Matty Sayer | GTM Strategist and Growth Marketing Leader

G'day, I'mIt's nice to meet you!

Out of the 1b+ websites in the world, you decided to come to mine. What an honor! But now I’m curious, why are you here?Are you on the hunt for a marketer for your startup? An underwear model for your next global campaign? Maybe you clicked a suspicious link and now you're here...Regardless, it’s great to have you and I hope you enjoy your stay.

What you should know about me;I’m a growth marketing and demand generation leader, with a focus on seed to series B technology companies, in need of strategic direction, process and system optimization, and campaign and program execution, to raise brand awareness, generate lead volume, and reach revenue targets, without breaking the bank.I do this through creative ideation and a proven method that leverages AI, automation and no-code each step of the way; research, analysis, messaging, positioning, web design and development, performance marketing, email marketing, and allbound (inbound and outbound) campaigns.I’ve spent the last 10+ years, honing my skills across all revenue-generating functions (marketing, sales and customer success), and have a deep passion for helping businesses operate like a well-oiled machine.I’ve never been drawn to narrow roles. I believe that my strength lies in connecting dots across growth, marketing, and strategy. My superpower is seeing the big picture while executing on what matters most. I thrive in fast-paced environments, wearing multiple hats and driving impact without being confined to a single lane.Being naturally curious, I’ll always ask why and how, so that I truly understand before proposing solutions. I highly value empathy, creative thinking, using data for decision making, keeping things simple, prioritizing good design, and never settling for mediocrity.

From humble beginnings;I grew up in a small surf town on the south coast of Australia. After high school, I relocated to Sydney to study a double degree in Business and Computer Science at the University of Technology Sydney. While there, I ran the Entrepreneurship Society, and was heavily involved in startup, business and innovation programs.Real work experience;I started my career working in marketing and event management for a startup festival and account management at an eCommerce agency. After graduating, I joined the university's innovation department facilitating and growing the university's startup incubator and accelerator programs, then joined the Australian Federal Government's data science department where I ran growth marketing and operations for a STEM jobs matching platform.Chasing the American dream;In 2019, I sold everything and moved to Silicon Valley to immerse myself in the tech hustle and bustle. I joined a software scaleup with offices in the US and Australia, working across Customer Success and Marketing for 5+ years, through to their exit. I worked fractionally as the Head of Marketing for a software startup in the creative operations space. Recently, I launched my own full-stack marketing and demand generation services firm, Say Yea, where I provide strategic direction, project execution and ongoing consulting for startups and scaleups.Prioritizing travel and adventure;Since a young age I've been fascinated with exploring the world, admiring it's vast beauty, experiencing different cultures, and meeting people of all kinds. To date, I've traveled through 6 continents, 37 countries, and 49/50 US states, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I hope to someday visit every country, and after that, I don't know just yet, maybe every planet?So, what's next in my story?I never want to stop learning and growing personally and professionally. I'm passionate and curious about many things, maybe too many things... I'm working to build an empire of investments, properties and projects, and aiming to reach FIRE by 50, enjoying life with my wife, friends and children. Sounds pretty alright, right?

Professional experience;Fractional Head of Marketing, PLAYE (Remote, USA)
June 2024 — March 2025Director of Growth Marketing, Accelo (San Francisco, USA)
March 2019 — April 2024Growth Marketing and Operations Manager, CSIRO (Sydney, AUS)
November 2016 — December 2018Programs Marketing Officer, UTS Innovation Unit (Sydney, AUS)
November 2015 — July 2016

What I'm looking for in my next role;Recruiters and hiring managers, thanks for showing an interest in me! I’m seeking a role where I can collaborate with a smart, driven team that thrives on brainstorming, problem-solving, and innovation.My ideal environment values experimentation, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional teamwork between marketing, sales, customer success, and product.

