Startup Stories - Mixergy
Andrew Warner
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Andrew asks challenging questions, which leads to real stories behind how startups made it.
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1 day ago
#2238 Seth Godin’s new manifesto
Joining me is Seth Godin, one of the first entrepreneurs I interviewed back in 2008. He is a marketing legend and author of multiple books. He’s coined phrases that have become parlance for startup founders today and he’s back on Mixergy with a forthcoming book about leadership. Some of the concepts are non-obvious but some of them seemed obvious to me–I wanted to ask him why he included them and find out what I’m missing.
Seth Godin is a dot com legend and author of 20 bestselling books. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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May 22, 2023
#2237 Derek Flanzraich’s big swing
Joining me for a repeat visit is Derek Flanzraich. Last time I talked to him he was running the content site Greatest. Greatest was all about health and Derek became like a guru to my friends who were in the content space. He built it up, he sold it, and I kind of lost track of him. Today he’s launching a new credit card. It’s a big swing. It’s called Ness. It’s gonna give people all kinds of health benefits. We’re going to find out what happened with the Greatest exit and why he’s taking such a big risk with this next company.
Derek Flanzraich is building Ness, a health-first credit card company. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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May 15, 2023
#2236 Running a family-first startup
Joining me is a friend whose businesses I have grown to appreciate so much more over the years. He’s recently written about the experience of building a profitable businesses while prioritizing family. The book is The Family First Entrepreneur. I’ll ask him about that and his businesses in this interview.
Steve Chou is an entrepreneur and author of The Family First Entrepreneur. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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May 8, 2023
#2235 Using AI to “humanize” analytics
When I talk to entrepreneurs, they talk about how they use data but I think for a lot of people, looking at analytics is just not something they want to do. It’s much easier to focus on customer support or new product features. That’s why I’m happy to have today’s guest on the podcast. Amit Prakash is the co-founder of ThoughtSpot, an AI powered analytics company. They help users make the most of their data.
Amit Prakash is the co-founder of ThoughtSpot, AI-Powered Analytics. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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May 1, 2023
#2234 Reflect: Why the world needs another notes app
I was super excited to talk to today’s guest because he is the founder of Clearbit, a software that would magically take an email address and then tell you about the person behind the email address. I didn’t expect to talk about his new company but shocked to find out how powerful and big it’s gotten already. Alex MacCaw is the founder of Clearbit and Reflect, which helps users keep track of thoughts, books, and meetings.
Alex MacCaw is the founder of Clearbit and Reflect, which helps users keep track of thoughts, books, and meetings. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Apr 24, 2023
#2233 The painful pivots behind the growth of Glue.co
Joining me is somebody who has pivoted so freaking much that my notes were out of date just after a few months. I admire how he’s been able to adjust and pivot and keep growing his business and today he’s got a success. Shane Kovalsky is the founder of Glue. It is end-to-end employee engagement and connection platform for distributed teams. I don’t freaking know what that even means. We’ll find out in this interview.
Shane Kovalsky is the founder of Glue, an end-to-end employee engagement and connection platform for distributed teams. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Apr 17, 2023
#2232 Developing a wearable (that could actually help users live longer)
Many of the people who I’ve interviewed were lifelong entrepreneurs. They sold things as kids or had lawn mowing services. But joining me today is someone who went a different path. He’s a scientist who got a great job, made his parents proud, and then decided to become an entrepreneur. He built something that he thought was incredible, but the people didn’t seem to see his full vision. But he didn’t let that stop him. Josep Solá is the co-founder of Aktiia, a continuous blood pressure monitor. I invited him here to find out why he did this, how well it’s doing, and how he thinks this can change the world.
Josep Solá is the co-founder of Aktiia, a continuous blood pressure monitor. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Apr 10, 2023
#2231 How to get recurring revenue from your physical products
If you’re in SaaS, you know that you get revenue on an ongoing basis, which is really nice. But maybe you’ve been afraid to go into physical goods because you don’t get that kind of business model where you have a consistent set of revenue that comes in month after month. Well, joining me is a guest who said, “It doesn’t have to be that way. Physical products can be sold on subscription or recurring basis.” Dileepan Siva is the founder of Upscribe. They enable Shopify stores to have recurring revenue. I invited him here to talk about how to do it.
Dileepan Siva is the founder of Upscribe, subscription software for fast-growing eCommerce brands. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Apr 3, 2023
#2230 Komodo is taking on Loom
You know how painful it is to watch an explainer video from someone on your remote team? Well, Komodo is making that process a lot easier. I invited the co-founders here to tell me how they bootstrapped it. Today’s guests are Khanan Grauer and Harry Brodsky. Their company is Komodo, a screencasting solution that helps you collaborate faster and share your ideas with people without the need to type lots of text, and scheduling online meetings.
Komodo is a screencasting solution that helps you collaborate faster and share your ideas with people without the need to type lots of text, and scheduling online meetings. Sponsored by
Origami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start.
Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren’t perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Feb 14, 2018
#1559 Cameron Herold coaches me on hiring (so I don’t collapse at my desk)
Hiring has been a huge issue for me. And in a past interview with Cameron Herold, I brought it up because he’s the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s leading network for the second in command. I don’t get embarrassed by a lot of stuff. If you heard my interviews, you hear me get pretty frank about my flaws, my mistakes. But this issue is something I was embarrassed about. I think if I don’t hire somebody to be the second in command at Mixergy, I am probably going to collapse. So, that’s what today is about. It’s not so much an interview as it is a coaching call with the guy who knows hiring better than anyone else. You’ll get to hear what I learned and my hope is that you benefit from it too.
Cameron Herold is the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s leading network for the second in command. 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 yo…
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Nov 22, 2017
#1524 When does a startup founder need a COO?
A topic we don’t talk about on Mixergy is how to actually manage a company. I remember when I was in NYU as an undergrad I loved all my business classes, but management just didn’t feel like me. I always thought of the guys in Dilbert but entrepreneurs were the ones who were creating, the ones who were doing. Mixergy’s grown and I’ve been running it, but I have to be honest, I’m not doing a great job of running it. So earlier in the year, the Mixergy team said, “Andrew, go get a COO.” They kept challenging me. One of things that they told me to do was to talk to Cameron Herold. Cameron Herold was Chief Operating Officer at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? He is also the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s only organization for those who are second in command.
Cameron Herold was Chief Operating Officer at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? He is also the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s only organization for those who are second in command.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
R…
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May 26, 2017
#1453 The future of chat (and interacting with your customers)
About a year ago I realized that no matter how much effort we’ve put into my email list, I could never double the response rate. We kept growing it, but people were not using email much. So I started looking around for solutions and I started looking at bots. Bots are basically software that communicates with humans via a chat app. I came across one company that looked too good to be true. It’s called ManyChat. And I said, “I’ve got to find out who the founder is.” And today, Mikael Yang is the founder of ManyChat. Not only does the software work, but the intelligence behind the scenes of dripping out content, tagging people, interacting with people is brilliant. This whole space is still pretty young but it’s important to have this conversation because he’s gotten very far and because I want you to see the future of chat as a way of interacting with your customers.
Mikael Yang is the founder of ManyChat, a visual bot builder for Facebook Messenger with broadcasts, analy…
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Mar 3, 2017
#1417 How Sam Ovens is helping everyday people start their own consulting businesses
I’ll be honest with you. I felt guilt about an interview that I did years ago with today’s guest. This was back in, let me see here, 2013. I interviewed Sam Ovens about how he built up this consulting business and was teaching people how to do consulting. I thought maybe I got taken for a ride. It was too good to be true. Then I started hearing people who were in his program talk about how big the program is. Then I started hearing more and more people say they were in the program. I realized, “Actually maybe I underestimated the guy.” And the more research I did into it, the more I realized that was true. Then I went hat in hand and said, “Hey, Sam, can I interview you again on Mixergy?” Sam Ovens is the founder of Consulting.com, it offers online training programs to help everyday people start their own consulting businesses.
Sam Ovens is the founder of Consulting.com, it offers online training programs to help everyday people start their own consulting businesses. Sam…
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Aug 13, 2014
#1050 How a former lawyer built a multi-million dollar company that teaches social skills – with Jordan Harbinger
How does a former lawyer build a multi-million dollar company that teaches social skills. Jordan Harbinger is the co-founder of The Art of Charm, a company that teaches confidence and emotional intelligence.
Jordan Harbinger is the co-founder of The Art of Charm, a company that teaches confidence and emotional intelligence, and the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show, which interviews top performers, from legendary musicians to intelligence operatives.
Sponsored by
Lead Pages – Lead Pages took my most successful page and turned it into a product that you can use—which magically converts strangers into leads. So if you want to use the page that I use to collect email addresses, check out AndrewsWelcomeGate.com. It will work on your site no matter what your site is built on. Even if you have no site, you can use this URL to collect email addresses for your business. It’s AndrewsWelcomeGate.com.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixe…
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Apr 9, 2014
#1001 The 1,000 interview celebration
On August 4, 2008, I posted a video up on Mixergy where I looked up into the web cam on my computer and I said “I failed.” And I said that I was going to shut down my invitation business and start doing interviews with entrepreneurs and people in general who I admire so I can learn from them and take back what I’ve learned from them to build a more successful company in the future. And I said that along the way you’d get to watch and learn as I learned directly from my heroes. We did it. A thousand interviews later here I am today bringing back some of the most memorable and most influential interviewees. People who helped me both on camera here with you and off. I invited them on to a Google Hangout to talk about the old days, to ask them some new questions and to do short interviews with them all for you. That’s what this is all about. My goal when I started out was to build a successful company. I think Mixergy is that company. But I wanted to be even more successful. My goal is that I started to talk in interviews afterwards evolved into saying that I would like someone who is watching these interviews to learn from them, to use what they’ve learned and then build a successful company so they can come back and do an interview themselves.
I am the founder of Mixergy, home of the ambitious upstart. And this is my 1,000th interview.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Mar 10, 2014
#990 Andrew’s process for overcoming entrepreneurial stagnation – with Samantha Alford
A few weeks ago, Andrew was interviewed about his inner doubt by Samantha Alford of WomeninBusinesspodcast.com. I (Arie Saint) thought it was too good not to share with our audience, so I’m publishing it on Mixergy. Check it out and let’s talk about it in the comments.
