Matt Lerner

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.

Founder & CEO

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.

Co-Founder & CMO at Better Nature Tempeh 🌟

Hi! I’m Elin. I co-run Better Nature - we're on a mission to SAVE the world from so-so protein, chicken, and get everyone eating SUPERCHARGED protein, tempeh. Learn more here: betternaturetempeh.co 

When I’m not chewing your ears off about the latest at Better Nature, why we all need to be eating better protein or sharing my hundreds of learnings over the years, I talk about how supercharging your life supercharges your business.

To me, supercharging your life means living a life that’s fun, energising, healthy, interesting and purposeful - in the way that works for you. 

As a founder, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that prioritising this has on running a business. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum, and the difference in how I've felt in myself and how my business has fared has been huge. 

As a founder, an EMCC-certified Executive Coach, a former counselling student, and an Experimental Psychology graduate, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to supercharge our lives. And wondered why it's not more prioritised in the business world. 

I want to change that. I'd love for you to join me.

Elin Roberts

Is this what being famous feels like?! 🤯 

BUY WOMEN BUILT x Whole Foods Market - you really know how to make an impact. 

What a morning we had yesterday.  

Being part of this campaign felt incredibly special. 

Surrounded by brilliant founders, their powerhouse teams, and the amazing BWB and WFM crews who brought it all to life. 

The message was loud and clear: female-founded brands are not just here, we’re thriving. 

And I'm not surprised! So many of my favourite brands are female-founded.  

Bold Bean Co | B Corp™ 
Bio&Me I B Corp  
Citizens of Soil | B Corp 
The Cultured Collective 
FIX8 
Kinda Co. 
JUX Food 
Miso Tasty 
Superfoodio 
Woolf's Kitchen 

And many more!  

To see my own picture and video up in lights alongside them felt surreal. 

I still remember wandering the aisles of Whole Foods in the early days, studying the shelves, obsessing over the innovation, dreaming about what might be possible. 

Back then, I was just hoping we’d make it onto a shelf. 

Now we’re part of a campaign championing female founders.

Showing the world what women can build!  

Huge thank you to Sahar Hashemi OBE Maddie Pirrie Georgina Pilkington Serena Slatter and Amisha Mody for the energy, passion and belief you pour into this movement. It genuinely means the world to brands like ours. 

If you care about backing bold, brilliant female founders… 

Go Buy Women Built ⭐

Co-Founder & CEO at Better Nature 🌟 I Forbes 30U30 I Qualified Executive Coach

I'm loving the energy around this IWD 🤩

Fewer empty words about exceptional women in our lives. 

Delivered with the best of intentions, but with limited impact as soon as the day/week is over. 

And much more action in getting more equality in business, through giving female founders the visibility and love they deserve. 

To help them drive their businesses forward. 

Because we know it works! 

BUY WOMEN BUILT interviewed 2000 consumers last year.

51% would shop more female-founded brands if they were clearly signposted - that's big! 

The desire is there, we just need to help people make the purchase. 

Well done ad thank you to Tesco, Ocado Retail, Whole Foods Market , Planet Organic and more for putting so much effort into this campaign.

A big shout out to my lovely friend Rachel Kettlewell 🍓 from Fearne & Rosie ®️ | B Corp for her secondary space in Tesco - how great does it look?! 

And thank you to BUY WOMEN BUILT, Ocado Retail, Rothschild & Co for a great evening on Tuesday, and for my very own BUY WOMEN BUILT x Anya Hindmarch x Ocado Retail Universal bag - loving it!

Now looking forward to more activations all year round... Watch this space. 

So what are you waiting for?! Go Buy Women Built ⭐

Co-Founder & CEO at Better Nature 🌟 I Forbes 30U30 I Great British Entrepreneur Awards ’25 Finalist I Great British Businesswoman Awards ’25 Finalist I Qualified Executive Coach

Wonderful news 🤩

Big well done to Tesco and their brilliant buying teams of past and present, and all the other fab brands in our category, on this achievement. 

