Startup Stories - Mixergy

Today’s guest had an experience like many people and thought, “Man, these automated phone calls are frustrating!” They had to be stopped. So he entered a competition to come up with a solution. He won that competition. He built it into a product but then he did something that I cannot understand. We’ll talk about what he did in this interview. Ethan Garr is the co-inventor of the RoboKiller app which stops robocalls forever for all landline and mobile phones. Ethan Garr is the co-inventor of the RoboKiller app which stops robocalls forever for all landline and mobile phones. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 today is a guy who has built three phenomenal companies. Two of them have sold. This guest is so big I don’t even know why he’s on Mixergy to be honest. Godard Abel is the co-founder & CEO of G2 Crowd and prior founder/CEO BigMachines (now Oracle) and CEO SteelBrick (now Salesforce). His latest company is one I use personally to check up on interviewees. I invited him here to find out how he built these companies, two of which led to a combined $700M in acquisitions. Godard Abel is the co-founder & CEO of G2 Crowd and prior founder/CEO BigMachines (now Oracle) and CEO SteelBrick (now Salesforce). Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 I have one of the key members of the Mixergy team, Arie Desormeaux the Mixergy Producer. I invited her here to talk about how Mixergy operates and our iterative process. It takes a lot of work and it took us a long time to change the way we worked internally. We’re going to talk about how we did it. Arie Desormeaux is the Mixergy Producer. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 has been running his company for five years. It’s huge but still under the radar. I’m wondering why, so I’ve invited the founder here to talk about it. Patrick McKenna is the founder of Strike Social which is a global social media advertising company. Patrick McKenna is the founder of Strike Social which is a global social media advertising company. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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

One of my big challenges is that I have a San Francisco mindset. So when I see a small blog that isn’t in the league of, say, TechCrunch, I really don’t think much of them. And that was true of Social Media Examiner. I figured it was started by someone young who was trying to figure out blogging. I was wrong. Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner which helps businesses discover how to best use social media, blogs and podcasts to connect with customers, drive traffic, generate awareness and increase sales. Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner which helps businesses discover how to best use social media, blogs and podcasts to connect with customers, drive traffic, generate awareness and increase sales. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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

You guys know I have two kids. Well, it seems like every six months I get a letter from their school telling me their is a lice outbreak. It’s a total pain for a parent. Today’s guest is an entrepreneur who said she didn’t want parents to just live with that pain. She was going to do something about it. Risa Barash is the co-founder of Fairy Tales Hair Care, a professional line of hair care for children. Risa Barash is the co-founder of Fairy Tales Hair Care, a professional line of hair care for children. Sponsored byToptal – 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. ActiveCampaign – Improve your marketing & sales processes by upgrading to an automated platform. Start sending follow-up that adapts to your customers’ behavior so you are sending the perfect message at the perfect time. You’ll have happier customers and higher conversions. See why over 150,000 marketers use ActiveCampaign to create intelligent marketing that gets better results. If you’re with one of their confusing competitors and you want something new, you owe it to your business to check out ActiveCampaign. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

