dramatically changed my recovery and the system I developed for individual clients and organizations.

Here’s how my proven process for Tech Executives and organizations works, We: 

✅️ Get to the root of the mindset behind the behavior, through pin-point analysis 

✅️ Assign work tailored to building atomic habits that establish both (personal & professional boundaries)

✅️ Focus on unlearning cyclical habits of communication on all levels of leadership

✅️ Change unhealthy outlets that hinder professional productivity and personal mental health

✅️ Achieve solid communication with self, peers, teammates, staff and family that reduces stress, resentment, turnover, and helps you take calculated risks with confidence.

If this resonates with you, let's schedule a 30-minute discovery call to begin your journey. 

Visit my website: https://listenthenspeak.com/ for more insight. 

Let's get lasting results, one leader and one team at a time.

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