Startup Stories - Mixergy

When I heard that the founders of LessAccounting sold their company I was completely surprised. They sold to another accounting software company that I’d never even heard of. Well, today I have founder of that company. Uday Koorella is the founder of Qount, which provides accounting software, bookkeeping, payroll and tax services. We’re going to get into detail about how they got so many paying customers and I want to understand why they just acquired a company in a similar space. Uday Koorella is the founder of Qount, which provides accounting software, bookkeeping, payroll and tax services. Sponsored byAthletic Greens – Athletic Greens sees health and wellness as a long-term investment. They know that in order to perform at your best and live a fulfilling life, you need the right nutrition. That’s why Athletic Greens produces the most complete health supplement with 75 Ingredients covering 11 areas of health—everything you need to power through your day and achieve your goals. Bot Academy – Bot Academy will help you reach people using the chat apps that they love. Not sure what a chat bot is? I created one you can try to see what it’s like. Bot Academy will show you how to create a similar campaign for your business. Just go to botacademy.com/mixergy, to try one of our bots and be invited to our webinar where I demo how to create a chat bot in less than an hour. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

One thing I’ve noticed is that when there’s a shift in the world of technology, new players come in and really grow fast. One shift I’ve seen in online sales is crowdfunding. People aren’t creating products, putting them in stores and hoping that the products sell. They are getting customers first and then creating the products. During this shift, one entrepreneur went from a standard digital agency to focusing on crowdfunding. He’s here to talk about it. Roy Morejon created Enventys Partners, which combines product development with crowdfunding on platforms like Kickstarter to raise money and awareness Roy Morejon created Enventys Partners, which combines product development with crowdfunding on platforms like Kickstarter to raise money and awareness Sponsored byFormstack – Formstack is a versatile online form solution that streamlines processes for capturing and managing information. Easily create and use online forms to automate repetitive business processes and gain rich insights. With Formstack, embed forms directly onto your site and social media profiles to capture leads, as well as use online forms to collect payments, gather feedback, and streamline internal workflows. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I’m about to interview someone who emailed me years ago and said, “Hey, Andrew. I’m having audio problems with my podcast. And how do I make sure that the recording comes out right?” And we went back and forth a couple of times. Well, I didn’t know what he did with his podcast until my team sent me a note and said, “Hey, look. We’re considering having Toby on for an interview. And here’s what he’s done.” It’s a really interesting approach to podcasting. He does a podcast as a way of connecting with real estate agents and brokers. Toby Salgado is the host of a podcast is called “Super Agents Live.” Some of the people he interviews end up becoming customers of his business, Real Estate Radio Experts, which helps agents and brokers buy TV and radio ads. Toby Salgado is the host of a podcast is called “Super Agents Live” and founder of Real Estate Radio Experts, which helps agents and brokers buy TV and radio ads. Sponsored byHostGator is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all. HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

You know from these interviews that founders who address a deep pain for their customers are the ones who create the most dependable successes. Today’s guest was doing consulting work when he and his team uncovered an issue that his clients had. Well, that issue lead him to create a software company that addressed the need. Wait until you see how big the company has become. Charles Manning is the founder of Kochava, a leading mobile attribution analytics platform. It helps app creators understand how people are using their apps. Charles Manning is the founder of Kochava, a leading mobile attribution analytics platform. 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 is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all. HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I love learning from business and learning from how they grow. One of the companies I’ve watched over the years is Skillshare. They started with in-person events which I thought would give them an advantage over all the similar businesses teaching online. But then they pivoted, which told me there may have been a challenge they faced by going offline. Since pivoting they’ve grown and grown and grown and I want to find out how they did it. Michael Karnjanaprakorn is the founder of Skillshare, an online learning community for creators. Michael Karnjanaprakorn is the founder of Skillshare, an online learning community for creators. Sponsored byHostGator is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all. HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

We’re going to shatter some myths in this interview. The first myth is if you’re going to be a startup entrepreneur, you need to be a software entrepreneur. Today’s guest sells meat online. Meat! A product that’s existed and that people have consumed about as long as humans have been around. Wait until you find out how well he’s doing with it. The second myth is that you have to raise money. He did it with a previous company and has some pretty strong opinions about what happens when you raise money and why you probably don’t want to do it. The third myth is about the inner part of the entrepreneur. Today’s guest went through a period where he needed to build up his inner strength in order to start his company. He did it and I want to find out how. Michael Salguero is the founder of ButcherBox which delivers grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone-free meat to your door. Michael Salguero is the founder of ButcherBox which delivers grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone-free meat to your door. Sponsored byActiveCampaign – 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. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

When I work remotely I don’t like bringing my laptop; I prefer to work on my phone. But my biggest problem with using my phone is that it would kill my battery so fast. I was constantly upgrading to the latest phone and I STILL couldn’t do more than 4-5 hours of work with it. Well, last year I started doing research into batteries. I needed one I could take with me that would allow me to work 10 hours without the bulk of a laptop. I finally came across a product called Flux Charger and today I have the founder of the company that creates it. Today’s guest is Alejandro Rioja, the founder of Flux, which creates a portable charger. Alejandro Rioja is the founder of Flux, which creates Flux Charger, a portable charger. 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. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