I’m especially excited about industries with significant growth potential, and companies that are leveraging AI to drive innovation. I want to work alongside leaders who value mentorship, support professional development, and encourage continuous learning.After spending the past year traveling while working fractionally for an Australian company, I recently received my US work authorization, and am now able to seek a full-time opportunity.I’m committed to long-term success and eager to find a company where I can contribute meaningfully, grow my expertise, and build strong industry relationships. I look forward to connecting and exploring how I can support your team’s success.

References;View a list of my professional references.

Doubling down on PropTech;

A bit of context;While my shift toward PropTech might look like a quarter-life crisis or a sudden pivot, it’s actually anything but random.Real estate runs in my blood. My entire family is in the industry; sales, commercial development, auctions, property management, public housing, renovations, construction, you name it. I grew up spending weekends at auctions and flipping houses, and over the years, that early exposure evolved into a deep, lasting passion for property.In high school, I interned at an architecture firm. At university, I ran an extracurricular project focused on housing affordability, launched a property management startup for students, supported John McGrath and Tom Panos at Australia’s largest real estate conference (AREC), and was mentored by the CEO of HiPages.Fun fact, I run one of Australia's largest share house communities on Facebook.In 2017, I received my:
• Certificate IV in Property Services (Real Estate)
• Certificate III in Property Services (Operations)
• Certificate of Registration with the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW)I’ve stayed connected to the property world ever since, actively following the market in both Australia and the US.Now, I’m bringing together two major threads of my life: My deep roots in real estate and my broad experience in SaaS. I'm excited to dive into this new chapter in PropTech and real estate technology, and apply everything I’ve learned along the way.

What I'm looking for in my next role;Recruiters and hiring managers, thanks for showing an interest in me! I’m seeking a role where I can collaborate with a smart, driven team that thrives on brainstorming, problem-solving, and innovation.My ideal environment values experimentation, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional teamwork between marketing, sales, customer success, and product.While my background has been mostly focused on marketing (demand generation, growth marketing, and marketing operations), I’m exploring roles that span leadership, operations, partnerships, and advocacy. I’m at a stage where I want to stretch beyond what I’ve done before, take on new challenges, keep learning, and build on the skills I’ve gained so far.I love connecting with people, building strong relationships, and being part of something meaningful. I’m especially excited about carving out a path as a thought leader in the PropTech and real estate world; sharing ideas, contributing to the conversation, and helping shape where the industry is headed.

So, why me?— I’m a natural leader and have successfully led, built, and grown teams.
— I’m innovative, creative, and forward-thinking. I like to stay ahead of the curve.
— I’m data-driven and technically wired, able to dig into data and build complex systems.
— I follow a GSD mentality and thrive in startup and small team environments.
— I take pride in the companies I work for. I’m a true advocate and brand ambassador.
— I’ve managed budgets from $0 (I know how to be scrappy) to $1M+ per year.
— I’ve managed vendors and contractors across paid media, SEO, content, design, and web development.
— I’m charismatic, energetic, and love meeting new people. I want to be a culture add to your team.
— I’m a confident public speaker, have strong EQ, and aim to add value to everyone I meet.
— And most importantly, I just want to have a good time. Life’s too short not to enjoy it.

References;View a list of my professional references.

References;Please feel free to contact any of my previous managers or mentors. I'm confident that they'll share an honest review of my skills and experience.

My tried and true tech stack and tools;Being naturally curious I really enjoy testing out new software and seeing what possibilities they open up for me. I consider myself a tool nerd, and often frequent ProductHunt, Betalist and integration pages to learn what modern sofwares exist.

Projects;Not being afraid to take on new challenges, here's a list of some of the projects that I've managed over the years throughout my professional career. Each demonstrating my capabilities and passion for demand generation, growth marketing, marketing operations, and much more.

