Today on Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we are privileged to chat to Jeremy Ring, one of the members of the first team at Yahoo!

Jeremy Ring was hired as Director of Sales at Yahoo! In 1996 by legendary founder Jerry Yang. After a profanity-laced telephone call with Jerry, Jeremy quit his current job - after only one day of being with that company - to begin a 5 and a half year journey with Yahoo! That would change his life. 

Since leaving Yahoo! Jeremy has been a successful entrepreneur, a Florida state senator, and ran for CFO of Florida in 2018. He has also been a champion for students with his Students United with Parents and Educators to Resolve Bullying (SUPERB) program.

Jeremy is here with us today to talk with us about the rise and fall of Yahoo! From his 50-yard line view.

How did Yahoo! Differ from its competitors, what made it so profitable?
Early on they were the first online company to partner with major brands.
They believed in making a profitable company.

You joined the company after it was founded, were they still innovating?
They were still innovating, but they were innovating for the time.
They innovated in the content area.

In hindsight, were there any business opportunities that were passed up that could have saved Yahoo!?
It’s a hard question to answer, as so many different acquisition opportunities came through the Yahoo! offices.
The bigger acquisitions that were passed up were by the second team.
The second team had the opportunity to acquire Facebook and passed.
The decisions that were made that hurt the company were made by non-tech executives.
Jeremy believes the biggest mistake that the first team made was to not monetize search.

What are some things entrepreneurs can do to help them recognize they may be looking through a lens that may be the wrong one?
How you identify customers.
How do you identify areas that need disruption?

How did the company grow while you were there, what were some of the difficulties in the beginning?
25 employees when he started there when he left there were around 3000.
There weren’t many internal difficulties at the beginning.
The company culture collapsed with the second team.
The biggest challenges they faced came from Wall Street because they expected a more short term explosive growth, so they couldn’t spend time with clients that would be more profitable in the long term than the short term. 

What was it like to see the Dot.Com bubble burst coming?
They knew the storm was coming about a year beforehand.
There was no way to reverse course and stop the burst.
The biggest entities were not actually destroyed by the burst, just damaged.
Yahoo! Was not destroyed, but they failed to rebuild.

What were the differences in the company between when you started and when you left?
The company culture was intact, the culture collapsed after the dot.com bubble burst.
The company culture during his time was great.

Where is Yahoo! today?
They are owned by Verizon
They’re about one step above Radio shack and Blockbuster

What advice would you give other entrepreneurs?
Don’t be afraid to set new rules.
See the existing opportunities and take advantage of the moment.
Focus on your go-to market aspect, otherwise, it doesn’t matter if you have a great technology or not. Selling is equally as hard as building great technologies.
Don’t over-analyze.

Resources:

Websites: 

Yahoo!

Data Automation

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

Today on Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we are privileged to chat to Jeremy Ring, one of the members of the first team at Yahoo!
Jeremy Ring was hired as Director of Sales at Yahoo! In 1996 by legendary founder Jerry Yang. After a profanity-laced telephone call with Jerry, Jeremy quit his current job - after only one day of being with that company - to begin a 5 and a half year journey with Yahoo! That would change his life.&nbsp;
Since leaving Yahoo! Jeremy has been a successful entrepreneur, a Florida state senator, and ran for CFO of Florida in 2018. He has also been a champion for students with his Students United with Parents and Educators to Resolve Bullying (SUPERB) program.
Jeremy is here with us today to talk with us about the rise and fall of Yahoo! From his 50-yard line view.
How did Yahoo! Differ from its competitors, what made it so profitable?
<ul>
<li>Early on they were the first online company to partner with major brands.</li>
<li>They believed in making a profitable company.</li>
</ul>
You joined the company after it was founded, were they still innovating?
<ul>
<li>They were still innovating, but they were innovating for the time.</li>
<li>They innovated in the content area.</li>
</ul>
In hindsight, were there any business opportunities that were passed up that could have saved Yahoo!?
<ul>
<li>It&rsquo;s a hard question to answer, as so many different acquisition opportunities came through the Yahoo! offices.</li>
<li>The bigger acquisitions that were passed up were by the second team.</li>
<li>The second team had the opportunity to acquire Facebook and passed.</li>
<li>The decisions that were made that hurt the company were made by non-tech executives.</li>
<li>Jeremy believes the biggest mistake that the first team made was to not monetize search.</li>
</ul>
What are some things entrepreneurs can do to help them recognize they may be looking through a lens that may be the wrong one?
<ul>
<li>How you identify customers.</li>
<li>How do you identify areas that need disruption?</li>
</ul>
How did the company grow while you were there, what were some of the difficulties in the beginning?
<ul>
<li>25 employees when he started there when he left there were around 3000.</li>
<li>There weren&rsquo;t many internal difficulties at the beginning.</li>
<li>The company culture collapsed with the second team.</li>
<li>The biggest challenges they faced came from Wall Street because they expected a more short term explosive growth, so they couldn&rsquo;t spend time with clients that would be more profitable in the long term than the short term.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
What was it like to see the Dot.Com bubble burst coming?
<ul>
<li>They knew the storm was coming about a year beforehand.</li>
<li>There was no way to reverse course and stop the burst.</li>
<li>The biggest entities were not actually destroyed by the burst, just damaged.</li>
<li>Yahoo! Was not destroyed, but they failed to rebuild.</li>
</ul>
What were the differences in the company between when you started and when you left?
<ul>
<li>The company culture was intact, the culture collapsed after the dot.com bubble burst.</li>
<li>The company culture during his time was great.</li>
</ul>
Where is Yahoo! today?
<ul>
<li>They are owned by Verizon</li>
<li>They&rsquo;re about one step above Radio shack and Blockbuster</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give other entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>Don&rsquo;t be afraid to set new rules.</li>
<li>See the existing opportunities and take advantage of the moment.</li>
<li>Focus on your go-to market aspect, otherwise, it doesn&rsquo;t matter if you have a great technology or not. Selling is equally as hard as building great technologies.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t over-analyze.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://za.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Looking back to look forward - Jeremy Ring

On today’s show, we have a great founder to showcase, Tracy Childers of WishList Member!

Tracy Childers was a frustrated online marketer who got tired of using complex and buggy software to run his online business, so he decided just to build his own. Today we get to talk to Tracy about how a non-coder founded a SaaS product that has been around for 12 years.

Tell us about what your software does for people?
WishList Member is a WordPress plugin that allows you to turn your website into a membership site.
It helps to control the user experience of your site through a login.

How does WishList Member differ from competitors?
Because WishList Member is a WordPress plugin, all you need to do to use it is install the free WordPress version on your site and pay for the plugin.
The way they integrate.

How did you help found WishList Member?
Tracy was the director of shipping for his father’s business when he was quite young.
He went to college to get a marketing degree, and he felt that he had learned nothing about marketing.
His father pointed out to him that going to college wasn’t about getting trained, but to prove that he had the ability to finish what he started.
When he got into business he quickly realized that databases were essential to running a business.
He got really into using Filemaker pro, a low/no-code tool.
He recognized that what he was good at, and that was not coding. So he decided to find people who were good at coding to get them to build software for him.
As the internet grew it became simpler to hire a coder.
He saw a space in the market for a cheaper, easier WordPress membership listing product.

What were some of the difficulties you faced, and how did you overcome them?
They unknowingly alienated the WordPress community.
They obfuscated their code.
To fix it, they stopped obfuscating their code and fixed it to work better with WordPress.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
In order to get paid, you have to show up.

Resources:

Websites: 

WishList Member

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The E-Myth

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On today&rsquo;s show, we have a great founder to showcase, Tracy Childers of WishList Member!
Tracy Childers was a frustrated online marketer who got tired of using complex and buggy software to run his online business, so he decided just to build his own. Today we get to talk to Tracy about how a non-coder founded a SaaS product that has been around for 12 years.
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>WishList Member is a WordPress plugin that allows you to turn your website into a membership site.</li>
<li>It helps to control the user experience of your site through a login.</li>
</ul>
How does WishList Member differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>Because WishList Member is a WordPress plugin, all you need to do to use it is install the free WordPress version on your site and pay for the plugin.</li>
<li>The way they integrate.</li>
</ul>
How did you help found WishList Member?
<ul>
<li>Tracy was the director of shipping for his father&rsquo;s business when he was quite young.</li>
<li>He went to college to get a marketing degree, and he felt that he had learned nothing about marketing.</li>
<li>His father pointed out to him that going to college wasn&rsquo;t about getting trained, but to prove that he had the ability to finish what he started.</li>
<li>When he got into business he quickly realized that databases were essential to running a business.</li>
<li>He got really into using Filemaker pro, a low/no-code tool.</li>
<li>He recognized that what he was good at, and that was not coding. So he decided to find people who were good at coding to get them to build software for him.</li>
<li>As the internet grew it became simpler to hire a coder.</li>
<li>He saw a space in the market for a cheaper, easier WordPress membership listing product.</li>
</ul>
What were some of the difficulties you faced, and how did you overcome them?
<ul>
<li>They unknowingly alienated the WordPress community.</li>
<li>They obfuscated their code.</li>
<li>To fix it, they stopped obfuscating their code and fixed it to work better with WordPress.</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>In order to get paid, you have to show up.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://member.wishlistproducts.com/">WishList Member</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280">The E-Myth</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Recognizing who you are and what you're good at - Tracy Childers

On today's episode we offer 3 nuggets from previous guests from our first season of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate!

Thanks to the increase of online shopping due to the pandemic, this year promises to be the biggest Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Christmas season ecommerce has enjoyed so far. With that in mind we thought we should reshare some nuggets from previous episodes to help you along the path of automating, delegating or eliminating processes to help your ecommerce business run more smoothly during this busy time!

First up, Orion Avidan of retail AddVenture talks about replenishment:

Would you like to hear more? Catch the full episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/big-decisions-have-to-be-made-little-data-to-rely-on/id1514031580?i=1000476710250

Second Rolando Rosas of Global Tek Worldwide talks about order fulfillment and stock movement:

Catch the full episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/humans-will-make-mistakes-fba-automation-rolando-rosas/id1514031580?i=1000475018341

And last but not least, Brian Miller of Easy China Warehouse gives us a great summary on WHY you need to start using software in your business:

Catch the rest of Brian's story here: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/its-not-always-about-saving-time-accuracy-can-be-more/id1514031580?i=1000478293581

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On today's episode we offer 3 nuggets from previous guests from our first season of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate!
Thanks to the increase of online shopping due to the pandemic, this year promises to be the biggest Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Christmas season ecommerce has enjoyed so far. With that in mind we thought we should reshare some nuggets from previous episodes to help you along the path of automating, delegating or eliminating processes to help your ecommerce business run more smoothly during this busy time! First up, Orion Avidan of retail AddVenture talks about replenishment:
Would you like to hear more? Catch the full episode here: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/big-decisions-have-to-be-made-little-data-to-rely-on/id1514031580?i=1000476710250">https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/big-decisions-have-to-be-made-little-data-to-rely-on/id1514031580?i=1000476710250</a>
Second Rolando Rosas of Global Tek Worldwide talks about order fulfillment and stock movement:
Catch the full episode here: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/humans-will-make-mistakes-fba-automation-rolando-rosas/id1514031580?i=1000475018341">https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/humans-will-make-mistakes-fba-automation-rolando-rosas/id1514031580?i=1000475018341</a>
And last but not least, Brian Miller of Easy China Warehouse gives us a great summary on WHY you need to start using software in your business:
Catch the rest of Brian's story here: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/its-not-always-about-saving-time-accuracy-can-be-more/id1514031580?i=1000478293581">https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/its-not-always-about-saving-time-accuracy-can-be-more/id1514031580?i=1000478293581</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Things to think about during this busy season for online retailers

Today's guest is Chad Rubin of Skubana, all those ecom stores out there gearing up for Black Friday, you'll want to listen to this.

