Startup Stories - Mixergy

Joining me as an entrepreneur who spent 10 years as a consultant, helping enterprises solve boring problems. But here’s the thing: He discovered a few problems that the clients all had in common. And so he bootstrapped software that solved those issues and turned his clients into customers. I want to find out how he did it. Saravana Kumar is the founder of Kovai, enterprise software and B2B SaaS products.   Saravana Kumar is the founder of Kovai, enterprise software and B2B SaaS products. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

Today’s guest came up with the idea to scrape the internet’s audio and video to find pirated content. But he had one major problem: no investor would touch it. We’ll find out how everything changed for him just days before filing bankruptcy. If you have an idea that investors are balking at, you don’t want to miss this interview. Rasty Turek is the founder of Pex, a database of all the video and audio on the internet.   Rasty Turek is the founder of Pex, a video and music search engine. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

What I admire most about Chris Pearson is the elegance of his WordPress theme. He has a vision of clarity and perfection, and he sticks with it. But what happens when the world disagrees with his vision? Chris Pearson is the founder of DIY Themes. Sponsored byLinkedin – How can you ensure the people you want to target are going to be in the right mindset to receive your message? The answer is LinkedIn. When you market on LinkedIn, your message reaches people who are ready to do business and that means your advertising campaign will work as hard as you can. Over 62 million decision makers are on Linkedin and they’re thinking about their business when they’re on the platform. Do business where business gets done, get a $100 advertising credit towards your first LinkedIn campaign. Just visit Linkedin.com/mixergy More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today’s guest created a blog called The Rideshare Guy. And it became a freaking hit at a time when I thought blogging was done. People who were driving cars for Lyft and for Uber felt like they were alone. They had all these questions like What are these extra bonus points? How do you actually make money? When should I do it?  So today’s guest, Harry Campbell, created a blog for them. Then a YouTube channel where I kept coming across his videos on YouTube. I want to learn how he’s built this thing up and how the ads on his site are so good that my ad blocker doesn’t stop them. Harry Campbell is the founder of The Rideshare Guy, where he writes about what it’s really like to be a driver for Uber, Lyft and lots of other gig services. Sponsored byHostGator – 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. Delighted – Delighted is a turnkey customer experience platform, built for startups. It’s so easy to set up, you’ll have customer feedback in minutes. Start gathering actionable feedback from your customers today at Delighted.com/mixergy. No technical knowledge required. Pus, Mixergy listeners can claim a free lifetime Delighted account, complete with a complimentary advisory session with a Delighted Concierge to make sure you get set up right (>$1k value), at Delighted.com/mixergy More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

If you love hearing about pure hustle, you’re going to freaking love this interview. Mike Black is starting over. He’s leaving behind his business, his network, and all his belongings. He doesn’t have a place to live. Just a phone and one pair of clothes. He has 12 Months to start a new business and build it to $1 million during a global pandemic. Mike Black is starting over. He’s leaving behind his business, his network, and all his belongings. He won’t have a place to live. Just a phone & one pair of clothes. He has 12 Months to start a new business and build it to $1 million during a global pandemic. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

My guest today is someone I interviewed years ago when he had just hit $1M in revenue. He got there with an unbelievably bootstrapped approach. He even shared a computer with someone else on his team. Well, he’s back and I want to hear how he has expanded beyond his initial product. I want to find out why he would go from selling software plugins to selling services. It makes sense in enterprise; I want to understand why it works for this business. Vipin Sahu is the founder of Webkul, which offers erp, commerce, crm and mobile app development IT services company in India. Vipin Sahu is the founder of Webkul, which offers ERP, Commerce, CRM and mobile app development IT services company in India. Sponsored byDelighted – Delighted is a turnkey customer experience platform, built for startups. It’s so easy to set up, you’ll have customer feedback in minutes. Start gathering actionable feedback from your customers today at Delighted.com/mixergy. No technical knowledge required. Pus, Mixergy listeners can claim a free lifetime Delighted account, complete with a complimentary advisory session with a Delighted Concierge to make sure you get set up right (>$1k value), at Delighted.com/mixergy Toptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I remember living in New York city and my friend Henry said, “Let’s go check out this cool hotel.” It was the kind of place where you would find celebrities. I remember seeing Steven Spielberg, just sitting there with some friends. Well, it ended up being to one of the hotels founded by today’s guest. To be honest with you, I don’t care that much about Steven Spielberg. I’m an entrepreneur person, so I’m excited to find out how today’s guest built that hotel and the company behind it. Especially considering the timing of his first major launch. We’ll find out about that in this interview. Today, Jason Pomeranc is the founder of Sixty Hotels, which offers luxury hotels in New York City and Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Jason Pomeranc is the founder of Sixty Hotels, which offers luxury hotels in New York City and Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

