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The Mike Method
E39 The Business of You: Building a Personal Brand with Matt Bertulli
Ep. 39
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This week on The Mike Method, Mike is sitting down with Matt Bertulli to dive into the evolution of his personal brand and how it connects with his businesses. Matt is an active, in-the-weeds founder-CEO for 15+ years. He's also not your typical CEO. He's a category designer. He sold his first company after bootstrapping it to 100+ employees over 10 years. He is presently the co-founder and CEO at two companies -- Pela Case + Lomi. Both companies are B Corps like my company. They operate at the intersection of waste innovation & consumer technology. Have Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Projects as a notable investor, were named Top 10 in the Canadian Business Growth 500 ranking and are #1 in Deloitte’s Fast 50 for cleantech businesses in Canada. He's also the co-host of a popular "consumer" focused Podcast, The Operators.
In this conversation Matt shares why being the face of his companies matters and how podcasting and content creation have helped him build trust and authenticity with his audience. Along the way, we get into how peer groups shape leadership, why consistency in branding is often more important than authenticity, and how customers care more about a seamless experience than the personal details of the people behind a brand. They also explore the big shift happening in business—the idea that CEOs and founders are no longer just running companies; they are part of the brand itself. People want to connect with real humans, not just faceless corporations. And in a world moving fast toward AI, maintaining that human element is more important than ever. Empathy doesn’t work from a distance. If you want to build something meaningful, you have to be present for the people around you.
Storytelling plays a huge role in all of this. We’re wired to crave stories, both the good and the messy. The leaders who can tap into that—who can show up consistently and share their journey—will have the biggest impact. And when it comes to AI? It’s happening whether we like it or not. The key isn’t to master it overnight—just focus on staying afloat and finding your rhythm. Listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode Resources
Matt Bertulli: Website
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