Startup Stories - Mixergy

By Andrew WarnerSociety & Culture Business Education

Startup Stories - Mixergy episodes

June 29, 2016 #1323 How a project management software found a gap in a crowded market – with Antonio Carlos Soares
I almost wasn’t going to do this interview. I just couldn’t believe that yet another project management software company could be doing well. I thought we had all the project management software apps that we needed.
But then I saw who recommended today’s guest, a guy named Alex Dantas, who’s recommended several killer guests here for Mixergy and I said if Alex recommends it, it’s got to be both good and a business and entrepreneur that many people in my audience probably haven’t heard of and should hear about it. And then I dug in.
Here’s the deal. This company is doing well. It’s very young and it’s not the first company that the founder came up with. It’s the second one. The first company he sold, the second one is what we’re going to be talking about today. The entrepreneur is called Antonio Carlos Soares. He is the cofounder of Runrun.it. It’s a project management software that does much more than that little name implies. His previous company–well, we’ll talk about that in the interview too…
Antonio Carlos Soares is the cofounder of Runrun.it, a project management software.
Sponsored by
Reactor Core is a unique infrastructure of coding schools, engineers, educators, hackers & more who believe in the transformative power of education. Our network of schools (Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, Telegraph Academy, Remote Beta, & Mobile Makers) produce the best workplace-ready software engineers. Our team is revolutionizing efficiency in business and leadership with comprehensive and profound practices. Visit ReactorCore.com to learn more.
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
57 min
June 27, 2016 #1322 How an Italian startup is helping brands connect with influencers – with Fabrizio Perrone
I was talking to one of my customers recently and I said, “How are you getting your customers?”
He and his cofounder had a line of makeup. I said, “How do you compete in the makeup space? Where are you getting your customers?” And he said Instagram. I said, “So, you’re buying ads?” He goes, “No, not really. We’re not buying Instagram ads.” He said, “We’re actually paying people on Instagram to talk about the makeup.” I said, “Let me see.”
What he does is he goes to Instagram and he looks to see who’s got a pretty decent audience. Then he emails them and he says, “Hey, can we pay you to wear our makeup or can we send you free samples?” with the hopes they’ll wear the makeup. And that’s where he was getting his customers and really growing a nice little business. I’ve heard of people doing this, but until I actually saw his case, I didn’t realize how effective it was.
Well, today we’ve got an entrepreneur who built a company that makes connecting with influencers a lot easier.
His name is Fabrizio Perrone. He is the founder of Buzzoole, which helps brands connect with influencers who create content for them, keep track of how effective each influencer is, and see what’s worked for other sponsors.
Fabrizio Perrone is the founder of Buzzoole which helps brands connect with influencers who create content for them.
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.
Acuity Scheduling – Acuity Scheduling helps businesses offer and manage their appointments online. With this tool, you’ll be able to automate your client bookings, cancellations, reminders & even payments without sacrificing you soul. Plus, automated reminders and follow-ups eliminate your no-shows, and incentivize repeat bookings. Get an exclusive 45-day trial at AcuityScheduling.com/mixergy
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
52 min
June 24, 2016 #1321 The eternal truths of direct marketing – with Brian Kurtz
If you went into my garage right now, you’d see boxes and boxes and boxes of books. In one of those boxes is a giant collection of big black books.
I remember the ads that got me to buy them and the anticipation of having them come in the mail. It was the ads with one-sentence teasers of what you could learn and then after each sentence, the page number of where you could go and learn it. The ones that I remember were about business. I remember holding those pieces of paper until the book came so that I could finally get my curiosity satisfied about how this business tip was going to unfold.
Today’s guest is Brian Kurtz, the guy responsible for taking the company behind those books to a high of $160 million. He currently runs Titans Marketing, an educational consulting business that teaches direct response marketing.
The stuff that worked for him back then still works today. I want to find out some of these eternal marketing truths that you and I could use tomorrow and maybe even within this interview.
Brian Kurtz currently runs Titans Marketing, an educational consulting business that teaches direct response marketing.