Joining me is an entrepreneur who back in the very first internet boom said, “You know what? It doesn’t have to just be about computers.” What if we could take all this knowledge that’s being generated by the internet and make it available to people by phone?” I feel like he was one of the reasons people were excited about the future of technology back then. Alex Quilici is the founder of Quack, a voice portal company founded in July 1999 that was sold to AOL in August 2000. He’s also the founder of YouMail, visual voicemail and Robocall blocking software. Alex Quilici is the founder of YouMail, visual voicemail and Robocall blocking software. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. Delighted – Delighted is a turnkey customer experience platform, built for startups. It’s so easy to set up, you’ll have customer feedback in minutes. Start gathering actionable feedback from your customers today at Delighted.com/mixergy. No technical knowledge required. Pus, Mixergy listeners can claim a free lifetime Delighted account, complete with a complimentary advisory session with a Delighted Concierge to make sure you get set up right (>$1k value), at Delighted.com/mixergy More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I know that some of you who are listening are probably thinking of yourselves as wantrepreneurs. Well,  joining me today is an entrepreneur who maybe would’ve considered himself that as well. But one day he said, “There’s something about just listening to entrepreneurs tell their stories. Eventually you start to realize, wait, I don’t have to just listen. I could be the person doing this.” Gajan Retnasaba is the founder of Spiralyze, full-service conversion optimization and performance pricing. We’re going to talk about how he came to see himself as an entrepreneur. And if there’s someone out there who’s looking to start and hasn’t started, this is a model for you. Gajan Retnasaba is the founder of Spiralyze, full-service conversion optimization and performance pricing. Sponsored byHostGator – 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. ClickFunnels – Anyone in my audience who goes to clickfunnels.com/mixergy will get a couple of things that I’m excited about. Number one is a free trial so you can actually try it and use it. Number two, you’ll get the funnels that we created to build our business. Use it as a template which you can improve for your business. Go to ClickFunnels.com/mixergy to get started. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I invited today’s guest because I’m so freaking fascinated by China. I see the future opportunity there. I see that it’s on the rise and I want to learn more about what’s going on there. My guest today is Brian Miller. Brian is the founder of Easy China Warehouse, a global fulfillment warehouse for e-commerce sellers. I invited him here to talk about how he built up his business and what life is like in China today. Brian Miller is the founder of Easy China Warehouse, a warehouse and 3PL logistics solution for eCommerce and Amazon FBA sellers. Sponsored byHostGator – 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. Delighted – Delighted is a turnkey customer experience platform, built for startups. It’s so easy to set up, you’ll have customer feedback in minutes. Start gathering actionable feedback from your customers today at Delighted.com/mixergy. No technical knowledge required. Pus, Mixergy listeners can claim a free lifetime Delighted account, complete with a complimentary advisory session with a Delighted Concierge to make sure you get set up right (>$1k value), at Delighted.com/mixergy More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today’s guest founded software that you have no doubt used a bunch but you might not know about the company behind it. Well, the person behind the company is George Deglin. He is the founder of OneSignal, software for Mobile Push Notifications, Web Push, and In-App Messaging. OneSignal makes it really easy for companies of all sizes to re-engage users across all messaging channels. We’ll find out how he built this business by solving his own problem, his own pain, and then now helping so many other businesses. George Deglin is the founder of OneSignal, software for Mobile Push Notifications, Web Push, and In-App Messaging. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

If you’re buying ads, you might relate to what today’s guest does. Here’s a use case: Imagine you’re buying Facebook ads and Google ads, and you’ve got data coming in from Google analytics. It tells you what’s happening on your site with traffic, and maybe you want to figure out if your subscriber number growing. To know all that, you might have to go to Facebook ad manager and then your Google analytics and other places. It becomes a bit of a hassle. Well, today’s guest noticed that people were doing this and he said, “I think software should just be able to go pull in all that data, create a dashboard for people and enable marketers to have one spot that they get all the data that they need.” That’s the company he built. I invited him here to talk about how he did it and how it ended up doing well after a previous failure. Daniel Kravtsov is the co-founder of Improvado, an automated marketing data pipeline. Daniel Kravtsov is the co-founder of Improvado, an automated marketing data pipeline. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

Joining me is Sam Parr. I’ve watched him build The Hustle over the years, which started out as an email newsletter with a few thousand subscribers. And it just became massively successful because he targeted an audience of entrepreneurs. But at some point last year, he said, “We need to add a new element to our business.” And he came out with a subscription service called Trends, which picks up on trends that lead to new products that could lead to new businesses. I want to find out how he built up his business, how much revenue it’s generating, and how the whole thing started with a basic email newsletter. Sam Parr is the founder of The Hustle and Trends.co, which picks up on trends that lead to new products that lead to new businesses. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

Today’s guest looked at the offline experience of selling real estate and thought, “This should be modernized.” So he tried to bring the selling experience to the internet. But it didn’t work. We’ll find out why. He didn’t close the business though. Instead, he changed the model. We’ll talk about what he learned about his customers that allowed him to grow. Thomas Kutzman is the founder of Prevu, a modern, full-service brokerage offering 1.5% listing agent commission. Thomas Kutzman is the founder of Prevu, a modern, full-service brokerage offering 1.5% listing agent commission. Sponsored byToptal – Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. With elite freelancers in over 100 countries, Toptal connects the world’s top talent with leading companies in days, not weeks. Plus, every new engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, so clients only pay if satisfied with the work. Get started hiring with Toptal today. 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

Joining me is an entrepreneur who bought a public company and sold it just three years later. The company he bought was Answers.com. I want to find out what he did in those three years that allowed him to sell it for over $900M. My guest today is David Karandish. He is currently the co-founder of Capacity, an enterprise artificial intelligence SaaS company focused on helping teams. David Karandish is the co-founder of Capacity, an enterprise artificial intelligence SaaS company focused on helping teams. Sponsored byLinkedin – How can you ensure the people you want to target are going to be in the right mindset to receive your message? The answer is LinkedIn. When you market on LinkedIn, your message reaches people who are ready to do business and that means your advertising campaign will work as hard as you can. Over 62 million decision makers are on LinkedIn and they’re thinking about their business when they’re on the platform. Do business where business gets done, get a $100 advertising credit towards your first LinkedIn campaign. Just visit Linkedin.com/mixergy More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint