An inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

August 27, 2023

Duration

1h 11m

Channel

Lenny's Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Meltem Kuran Berkowitz is Head of Growth at Deel, which went from $0 to $300m in ARR in 3 years (fastest company in history to do so). Meltem joined Deel early to lead growth, and currently leads all of the growth and marketing teams including paid ads, content, product marketing, community, brand, and more. In this episode, we discuss:

• How Deel found success leveraging low-cost growth channels
• Why early awareness campaigns are a waste of time in B2B
• How to create effective SEO content
• Deel’s “traffic light” framework
• When it makes sense to invest in paid ads
• The art of structuring growth teams
• Building a startup culture

— Brought to you by Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life: https://miro.com/lenny | LMNT—Zero-sugar hydration: https://www.drinklmnt.com/lenny | AssemblyAI—Production-ready AI models to transcribe and understand speech: https://www.assemblyai.com/lenny Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-deels-unprecedented Where to find Meltem Kuran Berkowitz:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meltemkuran
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meltem-kuran-berkowitz-4721114b

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Meltem’s background (04:21) What Deel does (06:32) How Meltem leverages low-cost growth channels (13:18) How to answer questions in a value-add way (14:52) Leveraging closed communities (15:48) Breaking down Deel’s impressive growth (16:33) SEO best practices (18:32) Deel’s “traffic light system” framework for publishing content (20:03) The step-by-step process of publishing an SEO article (21:55) How Deel structures their content team (23:18) Why you can’t cut corners when doing SEO (25:15) Businesses that should not invest in SEO (26:40) The growth channels Deel prioritized early on (32:12) Why Meltem is not a fan of early awareness campaigns for B2B businesses (33:54) What Notion did right with their ad campaigns (36:16) How Deel can help your company (38:15) Deel’s blog post that caught the attention of the IRS (40:06) Paid ads tips (42:12) Why acquisition channels are useless without a great product (44:19) How the pandemic helped drive growth at Deel (47:11) Structuring early growth teams (51:23) Building a startup culture (1:01:10) The story behind Meltem’s unique workspace (1:05:22) Closing thoughts on growth (1:06:05) Lightning round Referenced:

• Deel: https://www.deel.com/
• Clearscope: https://www.clearscope.io/
• Notion: https://www.notion.so/
• Geoff Charles on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/velocity-over-everything-how-ramp-became-the-fastest-growing-saas-startup-of-all-time-geoff-charl/
• Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115
• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com
• How Will You Measure Your Life?: https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0062102419
• Oppenheimer: https://www.oppenheimermovie.com/
• The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NF4J7XW
• Library stamps on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/library-stamp/s?k=library+stamp
• Bloody Caesar recipe: https://www.liquor.com/recipes/bloody-caesar/

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Meltem Kuran Berkowitz

  guest

• Lenny Rachitsky

  host

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Meltem Kuran Berkowitz and Lenny Rachitsky, An inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth) explores inside Deel’s Explosive SaaS Growth: Cheap Channels, Speed, Discipline Meltem Kuran Berkowitz, Head of Growth at Deel, breaks down how Deel scaled from under $1M to nearly $300M ARR in three years while remaining EBITDA positive. Her strategy centers on nailing basics first (fast, clear website and strong product), then layering in low-cost, high-intent channels like SEO, Q&A communities, and focused partnerships before heavy paid spend. She explains Deel’s highly operational approach to content/SEO, disciplined paid acquisition tied to revenue (not leads), and a growth team structure that blends functional and regional expertise. Throughout, she emphasizes culture—“Deel speed,” default optimism, and deep care for customers—as the backbone enabling fast, sustainable growth.

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