Lenny's PodcastAn inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth)
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 0:47
Cold open: Growth starts with fundamentals (fast website before ads)
Meltem frames her first-principles approach to growth: build the “skeleton” before the “makeup.” She emphasizes that acquisition channels won’t work if the core experience (site speed, discoverability) is broken.
- •Check the basics: website exists, loads fast, is indexable
- •Ensure people can find you before you amplify with paid
- •Content helps with discoverability when people can’t find you
- •Paid ads fail when the underlying experience is slow/poor
- 0:47 – 4:20
Why Deel’s growth is notable + show setup and sponsors
Lenny introduces the podcast and tees up Deel’s unusually fast SaaS growth and Meltem’s scope leading growth. He previews the conversation topics (SEO, communities, paid, team structure, culture), then transitions through sponsor messages.
- •Deel’s rapid ARR growth and EBITDA-positive narrative
- •Meltem’s ownership across paid, content, community, brand, PMM, etc.
- •Episode roadmap: low-cost channels, SEO tactics, org design, culture
- •Sponsor reads before the interview begins
- 4:20 – 6:31
What Deel does + Meltem’s early days + the ARR trajectory
Meltem explains Deel’s platform (global payroll/HR/compliance) and gives concrete milestones of Deel’s ARR climb. She shares how early she joined and what it meant to be building growth from near the beginning.
- •Deel supports global hiring (EOR, contractors, immigration, payroll)
- •ARR milestones from < $1M to ~$295M in a few years
- •EBITDA-positive focus alongside growth
- •Meltem joined as early marketing hire (~employee 19/20)
- 6:31 – 13:17
Low-cost growth channels: find where people ask questions (Reddit, Quora, search)
Meltem explains her philosophy of “cheap” B2B growth: go where buyers already seek answers and help them—without selling too hard. She details Deel’s early Reddit monitoring approach and how these channels scale via durable, public answers.
- •Cheap channels = places people ask questions (Google, Reddit, Quora, Twitter)
- •Set up keyword tracking to spot relevant questions early
- •Add value first; your answer persists and compounds over time
- •Estimate channel upside by community size and realistic capture rate
- 13:17 – 15:06
How to answer in a value-add way (and why Deel never automates it)
The conversation gets tactical on what “adding value” looks like in practice. Meltem contrasts spammy responses with truly helpful guidance and explains why human, non-automated engagement matters for credibility.
- •Bad: “We solved this—check our site” with no real help
- •Good: answer the question thoroughly, then offer your product as an option
- •Treat the asker like a friend; include caveats and next steps (X/Y/Z)
- •Deel keeps replies human (founders and team members respond)
- 15:06 – 15:47
Leveraging closed communities and choosing the right partners
Meltem expands beyond public forums into private communities and partner channels. She explains that effective partners aren’t just those with an audience overlap—they must be trusted advisors when the relevant problem arises.
- •Closed communities: Slack/Discord groups, alumni networks, YC-like ecosystems
- •Value-first behavior is required or you’ll be removed
- •Partnership fit test: do people seek this partner’s guidance for your problem?
- •Example: VCs can be powerful partners because founders ask them what tools to use
- 15:47 – 18:42
SEO that works: write content that ends the search
Meltem outlines Deel’s SEO philosophy: don’t keyword-stuff—solve the user’s problem so completely they don’t return to Google. She shares an example category (EOR) where anticipating follow-up questions improves performance.
- •Core SEO test: after reading, is the search “over”?
- •Avoid meandering content and keyword stuffing that increases bounce
- •Strong pages anticipate follow-ups (e.g., downsides/limitations)
- •SEO is a major non-paid growth driver for Deel
- 18:42 – 20:03
Deel’s “traffic light system” for picking keywords by intent
Meltem breaks down Deel’s operational framework for selecting what to publish. The team evaluates hundreds of keywords, ranks by volume, then labels each by buyer intent to focus effort where it will convert.
- •Start with a large keyword universe (hundreds) related to the product space
- •Rank keywords by volume, then evaluate searcher intent manually
- •Green = high intent, Yellow = uncertain intent, Red = low/no buyer intent
- •Prioritize Greens (and often never need to reach Reds)
- 20:03 – 21:55
Step-by-step SEO article production: intent, SERP research, tools, readability
Meltem walks through how a keyword becomes a publishable article, starting with search intent and what Google currently rewards. She highlights practical tactics like using “People also ask” and tools (e.g., Clearscope) to hit quality and readability targets.