Rapid User Growth on a $0 Budget;

Challenge;CSIRO Data61 in Sydney brought me in to rapidly grow RIBIT, a STEM jobs and internships marketplace platform, increasing the candidate talent pool and company accounts. Due to government restrictions, we were limited in the use of our allocated budget, and were unable to run paid advertising campaigns of any kind.Solution;I strategically developed and implemented a series of unpaid growth strategies, including community development and evangelism, field and events marketing, public speaking engagements, co-marketing and contra sponsorship arrangements, data-sharing partnership agreements, and a referral program leveraging tertiary education career centers, student clubs and societies, and business associations, co-working spaces and accelerator programs.Results;We collectively grew the marketplace platform to 20,000+ talented students and graduates, and 5,000+ employer companies, and scaled our reach nationally to every state and major city. We also hosted more than 40 speed-networking events around Australia, and were featured in over 30 media publication outlets, which in turn fueled our further expansion.Takeaways;Creative, community-focused strategies can drive significant growth, even without a paid marketing or advertising budget. It’s critical to continue to network, build partnerships and nurture relationships, as each plays a critical role in business growth.

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Increased Brand Awareness through Referral Program;

Challenge;CSIRO Data61’s RIBIT platform needed a scalable way to acquire new users on both the student and company sides of the STEM jobs and internships marketplace.Solution;Having previously been involved in running student societies and clubs, as well as working in the university incubator and accelerator space, I was very familiar with student and business communities, and their push for growing the employability of their students, as well as hiring high quality talent to fuel their growth.I designed and launched a threefold referral program, incentivizing universities and colleges, student societies and clubs, and business groups, associations, coworking spaces and accelerators, to promote the RIBIT platform to their communities in exchange for a tiered level of benefits. These benefits included access to community events, hosted career fairs and speed-networking events, professional training on how to hire and how to get jobs, and premium features on the marketplace platform, boosting their abilities to get jobs and hire talent.Results;Significant increase in user acquisition from referral sources, growing the marketplace platform to 20,000+ talented students and graduates, and 5,000+ employer companies, increased brand awareness, and a raised interest from other communities to participate in the program.Takeaways;Strategic partnerships and referral programs can be a highly effective growth engine, especially when aligned with community needs.

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Customer Retention through Educational Webinars;

Challenge;During the pandemic and the move to remote working, professional service businesses looked to reduce their costs, cut unnecessary spend, and optimize their business efficiencies. This had some impact on generating new leads for sales, but a more drastic impact on retaining customers who were now seeking more affordable and modern operations systems. The Accelo platform wasn’t as user-friendly as the newer options available, so churn volume increased.Solution;Introduced an educational webinar series to address ongoing support requests, improve customer understanding of the platform, and demonstrate the powerful customizations and flexibility of the platform, as well as the new improvements and features being released by product and engineering. I developed the webinar structure, content development, technical stack, pre and post marketing efforts, and eventual handover of the program to the customer success department.Results;Reduced churn with high-value customers, improved customer retention rates for those who attended sessions, and provided a new avenue for communications between Accelo and customers.Takeaways;Proactive customer education and support are crucial for retaining customers, especially for complex platforms.

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Data Integrity for Marketing and Sales Alignment;

Challenge;Accelo had major misalignment and data discrepancies due to multiple CRM systems running in parallel, with limited integration between them. Marketing, sales, customer success, and executive leadership, were manually pulling data and metrics from various sources, making for some very awkward all hands presentations.Solution;I got the buy-in of the executive leadership team to spearhead a two-pronged approach;
— Optimizing the integration between the CRM platforms by cleaning the fields, updating values, and enhancing the API integrations.
— Developing a collaborative demand-gen planning report in Google Sheets for real-time funnel performance, which could be accessed by all departments as the source of truth report.Results;Created a single source of truth for data, improved alignment across teams, and enabled data-driven decision-making.Takeaways;Accurate attribution tracking is essential for understanding marketing effectiveness and optimizing investments.

