Scott Yang is an Australian software engineer and entrepreneur best known as the founder of OzBargain, one of Australia’s largest and most popular online bargain-hunter communities. He launched the site in November 2006 as a part-time project to share deals with others, and it has since grown into a major community platform with millions of monthly visitors and an active forum where users share and vote on the best discounts and offers.
Known for his hands-on technical expertise and commitment to transparency, Scott continues to run OzBargain independently while maintaining its mission of helping Australians save money.
[email protected]
https://www.ozbargain.com.au
CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Introduction
1:21 – Andy shares that he’s used OzBargain since he was 15
1:45 – Scott shares how OzBargain started
5:36 – Hiring employees and defining the scope of their roles
8:28 – How deal review queues work on OzBargain
10:26 – How strong deals reach the homepage and low-quality deals get downvoted
11:57 – How he handles stress while running OzBargain
15:03 – How OzBargain’s business model differs from Amazon
18:13 – Why people continue to use OzBargain for many years
19:22 – How OzBargain’s community was formed through the forums
20:03 – How they organize OzBargain’s community meetup events
22:57 –How people react when they meet him in person for the first time
24:17 – Thoughts on AI
27:03 – How the OzBargain community has remained strong for the past 20 years
30:44 – Scott talks about other bargain communities that inspire him
32:32 – How transparent OzBargain is regarding moderation decisions
34:20 – Best idea they’ve implemented that made a huge impact on OzBargain
36:53 – How banner ads make up 70% of their revenue
41:08 – How affiliate links work on the OzBargain website
44:41 – Competition within OzBargain
46:39 – OzBargain’s different site sections
49:46 – How 30% of users browse with ad blockers
52:25 – OzBargain’s CPM compared to other websites
53:54 – New Zealand and Singapore sites
56:37 – Why visiting OzBargain has become a daily habit for many people
59:29 – Price errors in OzBargain’s live section
1:01:39 – The best deal Scott has come across in 20 years on his own platform
1:02:43 – OzBargain’s cashback partners
1:04:09 – Optimizing contest points
1:05:31 – Flight deals on OzBargain
1:07:11 – How they manage new and old user accounts
1:09:43 – Benefits of having an older OzBargain account
1:12:35 – How they handle scammers on OzBargain
1:16:46 – OzBargain’s moderation workflow
1:19:35 – How they handle fluctuating moderation workloads
1:24:23 – How he delegates tasks to his team
1:25:41 – How he retains employees long-term
1:28:23 – Using time-tracking tools for employees
1:29:31 – How they handle 160k newsletter subscribers
1:32:45 – Running their own email servers
1:36:43 – How he juggles technical issues alone
1:39:21 – How he handles website issues while on vacation
1:41:42 – Receiving legal letters from McDonald’s and Subway
1:44:58 – How their team handles negative reviews on the site
1:47:24 – How they create the daily newsletters
1:48:54 – How they increase website traffic
1:50:20 – Scott shares that many people are interested in buying OzBargain
1:51:25 – Why Scott doesn’t want to sell OzBargain yet
1:56:28 – Why the community stays active and loyal
1:57:51 – Future plans for OzBargain
1:59:26 – From a 9–5 job to running OzBargain full-time
2:01:42 – Other startups he built before OzBargain
2:03:55 – Scott’s reflections on his purpose in life
2:07:01 – Running routine
2:09:41 – Scott shares where he gets all his running shoes
2:10:22 – Scott’s thoughts on investments
2:11:58 – Scott’s thoughts on crypto and Bitcoin
2:14:16 – Recent life discoveries
2:17:43 – Scott talks about his children’s education
2:20:13 – How they go to church every Sunday
2:21:01 – Goals and focus for the next six months
2:22:08 – Scott talks about the products he sets notifications for
2:25:19 – Connect with Scott
2:25:50 – Outro