- •Validate intent by inspecting current SERP results (what Google serves today)
- •Use “People also ask” to map next questions and expand coverage
- •Watch for ambiguous acronyms (e.g., EOR means different things in other domains)
- •Use SEO tools and readability scoring to ensure clarity and completeness
- 21:55 – 25:48
How Deel runs content ops: team structure, cadence, updates, and no corner-cutting
Meltem describes the content team’s structure and how it operates more like an execution machine than a purely creative group. She explains their publishing cadence, the importance of updating regulatory content, and why shortcuts kill SEO outcomes.
- •~8-person content team with clear roles (director, ops lead, domain owners, new formats)
- •Cadence evolved from ~10 net-new/week to ~5 new + ~5 updates/week
- •Continuous fact-checking is essential in fast-changing regulatory areas
- •SEO remains time-consuming; quality and rigor beat automation and shortcuts
- 25:48 – 26:39
Who should (and shouldn’t) invest in SEO
Meltem argues SEO isn’t universal: it works best where people actively search for solutions and where your site can credibly rank. She contrasts many B2B categories with consumer brands where discovery happens elsewhere (e.g., influencers/social).
- •SEO is strongest when buyers search for solutions to active problems
- •Many B2B products fit this pattern; many consumer goods don’t
- •Brand sites often struggle to rank for “best X” compared to third-party lists
- •Choose channels based on how customers actually discover and decide
- 26:39 – 29:32
Early growth prioritization: website, positioning, and rapid A/B testing before scaling spend
Meltem lays out the order of operations for early-stage growth: get the basics right, then expand. She shares concrete examples from Deel, including moving off a hardcoded site to enable iteration and testing messaging that’s specific (not generic B2B slogans).
- •Sequence: site exists → fast/indexable → discoverable → content → paid ads
- •Avoid generic positioning that could apply to any B2B company
- •Deel moved from a hardcoded site to a platform enabling quick edits and tests
- •Rapid A/B testing across value props (problem-first vs solution-first, time/cost savings)
- 29:32 – 47:10
Paid growth strategy: long-tail channels, avoiding early awareness, and measuring revenue impact
Meltem explains how Deel approached paid acquisition after the basics were in place—starting with core ad platforms, then expanding into “long tail” placements to diversify lead flow. She cautions against early B2B awareness campaigns, praises Notion’s timing, and emphasizes measuring down-funnel revenue, not just leads.
- •After major platforms, invest in long-tail: review sites, niche outlets, newsletters, podcasts
- •Long-tail channels add up and reduce dependency on a few big networks
- •Early B2B awareness campaigns are risky/time-consuming before messaging is proven
- •Paid must be judged by conversion and revenue/payback; Deel built real-time dashboards by channel
- 47:10 – 54:53
Hiring and structuring the growth org: revenue accountability, “little hands,” and global execution
Meltem shares how Deel hires and organizes growth: prioritize people who own revenue outcomes and will do the gritty work. She explains early team-building (prove a thesis before scaling headcount) and today’s functional + regional model to balance expertise with local market knowledge.
- •Interview for willingness to own revenue/closed-won metrics, not just leads
- •Test candidates with plans at $0 / $10k / $100k to see how they scale thinking
- •“Little hands” mindset: everyone does the nitty-gritty when needed
- •Org model: functional experts (paid/content/PMM/etc.) + regional marketers for local execution
- 54:53 – 1:11:50
Culture, speed, and remote reality: Deel speed, optimism, customer care, and the ironing-board office
Meltem defines Deel’s culture as mutual expectations: urgency (“Deel speed”), default optimism, and deep customer care—paired with flexibility in where/how people work. She shares how values were formalized, what remote work felt like early on, and ends with closing advice plus a lightning round on books, media, interview questions, and favorite products.
- •Core cultural expectations: urgency, optimism, and caring deeply about customer impact
- •Values emerged from how the company already operated, then were codified (~1 year in)
- •Remote work built authenticity and camaraderie before many met in person
- •Anecdotes: wartime moments, first in-person meetups, and the famous ironing-board desk