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Ambassador and Partner Referral Program;

Challenge;Over the years, Accelo had developed a community of IT implementation service providers who would drive new customer acquisition and streamline platform onboarding with custom implementation projects. However, the partners weren’t being properly managed, many hadn’t referred prospects in years, and those who had, ran implementation processes which weren’t best practice based on our customer success team’s experience and knowledge.Solution;We implemented both a certified partner program (for businesses that market, sell, and implement the software) and an ambassador program (for advocates including existing customers who refer new customers). With my previous Accelo implementation experience, I developed an educational program for training existing and net new partners, providing them with certification after program completion. This ensured that our partners were aware of the program structure, and had been trained with the best practices and recommendations of the Accelo implementation team.Results;Increased customer acquisition through referrals and partnerships, revitalizing an existing channel for the sales team, and increasing the quality of knowledge and the onboarding experience for customers working with our implementation partners.Takeaways;A well-structured partner and referral program can be a cost-effective way to acquire new customers, build brand advocacy and enhance overall quality.

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Increasing Lead Quality and Lead:Opp Rate;

Challenge;At Accelo, managing daily leads was a manual task, requiring lead assignment, manual research, categorization, and status progressions, which was all at the discretion of the sales development team. This resulted in slow lead attack times, inaccurate data capturing, and missed lead management outside of work hours, during weekends or holidays.Solution;I redesigned the lead management process and workflow within the Accelo system, updating fields, values and automation triggers to ensure every lead was properly assigned, researched, progressed and contacted. We integrated Apollo’s enrichment data to complete fields like country, industry, business size based on the lead’s email domain, and identified the complete buying committee, creating appropriate contacts in our CRM automatically for the sales team to start outreach and convert.Results;Improved sales efficiency, increased lead attack time to almost immediate, and resulted in clean and organized data for enhanced reporting.Takeaways;Once a manual process reaches a bandwidth constraint, it’s critical to implement automation and systems to optimize and improve speed and reduce data inconsistencies.

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Offensive Competitive Campaigns;

Challenge;Accelo was positioned centrally in three of the most competitive software markets; Professional Services Automation (PSA), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Project Management. New competitors frequently entered the market, eating away at market share, and the likelihood of software migration switching was high amongst small professional service businesses.Solution;I partnered closely with the sales engineers and our content team, to produce comprehensive battlecards pulling data from our competitor intelligence platforms and win/loss deal reports. I produced clean and clear ad creative and messaging, launching competitive campaigns with targeted landing pages, ads, and videos through Paid Search and LinkedIn.We also enhanced our branded and competitor keyword bidding through Google and Bing to capture intent leads searching for our primary competitors. I infiltrated competitor Facebook and Slack communities to identify prospects to target through paid LinkedIn campaigns, and cold sales outreach campaigns, based on negative reviews, feedback and comments suggesting dissatisfaction with their existing solutions.Results;Increased brand awareness and net new leads from competitor searches and existing competitor grown communities.Takeaways;Competitive campaigns can be effective for capturing market share and highlighting your unique value proposition.

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Intent Data Scoring System to Prioritize Leads;

Challenge;Accelo’s sales team lacked insights into which leads in the pipeline were most engaged in the free trial experience, were the best quality firmographic fit, and were ready for personalized outreach.Solution;We developed an intent scoring system inside of HubSpot, tracking lead sources, website engagement, and trial experience engagement by leveraging Pendo data, and notifying the sales development team with targeted and personalized outreach sequences.Results;Improved sales efficiency, increased conversion rates, and a better experience for leads, ensuring that they received email outreach and communications that were relevant and timely.Takeaways;Leveraging intent data to personalize outreach can significantly improve sales and customer success outcomes.

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Implementing Lead Attribution System;

Challenge;Accelo lacked a complete and comprehensive view of the customer journey, from initial website visit to closed deal. With two CRM systems causing data discrepancies, it was difficult to achieve this and understand what areas of the funnel to optimize for.Solution;I managed an external data-science team to design and implement a completely automated lead data and attribution tracking platform inside of Looker, tracking website traffic and leads, conversion points, channels, advertising spend, UTMs, and linking them to deal records inside of HubSpot and sales data inside of Accelo.Results;Gained a full picture of the conversion flow, channel performance, and customer journey, for the first time ever, allowing us to truly make data-driven decisions and optimize our paid spend allocation.Takeaways;A comprehensive lead data platform is essential for understanding marketing effectiveness and optimizing the customer journey.

