Startup Stories - Mixergy

Ryan Deiss’s business was too chaotic to grow beyond a few team members. So he tried creating SOP’s, you know those how-to docs that every business is told to create, but few people end up using. He figured there had to be a better way. Through experiments with he came up with “an operating system for companies.” He says this approach helped him grow to over a dozen different companies which last year did revenue in excess of $200 million. He explained his process in his book Get Scalable: How to Create an Operating System for Your Business, and in this interview. Ryan Deiss is the founder of DigitalMarketer and The Scalable Company. His most recent book is “Get Scalable: How to Create an Operating System for Your Business.” Despite the fact that he built a massive online community and offline event business, he’s so shy that we rarely see him at events here in Austin. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

He built Art.com through the early days of the internet, despite the dotcom bust, and through heavy competition….After all that work, the company sold to a much bigger company….And that’s when the lawsuit came. You’ll hear how Joshua Chodniewicz built that business and how his latest business, Fundify, is changing startup investing by making it super-simple. Joshua Chodniewicz is the founder of Art.com, a pioneering online platform for art and wall décor. He is deeply passionate about entrepreneurship and enjoys discussing business strategies and ideas with his sons. Currently, Joshua is leading Fundify, focusing on democratizing startup investments. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Allbirds were the sustainable shoes known to be worn by Marissa Mayer, Jennifer Garner, and every dude I knew when I lived in San Francisco. How did the company get so big and where is it now? I invited the founders Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger to talk about it. Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger are the founders of Allbirds. Previously, Tim was a footballer and business student. And Joey specialized in biotech and renewable materials. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

This founder found a niche that Airbnb didn’t reach and rode it to $6 million in revenue. Steve Satoru Naito’s Anyplace, accommodations come with big monitors, high-speed internet, an office setup, ergonomic chairs, webcams, and key lights, all tailored to create an optimal environment for remote work and zoom calls. In this interview, you’ll hear Steve’s entrepreneurial journey from Japan to Silicon Valley, the unique business model that sets Anyplace apart, and strategies for customer acquisition and retention in the competitive accommodation sector. Steve Satoru Naito is the founder of Anyplace, which offers monthly, furnished accommodations designed for remote work. Originally from Japan, he moved to San Francisco to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, and he has a background as a tech reporter for TechCrunch Japan. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

My vision for this interview was to hear Noah Kagan’s process for launching companies, like the $80+ million / year AppSumo – the process he wrote about in his book, Million Dollar Weekend. We did that. You’ll hear his step-by-step business launch process. But, when I asked him how he was proving his process, he told me he was creating an alternative to Docusign and started asking me about the problems I have with it. I got so angry listing my problems that I told him I’d fork up whatever money he wanted to buy his alternative. Noah Kagan is the founder of AppSumo, which provides entrepreneurs deals on software and other tools. He’s also a popular YouTuber whose channel just broke 1 million subscribers and the author of “Million Dollar Weekend.” Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Video Husky started with a challenge. Justin Tan challenged himself to get 10 customers in 90 days for his new venture. The company grew to over $1 million in annual sales by providing flat fee remote video editing services. In this interview, we explored how he found his initial customers, how he pivoted to more profitable customers, and the inner-workings or running a subscription-based service business. Justin Tan, the founder of Video Husky, has navigated the intricacies of growing a video production company from a simple 90-day challenge to over a million in revenue. Outside of his entrepreneurial ventures, Justin enjoys competitive gaming, having reached the top 20 percent of players worldwide in Age of Empires. Sponsored by Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

When I interviewed founders of online courses and asked about their communities, they often said they host them on Facebook. “That’s where everyone is” was the answer. Sometimes they’d use Slack, but FB was dominant. So how did Circle break through? That’s what founder Andrew Guttormsen & I breakdown. Andrew Guttormsen is the Co-Founder of Circle.so, a modern community platform for creators. Prior to founding Circle, he spent nearly five years at Teachable, where he joined as the seventh employee and led a 15-person growth and marketing team, helping to grow the company’s monthly recurring revenue from $10K to over $25MM in annual recurring revenue. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