I’m so excited about today’s guest. Years ago he created a software that allowed a group of people to talk to one another over text. It was called GroupMe and it felt like as soon as I even heard about the company it was sold in a life-changing exit. I always admired how they did it. Well, today we have the founder of GroupMe, Jared Hecht. He has a new company now and the thing I love about it is how he started it. He understood a pain point and started doing research. But he researched it in a way that I think most founders would be too afraid to do. He started going door to door and asking business owners about their freaking financial situation. And they told him! That’s how he built his business. He’s here to tell us how he did it. Jared Hecht is the founder of Fundera which helps business owners understand their creditworthiness and get loans and other financial solutions. Jared Hecht is the founder of Fundera which helps business owners understand their creditworthiness and get loans and other financial solutions. 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. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

My hesitation for you about this interview is once you find out what today’s guest does, you’re kind of going to feel a little bit like my mom did the first time I took her to an Apple Store. She was completely intimidated by the technology. Sometimes the things we’re a little scared of, like my mom was scared of smartphones, are the things that need to be presented to us and open our eyes. Today’s guest is Guy Greenberg. He is the cofounder of a company called Cooladata. Here’s the part that’s going to scare you: Cooladata is a big data behavioral analytics platform. I promise, as we go through this interview, you’re going to understand how he built it and you’re going to be able to apply to your business. Guy Greenberg is the founder of Cooladata, a big data behavioral analytics platform. 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. Pipedrive is a sales management tool for small teams with big ambitions. It visualizes one’s sales pipeline and helps to make sure important activities and conversations won’t get dropped. Salespeople really like it because it’s easy to use and intuitive. Managers like it because they don’t need to nag their team to use their CRM. It also sports built-in forecasting, integrations with other software such as Google Apps, MailChimp and Zapier and a powerful API. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

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 Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today I’ve got the cofounder of Method. I have been fascinated by how he’s created a soap that people love so much that they’re buying it and putting on their counters. This is what I always wanted for my company–to create something that people freaking love. Eric Ryan is the cofounder of Method, naturally-derived, biodegradable, non-toxic household cleaners, laundry supplies, personal care + soap. I want to find out why he decided to get into soap and how he changed our buying habits. Eric Ryan is the cofounder of Method, naturally-derived, biodegradable, non-toxic household cleaners, laundry supplies, personal care + soap. Sponsored byActiveCampaign – 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. Toptal – 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. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

When I first heard I could have Joe De Sena, founder of Spartan Race as a guest I almost passed. I thought it was a small, novelty obstacle race, not a real business. I may never have been more wrong in the history of Mixergy. The Spartan business generates over $100 million per year. And the race is so much tougher than the 10k footraces that most people think are challenging. You have to hear this interview. Joe De Sena is the founder of Spartan Race, innovating obstacle course races on a global scale. Sponsored byActiveCampaign – 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. Athletic Greens – Athletic Greens sees health and wellness as a long-term investment. They know that in order to perform at your best and live a fulfilling life, you need the right nutrition. That’s why Athletic Greens produces the most complete health supplement with 75 Ingredients covering 11 areas of health—everything you need to power through your day and achieve your goals. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

The process of renting apartments hasn’t changed since Craigslist was introduced. And frankly, the process is a pain in the ass. Well, today’s guest noticed that experience and wanted to improve it. He created a marketplace—which is tough—and he has to deal with landlords who aren’t eager to try new software, but found a way to do it. I invited him here to find out how he did it. Anthemos Georgiades is the cofounder of Zumper, a house and apartment rental platform. Anthemos Georgiades is the cofounder of Zumper, a house and apartment rental platform. Sponsored byIf 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. Toptal – 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. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

One of my listeners emailed me and said, “Andrew, you’re completely ignoring cryptocurrency.” I said, “Yeah, I guess I am. I don’t fully understand it and I also don’t want to be part of the hype cycle.” And he said, “No, Andrew, it’s more than hype.” Well, today I have the creator of Litecoin, Charlie Lee. Litecoin is one of those cryptocurrencies that because of the way it started became a major currency. Charlie left his previous job to focus on the Litecoin Foundation that he created. I invited him here to talk about Litecoin, how he created it, why he created it, and also cryptocurrencies in general. Charlie Lee is the creator of Litecoin, a cryptocurrency that enables instant payments to anyone in the world and that can be efficiently mined with consumer-grade hardware. Sponsored byActiveCampaign – 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. Toptal – 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. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Today’s guest found a product that he wanted to build and he actually made it work. Imagine you go to a website and they bring up a modal pop-up that says, “Enter your email address and I’ll send you a guide.” That will get good email addresses and good conversions. But it turns out if you ask people questions that are relevant to why you want their email address you’ll increases conversions. You’d think adding more steps would reduce your conversions. It turns out adding the right number of steps increases conversions. We’re going to find out how he built up this business and a little bit about conversions along the way. Jeremy Ellens is the founder of LeadQuizzes, which helps you generate leads and sales using quizzes. Jeremy Ellens is the founder of LeadQuizzes, which helps you generate leads and sales using quizzes. 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 is your one-stop shop for all things web hosting. From design and marketing services to easy-to-use website builders, they are with you every step of the way. Thanks to their 24/7 – 365 days a year live support – which you can get via chat, phone and email – any and all questions you have can be answered in no time at all. HostGator offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, an easy to use control panel, one click WordPress installs and more. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint