Pinned post
For those of you just coming across my account, I’m planning to share a lot more here in 2026 …
My name is Matt Bertulli.
I learned how to code before most people had access to the internet.
- Started working with computers at 11
- Started coding as a teenager
- First job: Engineering company at 17
- Got deep into software and the internet in the mid-90s, before eCommerce really existed
That technical foundation shaped everything that came next.
- Joined NetSuite in 2005, before they went public
- Worked as a sales engineer in pre-sales
- Spent years talking directly to companies deciding whether to buy
- Learned how businesses actually make buying decisions
Then the financial crisis hit.
- Left NetSuite during the downturn
- Started a software services company on Magento, pre-Shopify
- Bootstrapped the business for 10 years
- Sold it to private equity in 2018
That exit was the moment my wife and I realized we didn’t have to work anymore.
But I didn’t take time off.
- Became the first outside investor in Pila before it had revenue
- Helped scale the business into a complex consumer operation
- Backed the company based on the product, the material, and my belief in how to build and sell on the internet
Since then:
Raised $50M+ in venture capital, largely for R&D and material science
Built and operate owned manufacturing facilities in Canada and the US
Scaled very quickly
Watched the business fall apart
Rebuilt it. It’s healthy & growing again.
So I’ve lived the full spectrum.
- Bootstrapped and sold a company
- Worked with VCs and private equity
- Scaled fast
- Failed publicly and privately
- Rebuilt from the damage
What I’ll be writing about on my page:
- What it actually takes to build durable consumer companies
- Why product-market fit is often misunderstood in consumer
- How markets, culture, and positioning really evolve over time
- The difference between short-term success and long-term businesses
- What only CEOs can do, and what they shouldn’t touch
- Lessons from building, stalling, rebuilding, and doing it again
I don’t believe great companies are built in 2 or 3 years.
They’re built over decades.
Through cycles. Through mistakes. Through collapse and rebuild.
That long-term lens is how I think about everything.
If that resonates, follow and stick around.
My name is Matt Bertulli.
I learned how to code before most people had access to the internet.
- Started working with computers at 11
- Started coding as a teenager
- First job: Engineering company at 17
- Got deep into software and the internet in the mid-90s, before eCommerce really existed
That technical foundation shaped everything that came next.
- Joined NetSuite in 2005, before they went public
- Worked as a sales engineer in pre-sales
- Spent years talking directly to companies deciding whether to buy
- Learned how businesses actually make buying decisions
Then the financial crisis hit.
- Left NetSuite during the downturn
- Started a software services company on Magento, pre-Shopify
- Bootstrapped the business for 10 years
- Sold it to private equity in 2018
That exit was the moment my wife and I realized we didn’t have to work anymore.
But I didn’t take time off.
- Became the first outside investor in Pila before it had revenue
- Helped scale the business into a complex consumer operation
- Backed the company based on the product, the material, and my belief in how to build and sell on the internet
Since then:
Raised $50M+ in venture capital, largely for R&D and material science
Built and operate owned manufacturing facilities in Canada and the US
Scaled very quickly
Watched the business fall apart
Rebuilt it. It’s healthy & growing again.
So I’ve lived the full spectrum.
- Bootstrapped and sold a company
- Worked with VCs and private equity
- Scaled fast
- Failed publicly and privately
- Rebuilt from the damage
What I’ll be writing about on my page:
- What it actually takes to build durable consumer companies
- Why product-market fit is often misunderstood in consumer
- How markets, culture, and positioning really evolve over time
- The difference between short-term success and long-term businesses
- What only CEOs can do, and what they shouldn’t touch
- Lessons from building, stalling, rebuilding, and doing it again
I don’t believe great companies are built in 2 or 3 years.
They’re built over decades.
Through cycles. Through mistakes. Through collapse and rebuild.
That long-term lens is how I think about everything.
If that resonates, follow and stick around.