It's no secret that it's been a really challenging few years for the plant-based category. 

Slowing demand, massive generalisations and confusing propositions. 

Fortunately, Better Nature has remained in growth throughout but it's not been easy.

(Also helped that we were starting from a smaller base than the bigger brands) 

We've had to intimately get to know our consumers and ensure we deliver on what they really care about: health, taste and value for money. 

We've had to be bold about not being an alternative, or purely for vegans and vegetarians, but being a nutritious, delicious - supercharged! - protein in our own right. 

We've had to make sure our product really delivers as a versatile, chicken swap. 

There's still a long way to go to normalise proteins like tempeh. 

So anyone who wants to eat better protein can choose to give chicken the night off and try Better Nature instead. 

But I'm taking this news as a hugely positive step in the right direction ⭐

A new superstar has joined Better Nature 🤩

Welcoming Collin Jiri as our brilliant new NAM. 

From the world of chicken at 2 Sisters, he's joined the bright side and is ready to give chicken the night off 😉

Helen, the team and I were so impressed by Collin throughout his hiring process. 

He's calm, kind, proactive, curious, switched on, relationships-driven, numbers-savvy, retailer-obsessed and a genuinely lovely person to work with. 

I'm thrilled that he's agreed to join us on this journey and can't wait to see the impact he will have. 

Have a great week everyone!

I never thought I'd be so excited about a middle shelf 😂

Before working in FMCG, I didn't give a single thought to shelf position. 

I had no idea how much it was discussed behind the scenes. 

Or how hard won it was, especially for smaller brands. 

Oh how things change... 

Seeing SO many Better Nature packs side by side, on the middle shelf is a dream. 

One I couldn't really have imagined a few years ago. 

A position like this is not assumed.   

You often start right at the top or bottom corner, where no one except you, your team and your family will find you 😅  

But slowly but surely, as you grow, you shift ever closer to people's eye line.

In the hope they'll spot you. 

That’s where someone decides, on a random Tuesday, to try something new.

Improving shelf stand out was another big reason for our rebrand.   

Our previous pack was fading into the background and wasn't jumping out the shelf. 

And with a shelf position like this, we couldn't take that risk.

We had to make sure there was no missing it.   

To draw in more and more people to give chicken the night off.   

Do you think it's worked?! 

A big thank you to our fab buying team at Tesco and a big well done to the whole team but especially Helen Atkinson on making this a reality ⭐

I emailed the CEO of Nando's UK & IRE....

To ask them to put Better Nature Peri Peri Tempeh on the menu 👀

Because we genuinely love what Nando’s has built.

A “cheeky Nando's” isn’t just dinner, it’s practically a national ritual.

But what about the nights where people don’t fancy… more chicken? 

Yet still want that fiery Nando’s goodness?

Our Peri Peri Tempeh was made for Nando's grills.

It chars. It holds flavour amazingly.

And nutritionally, it delivers similar protein to chicken but is supercharged with fibre and gut-friendly goodness.

I haven't had a reply yet... 

So we took to the streets.

We stood outside Nando’s with samples of our new Peri Peri Tempeh and one simple message:

Give chicken the night off.

Because if challenger brands want to change food culture, we can’t just wait for permission.

We have to challenge the default.

So Mark...

When’s Peri Peri Tempeh going on the menu? 👀

My most asked question...

“What is tempeh?!”
 
At events. 

At the doctor (yes, that's happened multiple times). 

In my DMs. 

At dinner parties. 

From my Uber driver.
 
As you can imagine, I get asked this approximately 20,439 times a week 😅
 
It does get a bit tiring, but I love it. 
 
Because behind that question is genuine curiosity, and curiosity is where change starts.
 
Which is why my we made a video with me explaining what tempeh is.

Long time coming! 
 
I still don't feel like a video pro. Watching it back is slightly excruciating. 
 