You may not know Steve Newman, but you probably regularly use the software he created. In 2005 he launched Writely, a pioneer online word processor which sold to Google and became the basis for Google Docs. At Google he noticed a massive problem. Catch this interview to see what it was and how it led him to found Scalyr, which does log analysis to help DevOps teams solve problems faster. Steve Newman is the founder of Scalyr which is a blazing fast log management platform for the DevOps front line. Sponsored byToptal – 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. If you need anything designed–a new web page, a new landing page, a new logo, DesignCrowd will do it for you. They ask you what you’re looking for, who you are, what your company is like. They will give you lots of options, you pick the one you like, pay for it, and they guarantee results. It’s that simple. Find out how DesignCrowd is different than the other companies and go to designcrowd.com/mixergy. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today’s guest is Dave Hanley. Dave Hanley is the founder of Tomorrow.me, an app that allows people to create a trust with a free will, and then back it up with just the right amount of insurance. Prior to Tomorrow, he helped build Shelfari which was acquired by Amazon. He followed that up with success after success. I invited him here to talk about how a guy who didn’t even want to get into entrepreneurship built this track record of success. Dave Hanley is the founder of Tomorrow.me, an app that allows people to create a trust with a free will and a free trust, and then back it up with just the right amount of insurance. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 today is an entrepreneur who was working on a startup during the dot com boom and he was shaped by the foolishness of that era. Bob Tinker was the founding CEO of MobileIron which helps companies enable their employees to choose the best devices and best apps they want to do their work and he took the company public.   Bob Tinker was the co-founder of MobileIron which helps companies enable their employees to choose the best devices and best apps they want to do their work. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 today is a founder who had a job at Udemy when he heard Gagan Biyani do a Mixergy interview. Max Altschuler is is today’s guest and I’m freaking fascinated by the business he went on to build after Udemy. He was able to make money off of meet ups. Then he got into running conferences around sales. Then something happened that totally changed his business. He could have closed the company but that’s not what he did. He found a way to continue to grow it. We’ll hear the entire story in this interview. Max Altschuler is the founder of SalesHacker, an online publication for all things sales automation which was acquired. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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 recognized that remote teams need video to communicate effectively. He built a company to help others communicate better via video. Sean Higgins is the co-founder of VidGrid, video communication for sales, training, education and support. I want to find out where he came up with the idea and how he got his first customers. Sean Higgins is the co-founder of VidGrid, video communication for sales, training, education and support. 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. Regus has built an unparalleled network of office, co-working and meeting spaces for companies to use in every city in the world, an infrastructure to support every business opportunity. Their network of workspaces enables businesses to operate anywhere, without the need for set-up costs or capital investment. It provides our customers with immediate cost benefits and the opportunity to fully outsource their office portfolio. It’s a network designed to enhance productivity and connect 2.5 million like-minded professionals: an instant global community, and a place to belong. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today I have one of my longterm listener whose business I have admire for years. Elad Gil has founded several companies. He’s written a book called High Growth Handbook. I invited him here to talk about his career and how he built so many phenomenal companies. Elad Gil has worked with high growth tech companies like Airbnb, Twitter, Google, Instacart, Coinbase, Stripe, and Square as they’ve grown from small companies into global brands. Sponsored byToptal – 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. If you need anything designed–a new web page, a new landing page, a new logo, DesignCrowd will do it for you. They ask you what you’re looking for, who you are, what your company is like. They will give you lots of options, you pick the one you like, pay for it, and they guarantee results. It’s that simple. Find out how DesignCrowd is different than the other companies and go to designcrowd.com/mixergy. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

How many times have you seen a motorcyclist with his phone strapped to his bike? Well today’s guest thought that was too distracting and knew there had to be a better way. Marcus Weller is the founder of Skully Technologies, an Augmented Reality motorcycle helmet. He raised a bunch of money on IndieGoGo and he was really good at marketing. But he got into some trouble and we’re going to get into all of that in this interview. Marcus Weller is the founder of Skully Technologies, an Augmented Reality motorcycle helmet. Sponsored byToptal – 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 – 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

One of my first interviewees was Seth Godin who I interviewed about his book Tribes. Today, every time I see someone like Elon Musk motivate his tribe with a single Tweet, I know that Seth Godin was right when he talked about tribes. I invited him back to talk about his new book This is Marketing. I want to find out how people like me and people like you can apply the principles from the book. Seth Godin is the author of This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See Seth Godin is the author of This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See 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. ActiveCampaign – Improve your marketing & sales processes by upgrading to an automated platform. Start sending follow-up that adapts to your customers’ behavior so you are sending the perfect message at the perfect time. You’ll have happier customers and higher conversions. See why over 150,000 marketers use ActiveCampaign to create intelligent marketing that gets better results. If you’re with one of their confusing competitors and you want something new, you owe it to your business to check out ActiveCampaign. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today I have a guest for you who has managed to build a chat bot company from Siberia! Alex Kistenev is the co-founder of Standuply which is a bot that runs meetings for you within Slack. I want to find out how he’s built this company without any funding and the clever way he’s getting users to sign up for it. Alex Kistenev is the co-founder of Standuply which is a bot that runs meetings for you within Slack. 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. ActiveCampaign – Improve your marketing & sales processes by upgrading to an automated platform. Start sending follow-up that adapts to your customers’ behavior so you are sending the perfect message at the perfect time. You’ll have happier customers and higher conversions. See why over 150,000 marketers use ActiveCampaign to create intelligent marketing that gets better results. If you’re with one of their confusing competitors and you want something new, you owe it to your business to check out ActiveCampaign. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint