
Matt Symes: From Trapped to Transformation
Drawing on his journey from academia to leading transformations and investing in a portfolio of companies, Matt Symes shares how he helps founders get unstuck by reframing value and aligning personal aims with business strategy. Along the way, we talk about responsible critique, defining what matters, operating beyond the P&L, your best life, and human innovation with AI. About Matt Symes Matt Symes is a transformation strategist, AI-first architect, and founder of Levership, where he helps founder-led businesses scale without losing control of what they’ve built. His work is grounded in a core belief that growth should only happen in ways a leader can sustainably support, both mentally and operationally. Matt helps leaders identify what breaks under scale, from founder-dependent sales models to operations that haven’t evolved fast enough for the business they’ve become. Matt has worked with more than 500 organizations across various industries and contributed to over $1B in profitable growth. He’s passionate about working with high-growth smaller businesses. Since 2023, he has worked with more than a thousand leaders to turn AI from abstract potential into practical execution, focusing on how it can restructure work rather than simply add tools. Matt is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UNB’s TME program, a Halifax Chamber Business Leader of the Year, and a multi-year Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEO. Find out more about Matt at: Website: https://levership.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-symes-8328a765/ To learn more, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-shupp-18b4619b/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters: https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/