But if I want more people to give chicken the night off, it's such a powerful education tool. No matter how imperfect. 
 
I’d love your feedback. What resonated? What confused you? What would make you more likely to try tempeh for the first time? 

And most importantly, do you finally know what tempeh is?! 🤞

Thanks for doing a fab job leading on this shoot Ruby Smith ⭐

I'm honoured to have been featured in Nation Cymru this International Women's Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Sharing my Better Nature journey. 

From struggling with gut health issues in my teens, to learning about tempeh from my co-founder Dr. Ando, to eventually landing on Tesco shelves after 3.5 years of conversations.

Food is not the industry to go into for quick wins!

But there is something very special about seeing your product in store, knowing your grandma adds it to her weekly shop 🤩

I also opened up about some of the harder realities of being a female founder - being ignored, having assumptions made about my role, and the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect just to feel like we've earned our place in the room. 

There is still a lot of work to do.

But I'm so grateful for communities like BUY WOMEN BUILT and Female Founders Rise that give women-led businesses visibility and community, and celebrate what we're building. 

Finally, those of you who know me know just how proud I am to be Welsh so having the chance to talk more about my Welsh roots and how important they are to me was extra special. 

A big thank you for featuring me Amelia Jones and for helping to organise Amanda Thurston. 

Full interview here:
https://lnkd.in/eiFH-3Dn

Gratitude is hard as a founder. 

We see the problems before we see the wins. 

We're putting the latest fire out, or at least trying to 😅

We've got an eye on the next challenge. 

We're constantly trying to learn, grow and better ourselves and our business. 

I think this never-ending drive is what makes founders so special. 

But it's risky too, as our bodies aren't made to be on the go at all times. 

To never feel like we're doing well enough.  

It's so important to pause and be thankful for where we are right now. 

Not next month. Not once that big project gets finalised. Not when we've finally reached our revenue goals. 

As we are, in this moment. 

I did just that celebrating the Startups 100 last Thursday with Fabio Rinaldo. 

I let myself feel just how far we've come and it was lovely. 

Do I shudder thinking about all the mistakes we've made? Definitely. 

Would I do approximately a million things differently? For sure. 

But I'm also incredibly proud of what we've achieved. 

Younger Elin couldn't have dreamed of popularising such an incredible, little-known food like tempeh across Europe. 

Thank you for hosting a fab evening Startups, to celebrate us and the other 99 incredible brands in the list. 

It was a real privilege to be with an amazing bunch and listen to some of the most inspirational speakers I've heard in awhile.

I LOVE championing challenger brands 🤩

It is genuinely one of my favourite things to do. 

If I love your product, I will become your biggest advocate.

A very loud, relentless, unpaid brand ambassador 😂

Firstly, because I think challenger brands are usually just better. More thoughtfully produced and tackling a real need. 

Secondly, because they tend to be more ethical and sustainable. I've seen first hand the care and consideration that goes into every product created and the impact it's having. 

Finally, because I know and see just how hard it is to grow a small business. The odds really are stacked against you. 

And every purchase genuinely makes a big difference. 

In that spirit, the brands I'm shouting about at the moment are...
⭐ Hard Lines - the most delicious coffee, and from Cardiff too!
⭐ Citizens of Soil | B Corp - super tasty, organic extra virgin olive oil
⭐ JUX Food - freeze dried herbs that come to life with some oil/water! 
⭐ Eaten Alive Ltd - their smoky sriracha makes any meal better
⭐ Superfoodio - the best afternoon snack! 
⭐ Seep - amazing cleaning products without the micro plastics
⭐ White Mausu - the most delicious topping for all your meals
⭐ Tiny Rebel - their Clwb Tropica is my favourite beer, and they're Welsh!
⭐ The Cultured Collective - such tasty ferments that make my gut happy
⭐ Heights - very high quality supplements that I've really noticed the difference taking
⭐ smol - great eco-friendly way to stock up on my cleaning essentials 

And so many more. 