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Free Trial Conversion Optimization and User Onboarding;

Challenge;Accelo’s free 14-day trial experience was the primary lead conversion point, however like all conversion funnels, there were dropoff points and areas for optimization. The signup form spanned 5 pages, had 15+ fields (many irrelevant), had confusing language, and no validation or enrichment capabilities. Once trial users completed the form, they were sent to the trial experience with very little onboarding or guides resulting in low product adoption and trial usage.Solution;I redesigned the entire onboarding journey experience, implementing SSO options, automated email verification through the NeverBounce API to block spam or non-business email addresses, reduced required fields to 6, and even further by incorporating Clearbit’s real-time form enrichment, as well as an abandoned form conversion process pushing known data into HubSpot and Accelo to create incomplete leads for sales.Depending on the industry vertical selected during the onboarding, the lead was authenticated into a personalized trial experience relevant to their industry and business type. We implemented Pendo guides, workflows, and banners to provide in-app guidance and support to new users, as well as dummy-data which represented actual sales, projects, tickets, and retainers relevant to that industry vertical.Results;Improved user onboarding conversion rates, increased product adoption, and increased our trial usage.Takeaways;Short and concise signup forms, and in-app guidance and support can significantly improve user onboarding and product adoption.

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Brand and Design Standards Implementation;

Challenge;Accelo had developed inconsistent branding across departments due to no clear design standards, resulting in outdated templates, logo variations, and misalignment between product design and marketing.Solution;I hired a digital designer to implement the marketing team’s brand direction and strategy. We created a weekly meeting between marketing and product design to understand their current projects and align our overall efforts, as well as establishing clear communication channels and approval processes.Results;Consistent branding, messaging and visual identity across all departments, resulting in a cohesive visual look and feel that is modern and aesthetically pleasing, which was critical for Accelo’s primary target market (marketing agencies).Takeaways;A strong brand strategy and cross-departmental communication are essential for maintaining a consistent brand identity.

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Dummy SDR Automated Cold Outbound Program;

Challenge;Accelo’s sales development team was responsible for running targeted cold outbound campaigns to generate new sales opportunities. They were also responsible for managing inbound leads and converting those marketing generated leads into demos for the sales team. The scale of the outbound program was dependent on the sales team’s ability to source net new leads, re-engage with existing contacts in the CRM, and their overall efficiency.Solution;Leveraging an already existing, but severely underutilized contract with ZoomInfo, I built an automated cold outbound system which pulled accounts and contacts that fit our ICP, and didn’t already exist in HubSpot or Salesloft. The system enrolled contacts into a complex HubSpot workflow, leveraging known firmographic data pulled from ZoomInfo, and personalizing the cold outbound nurture emails to ensure relevance and scale. Each email came from a dummy SDR named Sarah, allowing us to compare her performance against the current outbound SDR team.Results;Over 10,000 new contacts were created, increasing our brand awareness, and enhanced our potential CRM database volume for future campaigns.Takeaways;Marketing should run outbound programs in parallel to sales, without stepping on their toes, it’s a great way to test new messaging and assumptions, and provide air coverage for the sales team.

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Website Migration, Rebuild and Relaunch;

Challenge;Accelo’s website was outdated, bloated, had slow performance, irrelevant and incomplete copy, and a design which was not modern or competitive in the market. The CMS platform hindered marketing agility and SEO efforts. It took months to launch a single page template, instead of minutes.Solution;I took over ownership of the website, setting the marketing team as the custodian, rather than product and engineering, replaced the previous CMS with Webflow, and commissioned a new web development team to bring our web designs to life. We implemented a new brand direction, sitemap, buyer journey, conversion funnels, and content strategy, enabling easier content editing, improved technical SEO, and a better website performance and experience.Results;Rapidly increased the marketing team agility to create and release updates, landing pages, and new content types, improved website speed and performance, optimized and resolved all technical SEO issues, introduced a new brand direction, and decreased hosting costs from self-hosted servers to Webflow’s cloud servers, with performance and uptime guarantees.Takeaways;A modern and flexible CMS is essential for effective website management and marketing. Your website is the only salesperson working 24/7, it’s critical to give it the love and respect that it deserves. It’s not just a website, it’s the first impression for your future customers.

