Derek Ali, better known as MixedByAli, is a 3-time Grammy Award-winning mix engineer and a longtime collaborator with Top Dawg Entertainment. He is also the founder and CEO of EngineEars, a platform for audio engineers to mix music and find projects. He walks us through his music career, the artists who launched him to fame, and the workshops he offered. He also talks about the challenges of launching a startup, how he scaled his business, and the power of niche.

If you’re an audio engineer looking to grow your potential or interested in building a startup, this is the episode for you!

Episode Highlights:

[ 02:24 ] How Derek’s ringtone business in high school kick-started his interest in music

[ 08:05 ] What it was like to work with Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre

[ 10:10 ] About Derek’s team of engineers

[ 10:50 ] On “unlearning”

[ 11:42 ] Why and how he started offering workshops

[ 16:05 ] On running a small business as a sound engineer and getting the funding to scale EngineEars

[ 25:41 ] Lead by example and manage your time in a way that puts yourself first

[ 31:22 ] On understanding problems in real time and the importance of having a team

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Overcast | Amazon | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSS

Host: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.co

Guest: Derek Ali, @MixedByAli, EngineEars

Trapital is home for the business of hip-hop. Gain the latest insights from hip-hop’s biggest players by reading Trapital’s free weekly memo.