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Matan Bar

Co-Founder & CEO, Melio · 1 appearance on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

founderexecutiveoperator@matanbar ↗LinkedIn ↗meliopayments.com ↗

Matan Bar co-founded Melio in 2018, scaling the B2B payments platform to unicorn status before its acquisition by Xero. He previously co-founded The Gifts Project and served as General Manager of PayPal's Consumer R&D Center in Tel Aviv.

16statements → 6claims → 4claims resolved → 50%fully supported → 3.94/5average certainty → 1.94/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated → 8said about them ↓

2 supported 1 partly supported 1 contradicted 2 not checkable as stated how the 6 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

2 predictions · 4 assertions · 2 opinions · 5 insights · 3 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 6 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 4 are resolved, and 2 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Matan argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Prediction Held up
Bar: Melio will offer credit through partnerships, not in-house balance sheet
“I think we're most likely going to partner with a company that is doing credit well in order to provide this service as a Our focus is to become the best B to B payments platform and user experience, and that's a lot of work already. So getting into credit und…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 15:18 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio

Their most notable contradicted claim

Prediction Didn’t hold up
Bar: B2B paper check volume will drop to zero within five years
“The next five years is when the 18 trillion, or whatever number you choose of, some research says, 18 trillion dollars of paper checks They will decrease to zero. There's no doubt about it.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 31:09 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
none yet certainty 2
100% certainty 3
50% certainty 4
50% certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: speaking style how? →

209 words/min while actually speaking · 2.5 um and uh per 1k words

No argument clarity score for Matan Bar: no usable question→answer exchanges on raw tape (a fair score needs 8+). We do not score a sample that small. Roundtable and news formats yield far fewer direct exchanges than interviews. Their coarse estimate from 24 exchanges on the produced feed is ≈4.5/5, shown at half point precision because the sample is small and produced tape scores higher.

Measured by listening to 4,419 words across 1 episode, but every recording we have of Matan Bar is the aired feed, and an editor cleaned that audio before release. Some of the hesitation was cut before we ever heard it, so read these as floors: the true rates are at least this high. These are measurements of speaking style, not scores. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 1 rated episode:

host pushback ▾ 2/10
pushed back at the host 1/10
setup questions received 65%

Everything Matan Bar said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Opinion
Matan Bar: Bill.com targets finance pros; Melio targets owner-operators
“As these tools, Bill.com, Avid Exchange, all these wonderful accounts payable automation solutions are mostly built for finance professionals, like an accountant, a bookkeeper, a finance team, and Melio is targeting these owner operators, these small businesse…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 13:13 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Bar: B2B paper check volume will drop to zero within five years
“The next five years is when the 18 trillion, or whatever number you choose of, some research says, 18 trillion dollars of paper checks They will decrease to zero. There's no doubt about it.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 31:09 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Assertion Partly supported
Bar: Federal Reserve research shows $18T in US B2B payments remain on paper checks
“Hasn't happened yet in terms of how a business pays another business or how B to B payments are being done, and I remember this one number that I shared with Michael that I read the Federal Reserve research that indicated that there are around 18 trillion doll…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 3:55 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Insight
Bar: Ubiquity drives winner-takes-all dynamics in payment networks
“And ubiquity wins. Like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Square Cash, all these payment networks, they became ubiquitous around the US, As more and more people started using them, and that's how its winner takes all, or winner takes most, I guess, with these types of pay…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 6:28 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Insight
Bar: B2B payment platforms cannot rely on forced recipient sign-ups
“With B to B payments, and with Melio, it was interesting because we could not force a closed network. So, when a restaurant owner is paying its, I don't know, 15 suppliers, electricity company, the fish supplier, we need to make sure that the restaurant owner …”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 10:06 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Opinion
Bar: Setting strict 50-50 gender quotas is wrong approach for diversity
“So we didn't aspire to get to fifty-fifty. I don't think that's the right way to do that.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 26:16 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Disclosure
Melio turned down higher valuations on every funding round
“We turned down higher valuations than the ones we took from our current investors on every round, really. Like, on our A, we had a higher valuation from another VC. On our B, on our C, this last round as well, we always received higher valuations, but we picke…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 30:33 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Disclosure
Bar: Melio co-founders agreed to partner before having a business idea
“I think we've decided to work together in terms of our shared values. Like, we decided to work together before we had a specific concept in mind.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 4:57 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Insight
Bar: Cash flow speed drives network effects in open B2B systems
“Cash flow is the main driver for network effect with an open network like the one Milio has built.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 11:16 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Insight
Matan Bar: Small businesses care about cash flow, not automation
“What these businesses care about is cash flow. Not automation.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 14:27 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Prediction Held up
Bar: Melio will offer credit through partnerships, not in-house balance sheet
“I think we're most likely going to partner with a company that is doing credit well in order to provide this service as a Our focus is to become the best B to B payments platform and user experience, and that's a lot of work already. So getting into credit und…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 15:18 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Insight
Matan Bar: Monthly HR reviews keep scaling startups ahead of org changes
“We meet every month. We have an HR review to see, evaluate specific performance topics, and just try to understand whether the structure that we have is the right one for the goals that we're trying to set. And it's not like every month we're changing the stru…”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 21:26 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Disclosure
Melio reaches 200 employees with 49% female gender breakdown
“Today, we're 200 people, 49% women, 51% men. This was the seed for us to become a truly diverse company. Most of our leadership are women.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 23:36 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matan Bar: 8 million US small businesses are eligible for Melio
“There are different numbers, but let's say around eight million small businesses that are eligible, small businesses for our platform,”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 12:59 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Assertion Supported
Bar: Melio grew headcount from 30 to 200 employees in one year
“We grew from 30 people in January, 20 20 to 200 this January.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 17:29 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Melio customers shift all transactions after two months of trust-building
“So I guess we have like a couple of months where We build trust with a new customer, and then they shift all of their transactions to Melio.”
Matan Bar Feb 11, 2021 ▶ 12:07 20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effects Within Payment Platforms & How To Leverage Your Board and Investor Base for the Most Value with Matan Bar, Founder & CEO @ Melio

The other half of the tape: Matan Bar's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 8 times in 2 episodes on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Michael Eisenberg 3Harry Stebbings 3Chad Peets 2

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
003161202120222023202420252026episodesmentions
011202120222023202420252026episodes it came up in
0030.561202120222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 2 mentions in 1 episode
2021 6 mentions in 1 episode

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC: Scaling to a $1.3Bn Valuation While in Stealth, The Power of Different Network Effec Feb 11, 2021 23m
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