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Data Analytics and Tool Stack Optimization;

Challenge;PLAYE is a lean operation, with a small team and limited resources. They’d never had a team member responsible for marketing efforts, and therefore hadn’t set up the most basic infrastructure to be successful. There was no website analytics, no user behavior tracking, no sales call recording, and two free disjointed HubSpot CRMs.Solution;I quickly set up the foundations with Google Tag Manager with website conversion tracking, Google Analytics 4 and Hotjar for analytics, Clearbit for website account identification, and Fathom for Google Meet sales call recordings (storing these in a Google Sheet for analysis). I rebuilt their primary HubSpot instance, organizing fields and values, sales dashboards and reports, forms, inboxes, campaigns, templates, privacy settings, and eventually migrated the secondary HubSpot data into the primary instance, ensuring that all companies and contacts were properly tagged and organized for ease of use by the sales team. I eventually negotiated with HubSpot for a low cost subscription which met the requirements of the PLAYE sales team.Results;Real-time data and analytics tools, clean and organized software stack, a sales team that could efficiently leverage the tools as they were intended, and a marketing and executive team who could leverage the information and insights to properly make decisions.Takeaways;Ensure that the infrastructure is set up as early as possible to leverage data to make decisions. Keep your systems and tools clean, well structured and organized, otherwise the team won’t use them. For small businesses with low traffic and lead volume, most software is free, but some may have a cost that is inevitable to ensure your growth and scale.

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Website Redesign and Updated Messaging;

Challenge;PLAYE’s website, messaging and branding was complicated and unclear. They offered a new type of software and service in the creative operations space, but struggled to articulate this, differentiating themselves from a traditional creative agency.Solution;We worked together to launch their three service offerings; Studio, Direct and Employ, each solving a unique pain point for their enterprise customers. I contracted a Webflow designer and developer to implement a new website structure and sitemap based on the new service offerings, updated brand elements and designs, and modern web best practices. Every webpage was reimagined, with updated messaging and positioning to give prospects a better understanding of what PLAYE is, who it is for, and how it differs in the competitive market. Conversion funnels and forms were also updated, integrating directly into Webflow and HubSpot for better lead management and attribution tracking.Results;Improved PLAYE’s perception and understanding within the market, made it clear what the software and service was about for prospects visiting the website, increasing the website conversion rates, and building the infrastructure for future website enhancements and message testing by the executive team.Takeaways;Focus on developing and testing clear and concise messaging that educates, entertains and converts. Messaging, along with a well-structured sitemap, buyer journey, and conversion funnels are critical on your most valuable asset, your website.

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Automated Intent-Driven Cold Outbound Program;

Challenge;PLAYE’s entire sales development model was through manual outbound, existing sales team networks and warm referrals. They had high revenue targets and had to increase their outbound efforts while keeping their limited sales team headcount.Solution;We implemented and launched an automated outbound lead program within the UK market, relying on the new modern technology approaches with Clay for lead sourcing, AI enrichment, waterfall email and phone number validation, and Leadify for email domain warming, email rotation and sequencing, as well as email and LinkedIn campaign workflows and experimentation.Results;Over 15,000 new contacts were created, increasing our brand awareness, and enhanced our potential CRM database volume for future campaigns. However, transparently the email campaigns and copy wasn’t strong enough to invoke a reaction or convert at a high enough rate, so the program was temporarily paused.Takeaways;Open up new channels, experiment quickly, and double down on what is working, pausing whatever isn’t working for a later date.

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Writing;A compilation of thoughts, ideas, writings and say-ings, published on Substack, because I think website blogs for SEO purposes is a dying concept.

From here, choose your own adventure;🌞 Learn more about my personal story💼 View my professional experience📊 Browse my portfolio of projects📚 Read my writing and thoughts💻 See my tech stack and tools✈️ Track my travel journeys📬 Get in contact via email🤝 Connect on LinkedIn