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 22 min
June 22, 2016 #1320 How Mitchell Harper built a $100,000,000 company, failed, and got back up
I hope that decades from now people go back to these interviews to learn from this crop of entrepreneurs. And one I’ll be most proud is my interview with Mitchell Harper of BigCommerce.
He’s a guy who started out bootstrapping, who built an incredible company, and who came on to talk about it back in 2010. It was such a great interview and it holds up even after all this time.
Mitchell Harper is the founder of BigCommerce, an e-commerce platform whose revenue is approaching $100,000,000.
I want to find out why he left that company and about his new product, Startup Growth Blueprint, a course that teaches everything he’s learned from growing companies including where to get an idea, how to validate it, how to launch, hire people—everything.
Mitchell Harper is the founder of BigCommerce, an all-in-one e-commerce platform with the power to grow your business.
His new product is Startup Growth Blueprint, a course that teaches everything he’s learned from growing companies including where to get an idea, how to validate it, how to launch, and hire people.
Sponsored by
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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
1 hr 10 min
June 20, 2016 #1319 DesignCrowd founder doesn’t do interviews (except for this one) – with Alec Lynch
A few months ago we had a sponsor named DesignCrowd that I talked about a couple of times in interviews. But in private, my team and I were saying, “Those guys are making bank.” But we couldn’t really figure out how big they were.
The more we looked into it, the more impressed we were by how big this little thing had gotten that today’s guest started in his mom’s house.
He doesn’t do any interviews. Which means we get to discover him here on Mixergy and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to hear the story of how this guy with an idea created a marketplace for design and we’ll find out just how big it is.
Alec Lynch is the founder of DesignCrowd, a marketplace that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses outsource graphic, logo and web design.
Alec Lynch is the founder of DesignCrowd, a marketplace that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses outsource graphic, logo and web design.
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.
Acuity Scheduling – Acuity Scheduling helps businesses offer and manage their appointments online. With this tool, you’ll be able to automate your client bookings, cancellations, reminders & even payments without sacrificing you soul. Plus, automated reminders and follow-ups eliminate your no-shows, and incentivize repeat bookings. Get an exclusive 45-day trial at AcuityScheduling.com/mixergy
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 18 min
June 17, 2016 #1318 How Robin Smith turned an offline headache into the online platform WeGoLook
I’ve got someone whose story who you’ve probably never seen on major media, but you should because it’s exciting and inspiring.
Today’s guest grew up on a farm. To me, having grown up in New York, it feels like the middle of nowhere, and she had a bunch of setbacks which you’ll find out about. And then she ended up with this idea that you and I probably never would have hit on. I didn’t even know this was a business. But it is and it’s growing and she’s here to talk about how she built it up.
Robin Smith is the founder of WeGoLook.com. It’s an online platform which dispatches a real person to perform tasks like dynamic data capture and personalized report templates.
Imagine you wanted to buy a car that you saw online but happened to be 400 miles away. Everything looked good online, but you wanted to be sure it was the right car. You don’t want to drive 400 miles and maybe looking at the wrong car and wasting your time.
So you go to WeGoLook.com and they send somebody out and that person inspects the car for you, maybe even does a better job than you would do for yourself inspecting the car and sends you back a report and photos, videos, the whole thing. That is what Robin’s company does and it does it on a big scale. It started one on one, and then it went on to enterprise and I want to find out how she did it.
Robin Smith is the founder of WeGoLook.com, an online platform which dispatches a real person to perform tasks like dynamic data capture and personalized report templates.
Sponsored by
Reactor Core is a unique infrastructure of coding schools, engineers, educators, hackers & more who believe in the transformative power of education. Our network of schools (Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, Telegraph Academy, Remote Beta, & Mobile Makers) produce the best workplace-ready software engineers. Our team is revolutionizing efficiency in business and leadership with comprehensive and profound practices. Visit ReactorCore.com to learn more.
Acuity Scheduling – Acuity Scheduling helps businesses offer and manage their appointments online. With this tool, you’ll be able to automate your client bookings, cancellations, reminders & even payments without sacrificing you soul. Plus, automated reminders and follow-ups eliminate your no-shows, and incentivize repeat bookings. Get an exclusive 45-day trial at AcuityScheduling.com/mixergy
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
57 min
June 16, 2016 Something different.
One of the people I work with, Sachit Gupta, joined me to tell you about something we have to offer everyone who’s listening to the podcast.
12 min
June 15, 2016 #1317 How and idea sketched on a napkin turned into $1M in just 9 months – with Sangram Vajre
I hope this isn’t awkward, but to be honest with everyone, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this interview. I wasn’t sure the idea was big enough—it seemed too simplistic. But then I had a conversation with today’s guest and I got fired up.
Here’s the deal. This guy had an idea that started as a post. He didn’t create the software, he didn’t go out and get customers. What he did instead was create a conference, he got people to come, and that’s how he got some of his first customers.
Today he’s becoming the leader in this whole new category of software that I’d never heard of before this interview.
Sangram Vajre is the cofounder of Terminus, the leading b2b account-based automation software.
Sangram Vajre is the cofounder of Terminus, the leading b2b account-based automation 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.
Acuity Scheduling – Acuity Scheduling helps businesses offer and manage their appointments online. With this tool, you’ll be able to automate your client bookings, cancellations, reminders & even payments without sacrificing you soul. Plus, automated reminders and follow-ups eliminate your no-shows, and incentivize repeat bookings. Get an exclusive 45-day trial at AcuityScheduling.com/mixergy
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 3 min
June 13, 2016 #1316 How Jeff Booth went from builder to tech builder with BuildDirect
Often what we see are entrepreneurs who find this deep pain that a customer has, sometimes their own, and they find a solution for the problem that causes the pain.
That’s what we’ve got here today, an entrepreneur who did just that.
His name is Jeff Booth. He’s the Co-Founder of BuildDirect, a platform that simplifies finding and delivering products to consumers. Some of the things you can find on there are tile, decking, flooring, building materials, the heavy hard stuff that you definitely would be able to carry out of a store. They find a way to get it to your home and they’ve built an incredible business doing it.
Jeff Booth is the Co-Founder of BuildDirect, a platform that simplifies finding and delivering products to consumers.
Sponsored by
Reactor Core is a unique infrastructure of coding schools, engineers, educators, hackers & more who believe in the transformative power of education. Our network of schools (Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, Telegraph Academy, Remote Beta, & Mobile Makers) produce the best workplace-ready software engineers. Our team is revolutionizing efficiency in business and leadership with comprehensive and profound practices. Visit ReactorCore.com to learn more.
Acuity Scheduling – Acuity Scheduling helps businesses offer and manage their appointments online. With this tool, you’ll be able to automate your client bookings, cancellations, reminders & even payments without sacrificing you soul. Plus, automated reminders and follow-ups eliminate your no-shows, and incentivize repeat bookings. Get an exclusive 45-day trial at AcuityScheduling.com/mixergy
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
1 hr 1 min
June 10, 2016 #1315 Sales tactics from a cold-calling machine – with Raj Bhaskar
Today I’ve got an interview for you with someone who feels like a cold calling machine. I don’t know that I’ve ever interviewed someone who embraces the idea of cold calling, who loves it so much.
Frankly, I feel that if you can cold call, you have a super power because you can sell from anywhere, you can build a business from anything, you can learn from your customers what to create.
Specifically what I like is that before he built the first big version of his software, he started making phone calls, many more than you, the person who’s listening to me, is probably going to have the guts, time, or energy to make. He did it. He learned from those customers. He built a great product. He built an incredible company and then ten years after he launched it, he sold the business.
Today I invited him here to talk about how he did it and what he’s working on now.
Raj Bhaskar was the founder of VisualHOMES, a software company focused on property management and real estate solutions for public and affordable housing.
Raj Bhaskar is the Founder of Hurdlr. Previously, Raj was the CEO of VisualHOMES, a software company focused on property management and real estate solutions for public and affordable housing.
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 18 min