Startup Stories - Mixergy

By Andrew WarnerSociety & Culture Business Education

Startup Stories - Mixergy episodes

March 19, 2018 #1573 What is it like to become a first-time software founder?
We read a lot about entrepreneurs who are building SaaS companies and Ethan is someone who said, “I’m going to jump in and try it out.”
Ethan Sigmon is the founder of SocialInsight.io, a software that helps you manage your Instagram marketing.
I want to talk to him about what it was like to become a first-time software entrepreneur. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed and it wasn’t a disaster either. It was a story that’s a lot more common and I want to learn from it.
Ethan Sigmon is the founder of SocialInsight.io, a software that helps you manage your Instagram marketing.
Sponsored by
needls – needls is the easiest and most effective way to advertise on Social Media. The needls ad platform allows businesses to automatically create, target and optimize digital ads across Facebook and Instagram, and in turn, determines the perfect target audience for these ads by monitoring social media conversations in real time. Using its proprietary intent engine and AI, needls identifies buying signals within posts, tweets and status updates, then delivers ads directly to these individuals.
Mailshake – Mailshake is an easy-to-use way of taking away the pain point of high volume emails while still being personal and not ending up in the “promotions” tab in Gmail. Use it as a biz dev tool to reach out to prospects on your target customer list. Mailshake is light weight and low cost email software for marketers and sales folks.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
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1 hr 13 min
March 16, 2018 #1572 Keeping your shit together as a founder
Usually, I have entrepreneurs on to talk about how they built their businesses. Today’s guest is not going to be doing that.
Sherry Walling is the founder of ZenFounder, which helps founders handle the mental side of their work. Her new book is The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Shit Together: How to Run Your Business Without Letting It Run You.
Sherry Walling is the founder of ZenFounder, which helps founders handle the mental side of their work.
Sponsored by
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
needls – needls is the easiest and most effective way to advertise on Social Media. The needls ad platform allows businesses to automatically create, target and optimize digital ads across Facebook and Instagram, and in turn, determines the perfect target audience for these ads by monitoring social media conversations in real time. Using its proprietary intent engine and AI, needls identifies buying signals within posts, tweets and status updates, then delivers ads directly to these individuals.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 1 min
March 14, 2018 #1571 Jordan Harbinger tells me how he booked guests like Shaq and other podcasting techniques
There are specific things that Jordan Harbinger did relentlessly that resulted in topping the charts of the podcasting world.
I wanted to bring him on here to talk about how he did it with his previous podcast, Art of Charm.
He’s now growing a second podcast called The Jordan Harbinger Show. His goal with The Jordan Harbinger Show is for every episode to solve a problem for you or make you better in some way.
I listened to it. I didn’t want to just come here and say, “It’s a good show. Go download it,” because he’s a friend. I wanted to make sure it was actually good and it was. It will help you solve a problem, make you better in some way.
Jordan Harbinger is the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show, where every episode solves a problem for you or make you better in some way.
Sponsored by
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
HostGator – Ready to take your website to the next level? Whether you’re a first-time blogger or an experienced web pro, HostGator has all the tools you need to create a great-looking website or online store. A wide range of options includes cloud-based web hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers. Founded in 2002, HostGator is the perfect web partner for business owners and individuals seeking hands-on support. Visit www.hostgator.com/mixergy to see what HostGator can do for your website.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 12 min
March 12, 2018 #1570 How car-sharing GoGet was bootstrapped to $30M
You guys are going to recognize the business model today’s guest created. It’s not laughable the way it was when he started out. People in the U.S. raised millions for that idea, he did not. It had to be bootstrapped.
He built it from scratch and kept growing and growing and growing it. Bruce Jeffreys is the founder of GoGet, Australia’s first car-sharing service.
I’m so fascinated by this scrappy way that he and his cofounder built up the business.
Bruce Jeffreys is the founder of GoGet, Australia’s first car-sharing service.
Sponsored by
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
HostGator – Ready to take your website to the next level? Whether you’re a first-time blogger or an experienced web pro, HostGator has all the tools you need to create a great-looking website or online store. A wide range of options includes cloud-based web hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers. Founded in 2002, HostGator is the perfect web partner for business owners and individuals seeking hands-on support. Visit www.hostgator.com/mixergy to see what HostGator can do for your website.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 13 min
March 09, 2018 #1569 La Biblia Reina Valera case study: How to build and sell a profitable app
One of the things that I noticed living in San Francisco is every app seems to be built for the same group of people in Silicon Valley who all seem to be the same.
But I also believe that there are fortunes to be made outside of the Silicon Valley mindset that the rest of the world might benefit from. Today’s guest is a great example of that.
Trevor McKendrick is the founder of La Biblia Reina Valera, a Spanish language Bible app. He did really well with it and then sold the business to do other things. I invited him here to talk about how he came up with the idea, how he got people to download his app, where he got revenue and why he sold.
Trevor McKendrick is the founder of La Biblia Reina Valera, a Spanish language Bible app.
Sponsored by
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
With Bench, you get a professional bookkeeping team to do your books for you and our simple, elegant software to review your finances. It’s everything you need to forget about your bookkeeping, without actually forgetting about your bookkeeping.
Sign up at Bench and get 20% off for your first 6 months.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
56 min
March 07, 2018 #1568 How to nurture brand loyalty through Amazon
I usually interview tech entrepreneurs about how they built their software companies. Today’s guest tried that and it didn’t work. Now he’s selling the opposite of technology. He’s selling hand grinders.
Raj Jana is the founder of JavaPresse, a coffee company dedicated to helping consumers enjoy the perfect cup of coffee.
We’ll find out how successful this business is, how he got where he is today, and what’s working and what’s not. I think it’s especially useful for anyone who is in ecommerce.
Raj Jana is the founder of JavaPresse, a coffee company dedicated to helping consumers enjoy the perfect cup of coffee.
Sponsored by
With Bench, you get a professional bookkeeping team to do your books for you and our simple, elegant software to review your finances. It’s everything you need to forget about your bookkeeping, without actually forgetting about your bookkeeping.
Sign up at Bench and get 20% off for your first 6 months.
Mailshake – Mailshake is an easy-to-use way of taking away the pain point of high volume emails while still being personal and not ending up in the “promotions” tab in Gmail. Use it as a biz dev tool to reach out to prospects on your target customer list. Mailshake is light weight and low cost email software for marketers and sales folks.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 15 min
March 05, 2018 #1567 Ryan Carson of Treehouse: from startup founder to seasoned CEO
Ryan Carson was so good at telling the world why his unconventional way of doing business was right & others were wrong.
Other companies worked 5 days a week. Treehouse worked 4. Others had managers. Treehouse had a more self-directed team. Others…well, I could go on, but you get the picture, right?
Last time he was on Mixergy he talked about how that style took his startup to $140k in monthly sales. But to do much better, he had to mature as a leader. This is how he went from a startup founder to the CEO of a professional, growing company by doing some of the things he used to fight against.
Ryan Carson is the founder of Treehouse, a place where you can learn how to design and develop code online.
Sponsored by
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
HostGator – Ready to take your website to the next level? Whether you’re a first-time blogger or an experienced web pro, HostGator has all the tools you need to create a great-looking website or online store. A wide range of options includes cloud-based web hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers. Founded in 2002, HostGator is the perfect web partner for business owners and individuals seeking hands-on support. Visit www.hostgator.com/mixergy to see what HostGator can do for your website.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 6 min
March 02, 2018 #1566 Meet the founder who’s taking on Shopify
Today’s guest is a guy who has software that allows people to create online stores. The minute I heard about this idea, I said, “Whoa, he’s going to get crushed.” There are competitors already in the space who are really, really big.
I’m talking about Amazon and Shopify. And into this space he waltzes in and he says, “I’m going to build something better.” I want to find out how far he’s come.
Gal Ratner is the founder of ShopSnap, which allows customers to create an online store in a snap. The fact that he’s here shows you that he’s come pretty far. But I want to understand how.
Gal Ratner is the founder of ShopSnap, which allows customers to create an online store in a snap.
Sponsored by
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If you’re with one of their confusing competitors and you want something new, you owe it to your business to check out ActiveCampaign.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 7 min
February 28, 2018 #1565 How to build a remote recruitment agency
This interview is about how to build an online recruitment agency, which enables businesses to find remote IT employees. What I’m trying to figure out is how today’s guest is competing in a world with so many recruitment companies that are so deeply venture backed.
How is he getting customers? How is he finding the candidates? And then, what happened in the past when things didn’t exactly work out for him and he felt like he lost your soul running a previous company?
Sharon Koifman is the founder of DistantJob, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in remote IT employees.
Sharon Koifman is the founder of DistantJob, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in remote IT employees.
Sponsored by
With Bench, you get a professional bookkeeping team to do your books for you and our simple, elegant software to review your finances. It’s everything you need to forget about your bookkeeping, without actually forgetting about your bookkeeping.
Sign up at Bench and get 20% off for your first 6 months.
Regus has built an unparalleled network of office, co-working and meeting spaces for companies to use in every city in the world, an infrastructure to support every business opportunity.
Their network of workspaces enables businesses to operate anywhere, without the need for set-up costs or capital investment. It provides our customers with immediate cost benefits and the opportunity to fully outsource their office portfolio.
It’s a network designed to enhance productivity and connect 2.5 million like-minded professionals: an instant global community, and a place to belong.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 6 min
February 26, 2018 #1564 Enterprise sales done right
Today’s guest helps executives and CEOs drive more predictable execution at their company. I want talk to him about that.
I also want to talk to him about also NetQoS, which is the company that he founded. It was a developer of network and application performance management software which he sold to CA Technologies.
Joel Trammell is currently the CEO of Black Box, a leading digital solutions provider dedicated to helping customers design, build, manage, and secure their IT infrastructure.
My focus for this interview is going to be how he built NetQoS.
Joel Trammell is currently the CEO of Black Box, a leading digital solutions provider dedicated to helping customers design, build, manage, and secure their IT infrastructure.
Sponsored by
With Bench, you get a professional bookkeeping team to do your books for you and our simple, elegant software to review your finances. It’s everything you need to forget about your bookkeeping, without actually forgetting about your bookkeeping.
Sign up at Bench and get 20% off for your first 6 months.
Toptal – If you’re having trouble finding developers, Toptal is a network of elite pre-vetted software developers. You tell Toptal what you’re looking for, they search their network for the best people, they test the candidates, and then they present you with only the candidates who meet your individual needs. Once you pick someone you can start work with them the next day. They offer a no-risk trial period. Go to Toptal.com. Get the best of the best right now.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
54 min