Samantha Alford, the founder of the Women in Business Podcast.
Sponsored by
Walker Corporate Law – Scott Edward Walker is the lawyer entrepreneurs turn to when they want to raise money or sell their companies, but if you’re just getting started, his firm will help you launch properly. Watch this video to learn about him.
More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
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Apr 23, 2012
#715 HearAndPlay.com: Turning $70 Into A Multimillion Dollar Instruction Web Site – with Jermaine Griggs
Update: based on the comments we’re getting, Jermaine sent this PDF about Automation. How does a high school senior from the inner city turn $70 into a multimillion dollar instruction web site? Jermaine Griggs is the founder of HearAndPlay.com, which trains musicians to play by ear, trains them to play by ear with online music lessons and piano video tutorials.
Jermaine Griggs is the founder of HearAndPlay.com, which trains musicians to play by ear, trains them to play by ear with online music lessons and piano video tutorials.
Sponsored by
Walker Corporate Law – Scott Edward Walker is the lawyer entrepreneurs turn to when they want to raise money or sell their companies, but if you’re just getting started, his firm will help you launch properly. Watch this video to learn about him.
Grasshopper – Don’t make the mistake of comparing Grasshopper with other phone services. Check out their features and you’ll see why Grasshopper isn’t just a phone number, it’s the vi…
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Apr 9, 2012
#710 iContact Founder Returns To Mixergy After $169M Sale – with Ryan Allis
How does a wristband help a founder build a $169 million company? Ryan Allis is the founder of iContact, a provider of email marketing tools for small businesses. And a company that was recently sold for $169 million to Vocus. Here’s a quote from the last time I interviewed him, “we incorporated in July ’03, lived in the office, slept on futons, cooked on a George Foreman grill, did whatever we had to do to keep expenses low, while we built up revenue and customers, and improved the product.” Those are the challenges for a startup and it was inspiring to hear his story from those days. This time, I want to ask him about the challenges of going from a successful startup to a company that generates tens of millions a year.
Ryan Allis is the Co-Founder of iContact, a provider of email marketing tools for small businesses.
Sponsored by
Revolution Productions – Do you have a great product, but people aren’t trying it? You might have too much text on your site. Video, more…
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Oct 20, 2010
#400 Reddit Founder: “I Wish I Still Owned Reddit Now” – with Steve Huffman
Many founders I interviewed on Mixergy told me about how their companies virtually disappeared after they sold them. But 4 years after selling Reddit to Conde Nast, Steve Huffman is so proud of how much its grown that he’d be happy to still own it. I asked him to teach me how he grew his community, why some Y Combinator-backed founders, like him, succeed while others don’t get any traction and why he never resented his co-founder for getting so much attention. I also asked Steve about Hipmunk, the travel site he launched which replaces the spreadsheet-like search results that most travel sites use with a more useful design.
Steve Huffman graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Computer Science in 2005. Immediately after leaving Virginia, he founded reddit.com with his college roommate, Alexis Ohanian.
Sponsored by
Shopify – Remember the interview I did about how the founder of DODOCase sold about $1 mil worth of iPad cases in a few months? He used Shopify…
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Jan 28, 2010
#216 How Clever Entrepreneurs Turned 3 Air Mattresses Into Airbnb, The Site That Makes Any Home A Bed And Breakfast – with Brian and Joe
The founders of Airbnb are guys who couldn’t make rent a few years ago, but they kept turning desperation into creative solutions. In October 2007, eager to make extra money, they noticed that local hotels were booked up because of a conference. So they pumped up some inflatable mattresses and listed their place online as an “air bed and breakfast.” It was quirky and it worked. That little act of creativity became Airbnb, the (profitable) site that allows anyone to list their extra space for rent. This interview is full of examples of that kind of hustle, like how they created and sold cereal called “Obama O’s.” That idea brought in a much-needed $30,000, but more importantly, it impressed investor Paul Graham of Y Combinator, who backed them. They jumped on that opportunity too, seizing every chance they could find to get Graham’s advice. His mentorship helped their company become profitable. Along the way, they got impressive media hits by crafting interesting stories,…
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Jan 25, 2010
#214 How To Produce Like A Linchpin By Understanding Your Lizard Brain – with Seth Godin
You listen to my programs because I don’t do the cute “let’s get to know the author” interviews that others are known for. I hunt down information that you can use because I’m passionate about helping you build a business that your great-great-grandkids would admire you for. That’s why I kept digging in this interview. I want you (and me too, frankly) to be able to produce the kind of hits that Seth Godin keeps cranking out, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Not only has Seth created 2 big hit businesses, but he’s a writer who keeps introducing ideas that shape the way people think. In his new book, Linchpin, Seth talks about how to be this prolific. As you’ll hear in my interview, much of it is based on opening up your creativity and learning how to confront your fears, which he says come from your “lizard brain.” Imagine what you could accomplish if you were able to do that. Listen to the full program to find out how.
Seth Godin’s latest book is Linchpin. You…
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