Matthew Bertulli is the CEO of Pela—a green tech company founded by Jeremy Lang that creates consumer products from environmentally sustainable materials.
The company was ranked #9 on the list of fastest-growing companies in Canada and earned a valuation of $100M in 2020.
Matthew and Jeremy carved out a new market category when they launched Pela Case, the world’s first 100% compostable, eco-friendly phone case; now a multiple 8-figure brand. They continued to expand their product line and more recently launched Lomi, their electric kitchen composter that turns food waste into dirt.
According to their website, Pela’s customers have prevented the equivalent of 48,433,866 plastic bags from entering our oceans.
In this episode, I talk with Matthew about his experience starting and scaling companies. Interestingly, his first business was steadily bootstrapped over 10 years, eventually selling to a PE firm for 8-figures. On the flip side, Pela is VC funded and rapidly growing.
You’ll get to hear his strategies for building a brand people want to talk about, why the investors on your cap table matter, and how he applies a bootstrapped mindset to running a VC-backed company.
Tweetables
“The holy grail of marketing is word of mouth. The problem with it is that it’s very hard to measure.” – Matthew Bertulli
“Raising venture capital for us wasn’t permission to go spend it; it was, what do we need to develop the product and to build a roadmap that we think will take this company to something very significant for the world.” – Matthew Bertulli
“Too many entrepreneurs chase venture capital too quickly, and I think it’s the wrong move.” – Matthew Bertulli