How about you? What are your favourite challenger brands at the moment?

Nando's UK & IRE watch out 🔥

We've created the ultimate Nando's fakeaway. 

Supercharged with Better Nature. 

Fiery peri peri tempeh, spicy rice and tenderstem. Topped with peri peri sauce for an extra kick. 

Deeeelish 😋

For a long time, we were selling tempeh all wrong. 

Celebrating what an amazing food it is, assuming people would do the obvious thing and give it a go. 

But this is not how you get someone to try something for the first time. 

More than anything it needs to be EASY and ENTICING. 

It needs to be 100% clear when and where they'd use your product. 

What occasion? What are they swapping out? What will the experience be like? 

The easiest way we've been able to explain this is to swap out chicken for tempeh. 

Similar protein content, similar bite, but a whole lot more gut-friendly goodness. 

That's why we're swapping out the chicken in the nation's favourite chicken meals. 

What's easier and more enticing than that?! 

Give chicken the night off ⭐

What happens when you take a chicken to Nando's UK & IRE?! 😂

It gets a lot of attention! 

I won't lie, this one was a bit daunting. 

Standing outside Nando’s.

Talking to strangers about tempeh.

Spreading the word on trying to get our Peri Peri tempeh onto the Nando's menu. 

With a chicken protester beside us 🐔

But one of our mantras at Better Nature is to be bold & brave.

And we're really dialling that up this year. 

Many people laughed.
Many were confused.
Some asked lots of questions. 

But most importantly, they noticed us. 

And as a challenger brand, that is the hardest thing to achieve. 

Getting people's attention and spreading the word on how incredible tempeh is. 

And why it's a brilliant swap for chicken. 

That's what it's all about. 

So, is it going to be worth it? 

Will Nando's UK & IRE put a supercharged option on the menu and let people give chicken the night off?! 🤞

Why do we talk so much about chicken? 

I get this question a lot.

It's simple: chicken is the most consumed protein in the UK.

It also gives people very little beyond protein and some B vitamins. 

Which means it’s the biggest opportunity to help people eat something more nourishing.

To help supercharge their fibre intake and gut health. 

We're by no means telling people to stop eating chicken - that's not our vibe. 

All we're doing is showing them that there’s another option.

One that delivers:
⭐ Similar protein to chicken
⭐ Lots of fibre
⭐ Gut-friendly goodness
⭐ Antioxidants 
⭐ Incredible versatility in everyday meals

That option is tempeh.

At Better Nature, we’re not asking people to overhaul their entire diet.

We’re asking for something much simpler.

Just one swap a week..
One wrap.
One pasta.
One stir-fry. 
One salad. 

Give chicken the night off.

Let it have a much-earned break. 

And let our supercharged protein take the spotlight 🤩

What do you think?!

Check out that shelf 🤩
 
All those Better Nature packs, lined up side by side, sitting proudly on the middle shelf (!!!)
 
A few years ago, that felt wildly out of reach.
 
If you’re not in FMCG, it’s hard to explain just how hard-won shelf space is.
 
It’s not a given. 
 
You start at the top corner. Or the bottom one. Where only you, your team and your family know to look 😅
 
Then slowly, as you grow, as people try you, love you, come back for more… you edge closer to eye line.
 
And being at eye line matters. Because that’s where discovery happens. 

That’s where someone decides, on a random Tuesday, to try something new.
 
Improving shelf stand out was another big reason for our rebrand. 

Our previous pack was fading into the background and wasn't jumping out the shelf. 

And with a shelf position like this, we couldn't take that risk. 

We had to make sure there was no missing it. 

To draw in more and more people to give chicken the night off. 

Do you think it's worked?!

taplio

The Battle

Matt Lerner

Elin Roberts

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The Battle

Matt Lerner

Elin Roberts

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Elin Roberts's LinkedIn Performance

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