They used TikTok to promote their podcast, but podcasting is painful. There’s no discovery. It’s hard to grow. And there’s little audience feedback. Meanwhile, their short videos took off. This is the story of how the Our Future creators grew their short video business, generated revenue and sold it to Morning Brew. Michael Sikand and Simran Sandhu are the founders of Our Future, a media company dedicated to inspiring young entrepreneurs. Michael, with a background in finance and a passion for storytelling, has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic vision. Simran, bringing expertise in digital media and content creation, has been instrumental in driving the brand’s innovative approach and expansive growth. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

The clearest line to a business success is solving big pain. That’s what Benny Rubin did. Senders.co, optimizes email deliverability for businesses. You’ll hear how he came up with his business idea, how he got clients, why he left the business and why he’s back. And Benny will give you some suggestions for getting better results from your email campaigns. Benny Rubin is the founder of Senders.co, which specializes in email deliverability solutions, focusing on technical service and scalable business growth. Sponsored byGusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Ritesh Agarwal was an entrepreneurial teen in India who loved to travel. So he created a travel search engine. One obstacle to growth was the subpar customer service provided by the local hotels. So he tried something novel: he helped hotels improve. He modernized their lightbulbs. Rewarded staff when customers gave high reviews. Etc. It worked. Hotel owners loved the new, higher occupancy. When Ritesh created a franchise option for them, they signed up. Today you can see his company’s name – OYO – on hotels all over the world, which led OYO to a multi-billion dollar valuation. Ritesh Agarwal is the founder of OYO, the multinational hospitality platform More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I feel like Dave Liniger is a self-help made man. On the verge of quitting real estate, a transformative seminar reignited his determination and radically changed his business trajectory. When his wife was in a coma, he infused their hospital room with motivational tapes. The two of them left the hospital stronger than anyone could have expected. Liniger’s insights were instrumental making RE/MAX into a thriving, publicly-traded real estate juggernaut. Moreover, his entrepreneurial flair extends to diverse ventures including a sandwich chain and a golf course. Now, he’s passing his self-improvement message to others on his podcast, Ambition and Grit. Founder of RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums, it is an international real estate company that operates through a franchise system. Sponsored byLemon.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

Yaro Starak had a problem we all experienced: too much email. It was important, but it also kept him from doing real work. So he hired an assistant to answer his email. It’s a bit scary to pass your inbox to someone else, but it worked. The weight was lifted. He was more productive. So he decided to try offering it as a service. This is the story of how that service went from idea to million dollar a year business called InboxDone. InboxDone is a service where virtual executive assistants can answer your email with the same tone and approach you would and get you to inbox zero. Sponsored byLemon.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

There’s no money in owning markets, John Catsimatidis told me. So how did he become a billionaire? He leveraged his supermarkets to buy real estate, gas stations, and more. Owning the markets protected his downside, as he explains in his book, “How Far Do You Want to Go?” and in this interview. John Catsimatidis is a Greek-American businessman and philanthropist. He was born on September 7, 1948, in Nisyros, Greece. Catsimatidis is the owner and CEO of the Red Apple Group, a conglomerate that includes interests in oil refining, convenience stores, real estate, and supermarkets. He is also the founder and owner of Gristedes Foods, a grocery store chain in New York City. Catsimatidis has been involved in politics, running for mayor of New York City in 2013 as a Republican. Sponsored byLemon.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

Before the recent AI craze, Dima Shvets and his cofounders invented Reface, the viral tool that lets people rip a face from a photo and replace it with theirs. He says it’s doing tens of millions in revenue and was downloaded by over 270 million people, but it only happened because of a huge failure. Dima Shvets is the cofounder of Reface, the AI video & photo generating company Sponsored byLemon.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

I’ve been waiting for literally years to do this interview. I’ve known some inside information about this startup for a long time but because it involved Shopify–we couldn’t talk about it. Today Jordan Gal is here to talk about what happened. Jordan Gal is the founder of Rally, a headless checkout for modern brands. Sponsored byOrigami – 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