Startup Stories - Mixergy

By Andrew WarnerSociety & Culture Business Education

Startup Stories - Mixergy episodes

January 06, 2017 #1393 How a list nerd grew Ranker.com to 27,000,000 monthly visitors – with Clark Benson
I was a jerk to today’s guest years ago.
Here’s what happened. About six years ago, Clark Benson came on to do an interview with me and was really excited about this company he had just launched. It was called Ranker, but I didn’t want to talk to you about it. What I wanted to talk about was this company I knew about that he had built, grew into this huge success, and sold. It was called eCrush.
He had already moved past it, but all I want to do on Mixergy is talk about successful companies and dissect them.
Well, in the years since then, Ranker has shot up dramatically in traffic, and now I’m coming hat in hand to Clark Benson saying, “Dude, what happened to Ranker?”
I have a lot of researching skills and a lot of tools for doing research and I still can’t fully figure out how Ranker shot up in traffic as much as it did. I can’t even figure out exactly where the revenues are coming from. So I want to do this interview to figure out how that happened, how he built it up, and what all of us can learn about growing traffic.
Clark Benson is the founder of Ranker, crowdsource ranking for everything on the planet.
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
57 min
January 04, 2017 #1392 How Groove built a better mousetrap in helpdesk software
Today’s guest does not do a lot of interviews like this. This might be the first one he’s ever done, and I’m proud to have him on here to talk about how he built up his company.
How did he do it? It started with blogging about his journey and talking about his company and how it was growing. And the blog actually helped him grow his software.
Alex is the founder of Groove, a simple helpdesk software.
Alex is the founder of Groove, a simple helpdesk software.
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
1 hr 19 min
December 30, 2016 #1391 How to run a done-for-you service company without going crazy
What today’s guest does is say to companies, Look, you hate handling all these email systems, landing page platforms, right?
His company handles it all for them.
I know everyone like me who uses marketing automation has a different goal and different set of software. Well, the company that today’s guest created works with all of them.
Carl Taylor is the founder of Automation Agency, a done-for-you marketing automation concierge service.
We’re going to find out how he did it and how he’s not going nuts running this company.
Carl Taylor is the founder of Automation Agency, a done-for-you marketing automation concierge service.
Sponsored by
Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 4 min
December 28, 2016 #1390 How to grow a company beyond JUST YOU – with Michael E Gerber
When I was at school at NYU there was one professor who I especially loved. He was a guy who had started his own company and was now teaching entrepreneurship.
He gave us a book recommendation that, to this day, changed the way I do business. It was called The E-Myth Revisited. It was about systematizing and organizing your business so it can grow beyond you alone.
I’m so excited to interview the author of that book today. He has a new book out that builds on what he taught me before.
Michael E Gerber is the author of Beyond The E-Myth, The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One into a Company of 1000.
Michael E Gerber is the author of Beyond The E-Myth, The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One into a Company of 1000.
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.
Upon signup, you’re paired with a team of dedicated bookkeepers who understand your business and use simple, intuitive software to balance your books. Each month you’ll receive tax-ready financials that give you a snapshot of the financial health of your business and make filing taxes a breeze.
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
53 min
December 21, 2016 #1389 How The Penny Hoarder became a $20M dollar blog – with Kyle Taylor
I’m afraid people might skip this interview because the company is called The Penny Hoarder and they want to hear about a big tech company like Zapier.
But those people will be making a huge mistake. The company you’re about to hear about is doing phenomenally well and it’s simply a blog.
Kyle Taylor is the founder of The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance blog and I want to understand how he did it.
Kyle Taylor is the founder of The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance blog.
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 is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all.
HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 3 min
December 19, 2016 #1388 How to land partnerships with big national brands
Today’s guest had a problem. He wanted to give a card. He wanted to pay for a friend’s dinner remotely. He couldn’t do it and said, “I think there’s a solution here. I think I can build it.”
And he built it up and my team of researchers talked to him. We found his revenue. I, being the skeptic who’s the last barrier to having somebody on the site, said this does not seem right to me.
So I did some research and I realized this guy really is working with top brands and I’ve got to find out how he did it. So that’s what we’re going to do here today.
Matias Marquez is the founder of Buyatab, which enables an electronic version of your existing gift cards.
Matias Marquez is the founder of Buyatab, which enables an electronic version of your existing gift cards.
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.
Upon signup, you’re paired with a team of dedicated bookkeepers who understand your business and use simple, intuitive software to balance your books. Each month you’ll receive tax-ready financials that give you a snapshot of the financial health of your business and make filing taxes a breeze.
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
1 hr 7 min
December 16, 2016 #1387 How to run an engaged, organized and useful Facebook community – with Naveen Dittakavi
This is a different interview than I usually do. Usually I ask my guests about how they built their companies. This one I want to know how I can build mine better.
Naveen Dittakavi is the founder of NextVacay, which offers amazing travel deals sent to your inbox.
But the real reason that I’ve got him here is that I started a community for Mixergy Premium members and I want to know how I can just keep improving it.
A few years ago, I signed up for something called Ramit’s Brain Trust that my friend Ramit Sethi put together. And what captured my attention was the community that went along with it. It was just a lot of interesting engagement, lots of organization, lots of utility and connections being made. And it was just a Facebook community, something I would have blown off.
The more I saw it grow, the more I paid attention to the guy who was running it, Naveen. And I started asking him what he learned from running Ramit’s Brain Trust that we should be bringing to Mixergy?
That’s the conversation I’m recording today and the reason that I’m going to do this publicly is so that if you have any interest at all in communities, you’ll learn from him about how he’s built up Ramit’s Brain Trust community.
Naveen Dittakavi is the founder of NextVacay, which offers amazing travel deals sent to your inbox.
Sponsored by
HostGator is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all.
HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more.
Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 6 min
December 14, 2016 #1386 How Iconfinder founder Martin LeBlanc built a marketplace for icons
There was a day where I needed an icon for Mixergy so I Googled how to find one and that’s when I saw Iconfinder.
I bought the icon I needed and it was so freaking easy. And it was just $1.
I finally realized I knew who the founder was—I had been emailing with him since 2009.
Today I’m proud to have him on because his business just keeps growing and growing.
Martin LeBlanc is the founder of Iconfinder, the largest collection of premium icons.
Martin LeBlanc is the founder of Iconfinder, the largest collection of premium icons.
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.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 4 min
December 12, 2016 #1385 How Chip Baker got into the business of marijuana
Before I tell you about today’s guest, I want to tell you that I was watching the election results and saw that marijuana was legalized in California.
I didn’t sit back and say, “Great, now I can smoke.” I said, “Great. I wonder who is building a business that is going to profit from this?”
That’s how my mind works. Well, today I have a guest that is someone in this space.
In an email to me he said, “For the last 15 years, I have been involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and retail sales of picks and shovels to the ganja and cannabis industry.”
In this interview we’ll talk about the companies he founded.
Chip Baker is the founder of Royal Gold, which he sold.
Chip Baker is the founder of Royal Gold, the original coco soil company.
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 is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all.
HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 9 min
December 09, 2016 #1384 How getting turned away at NY clubs led to a brilliant software – with Joel Montaniel
There is a pattern that often comes up in these interviews. And the pattern is finding a problem and then creating a solution by starting a business or product to address that the problem.
Well, today’s guest did that right off the bat. He had a problem himself. He was making good money and he wanted to go out and enjoy life after working insane hours.
He knew he was the type of person club owners would want inside their club but they had no way of knowing that.
So he created software that solved that problem.
Joel Montaniel is the cofounder of SevenRooms, a CRM driven reservation and seating management platform.
Joel Montaniel is the cofounder of SevenRooms, a CRM driven reservation and seating management platform.
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.
Upon signup, you’re paired with a team of dedicated bookkeepers who understand your business and use simple, intuitive software to balance your books. Each month you’ll receive tax-ready financials that give you a snapshot of the financial health of your business and make filing taxes a breeze.
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
1 hr 13 min