Joining me is a friend whose businesses I have grown to appreciate so much more over the years. He’s recently written about the experience of building a profitable businesses while prioritizing family. 
The book is The Family First Entrepreneur. I’ll ask him about that and his businesses in this interview. 
 Steve Chou is an entrepreneur and author of The Family First Entrepreneur.
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Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.

Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
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#2236 Running a family-first startup

Business tips for startups by proven entrepreneurs

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Brent Underwood had a business idea: buy an abandoned town and turn it into a tourist destination.
It didn’t work. Mostly because he tried running it remotely.
Then he moved in. He started looking around, diving into old mines, and finding old treasures.
He shot video of what he saw and of his renovations. That got hugely popular on social media, helped him raise money and allowed him to fund his project. It’s all in his book, Ghost Town Living, and in this interview.
 
 Brent Underwood is the founder of Cerro Gordo, an ambitious project aimed at reviving a historic ghost town into a tourist attraction and real estate opportunity. Outside of his entrepreneurial endeavors, Brent has a passion for history, hospitality, and the unique storytelling of the American West, all of which play a central role in his current venture.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.
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#2265 He Bought a Ghost Town

Ryan Deiss’s business was too chaotic to grow beyond a few team members. So he tried creating SOP’s, you know those how-to docs that every business is told to create, but few people end up using.
He figured there had to be a better way. Through experiments with he came up with “an operating system for companies.” He says this approach helped him grow to over a dozen different companies which last year did revenue in excess of $200 million.
He explained his process in his book Get Scalable: How to Create an Operating System for Your Business, and in this interview.
 Ryan Deiss is the founder of DigitalMarketer and The Scalable Company. His most recent book is “Get Scalable: How to Create an Operating System for Your Business.” Despite the fact that he built a massive online community and offline event business, he’s so shy that we rarely see him at events here in Austin.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.
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#2264 From Chaos to $200M. Ryan Deiss’s Method

He built Art.com through the early days of the internet, despite the dotcom bust, and through heavy competition….After all that work, the company sold to a much bigger company….And that’s when the lawsuit came.
You’ll hear how Joshua Chodniewicz built that business and how his latest business, Fundify, is changing startup investing by making it super-simple.
 Joshua Chodniewicz is the founder of Art.com, a pioneering online platform for art and wall décor. He is deeply passionate about entrepreneurship and enjoys discussing business strategies and ideas with his sons. Currently, Joshua is leading Fundify, focusing on democratizing startup investments.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.
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#2263 Art.com’s A Rocky Road to Success

Allbirds were the sustainable shoes known to be worn by Marissa Mayer, Jennifer Garner, and every dude I knew when I lived in San Francisco. How did the company get so big and where is it now? I invited the founders Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger to talk about it.
 Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger are the founders of Allbirds. Previously, Tim was a footballer and business student. And Joey specialized in biotech and renewable materials.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.
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#2262 What happened to Allbirds?

This founder found a niche that Airbnb didn’t reach and rode it to $6 million in revenue.
Steve Satoru Naito’s Anyplace, accommodations come with big monitors, high-speed internet, an office setup, ergonomic chairs, webcams, and key lights, all tailored to create an optimal environment for remote work and zoom calls.
In this interview, you’ll hear Steve’s entrepreneurial journey from Japan to Silicon Valley, the unique business model that sets Anyplace apart, and strategies for customer acquisition and retention in the competitive accommodation sector.
 Steve Satoru Naito is the founder of Anyplace, which offers monthly, furnished accommodations designed for remote work. Originally from Japan, he moved to San Francisco to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, and he has a background as a tech reporter for TechCrunch Japan.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.
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#2236 Running a family-first startup

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