# Matthew Eisner

Head of Growth at [Zerg AI](https://zergai.com), building an AI-native productivity stack. In parallel I run [Vang Advisory](https://vangadvisory.com) (85+ engagements, 6 continents) and [Vang Capital](https://vang.capital) (32 portfolio companies, ~50% est. annual return).

> A *vang* is the rope on a sailboat that pulls the boom into shape — tight upwind, slack downwind. The work is the same on either side: hold multiple things in tension, control the shape, capture what wind there is.

## Right now

At **Zerg AI** (since 2026) I lead growth across the *Zstack* — a set of AI-native microproducts (project boards, calendars, mail, payments) designed for AI agents and the humans who direct them. A return engagement with a founder I've worked with for 13 years — same person, third company together.

At **Vang** (since 2017 / 2019) I keep the advisory and the fund running on the side. Most engagements last 4–12 weeks; investments are pre-seed and seed in data-centric companies (Cledara, Knack, Brydg, RELAYTO/, Yummy, Safara, StartEngine, cheqd, MyTechTree, VuPulse, Awabah, +20 others).

## Built · shipped · sold

| Years | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 2023–2025 | **Dinari** · Head of Product & Growth · San Francisco | First product/commercial hire at SEC-licensed RWA tokenization protocol. Acquired 30 paid B2B API clients (0 → 7-figure ARR). Scaled protocol TVL/AUM **$0 → $60m+** at 100%+ MoM. Grew community <500 → 300k+ in <1 year on $0 paid. Partners: Arbitrum, Chainlink, CoinGecko, Metamask, Moonpay. |
| 2022–2023 | **Samba TV** · Senior PM, Consumer · San Francisco | Strategy, development, and GTM for consumer + blockchain products. Partners: AWS, Disney, Coinbase, Sony, Consensys, Reed Smith. |
| 2020–2022 | **NTT DATA UK** · Analytics Lead, R+D / New Ventures · London | Led DD on 8 strategic 7-figure investments. SME on metaverse, blockchain, web3, data, and AdTech for British Open and Vodafone. |
| 2020–2021 | **Algorand Europe Accelerator** · Program Director · London | Designed and ran Algorand's first European accelerator. Cohort included Securitize and Folks Finance; raised **$50m+** in follow-on. ~200 applications, 4-FTE team. |
| 2015–2017 | **Startupbootcamp Global** · Global Head of Marketing & Data · London | 20+ marketing staff, 8→20+ programs in 80+ countries. Tripled program applications. Built recruitment data infrastructure underwriting **2,000+** startup investments. *MarCom 2017 Gold*. |
| 2014–2015 | **Touch Surgery** · Growth Lead · London | First marketing hire. Grew monthly downloads **15×** (8k→130k). #1 Medical App in 40+ countries. Press: BBC, Bloomberg. Partners: J&J, Stanford. *Acquired by Medtronic, nine figures (2020)*. |
| 2014–2015 | **Hackster.io** · Community Manager · San Francisco | First hire. Built marketing, growth, analytics from zero; 0→50k developer community. *Acquired by Avnet (2016)*. |
| 2013–2014 | **Incident Technologies** · Community / Marketing · San Francisco | Consumer hardware (gTar, Opho Keys), I was employee one. First post-grad role and the start of a 13-year working relationship that eventually leads back to Zerg. |

## 32 pre-seed bets

**Vang Capital** — UK-based pre-seed and seed fund, founded 2019. ~50% est. annual return on Fund I; portfolio raised **$100m+** follow-on across the book. Crypto-native operationally since 2018. Among them:

*Cledara* (SaaS procurement · Series A) · *Brydg* (bridge lending) · *Knack* (workplace skills marketplace · Series B) · *RELAYTO/* (document experience) · *Safara* (hotel booking platform) · *StartEngine* (equity crowdfunding) · *cheqd* (decentralized identity) · *Yummy* (hyperlocal delivery) · *Doordeck* (mobile access control · *acquired*) · *VuPulse* (video signal · $4m syndicate) · *MyTechTree* (tech-skill ladders) · *Awabah* (micro-pension · Nigeria) · +20 others.

Parallel program operations: **Algorand Europe Accelerator** (Program Director, $50m+ follow-on raised by cohort), **NTT DATA New Ventures** (DD on 8 strategic 7-figure deals), **Bridge Angel Investors** (Head of DD), **Qatar SportsTech** (program + fund setup), **Oasis ROSE Metamind Labs**, **TitanBlock**.

## Published

Co-author of the *Many Labs* replication study in the *Journal of Open Psychology Data* — one of the most-cited replication studies in psychology, with **1,400+ citations**. *MarCom Gold* (2017) for the Startupbootcamp×RELAYTO/ Startup Ecosystem Report.

## Advisory

Outside Zerg I take on a small number of personal advisory engagements per quarter. Approach: a menu of options, pick one or two items per month to lay a solid foundation and tackle the highest-priority opportunities. Pricing: **$2,000/day** startups, **$2,500/day** blockchains and funds, **$3,000/day** corporates. Discount on scopes >10 days. Time/retainer or task/deliverable. Open to performance alignment, advisory equity, or partial cash + equity for early-stage.

- **Growth foundation** — digital strategy, channel mix, SEO/ASO, paid digital, growth-hacking pilot scoping
- **Conversion & UX** — landing-page CRO deep dives, customer-journey teardowns, A/B testing setup
- **Data & analytics** — CDP / Segment / ETL prep, KPI benchmarking, attribution (UTM, multi-touch, 360), dashboarding, data-product strategy
- **BD & fundraising** — investor-deck review, partnership hacking, BD intros, event-organizer intros, pitch-deck support

## Reach

Best for advisory and board conversations, network introductions, founder coaching, crypto/web3 strategy, and growth ops at early-stage.

- Email: matteisn@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/matteisn
- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/matteisn
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Cwk1hasAAAAJ

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© 2026 Matthew Eisner · San Francisco / Detroit / London · Crypto-native since 2018 · USA / CH citizen, UK / EU / EEA / CH work permits