Having worked in corporate finance covering internet stocks, Chad started his own ecommerce storefront in 2008. As CrucialVacuum.com Chad discovered a real need to solve the most serious problems of order processing and inventory management that cause millions of dollars in losses for e-commerce sellers every year. Like most of the best SaaS products out there, the need to solve these pain points was how Skubana was born.  

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
If you think of Shopify, it is everything you can see above the earth, whereas Skubana is everything below ground.
Skubana makes it possible to manage your online store operations, especially if you are going multi-channel.
Skubana helps ecommerce companies run and automate their businesses.

How does Skubana differ from competitors?
They built it from their own challenges, which means it works extremely well.
They have built inventory and order management systems together. They have unified the software.

How did you help found Skubana?
He had a problem that he needed to solve for, he needed a multi-channel system that actually worked.
He couldn’t find any software that truly solved his problem.
They started Skubana to solve the problem.

What made you decide that you needed to build your own software?
Had was working with his business partner to try and get a software solution.
When they realised they could not get pre-built software to adequately solve their issues they decided to build one themselves.

What were some of the moments when you realized what the software needed?
Chad gives credit to his business partner DJ, who pointed out that what they needed was not just an inventory system but an operations platform with everything unified.

What sort of problems did you have when you scaled and grew?
They needed more investments than they initially thought

What made you decide to narrow the vision for your software?
Going after specialized expertise has tremendous value.
At a Shopify conference and saw a presentation that made them realize that with an open API allowed people to build into their software, which would allow others to build into their platform and essentially do some of the work for them.

What did you do to keep your family afloat while building Skubana?
Chad is a first generation Amazon seller, which brings a lot of benefits.
His store helped to fund him while he was building Skubana.
He didn’t take a paycheck from Skubana for a long time.

What difficulties did you face when starting the company and how did you overcome them?
Getting people to believe in their software.
He made a list of the top 10 ecommerce entrepreneurs he wanted to get involved and invest. 
After his first investor many others followed, and eventually he got 2 people from that top 10 list.

What sort of questions do investors ask during the seed round?
You will need to think through every aspect of your business logistics. One seed investor asked what’s happening with Chad’s other business and what his role in the new business was.
Think through all the hard topics so that you have an answer.
Have some proof of concept conversations to better ready yourself for the real conversations.
Make a pitch deck, and send it out and ask for feedback. Build a relationship with potential investors.

How has the business changed from the early days?
The stakes are higher
They have a bigger team
They have a much better product
They have better product market fit
They have become more focused on what they are great at

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs that are just starting out?
Being able to find light in the dark times, and get through them helps you come out a better person.
There is always room for the best on the open market.
What works for one person may not work for you, follow your own rainbow.
Find the people who have the problem your product solves.

Resources:

Chad@Skubana.com

Websites: 

Skubana

Data Automation

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

Today's guest is Chad Rubin of Skubana, all those ecom stores out there gearing up for Black Friday, you'll want to listen to this.
Having worked in corporate finance covering internet stocks, Chad started his own ecommerce storefront in 2008. As CrucialVacuum.com Chad discovered a real need to solve the most serious problems of order processing and inventory management that cause millions of dollars in losses for e-commerce sellers every year. Like most of the best SaaS products out there, the need to solve these pain points was how Skubana was born.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>If you think of Shopify, it is everything you can see above the earth, whereas Skubana is everything below ground.</li>
<li>Skubana makes it possible to manage your online store operations, especially if you are going multi-channel.</li>
<li>Skubana helps ecommerce companies run and automate their businesses.</li>
</ul>
How does Skubana differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>They built it from their own challenges, which means it works extremely well.</li>
<li>They have built inventory and order management systems together. They have unified the software.</li>
</ul>
How did you help found Skubana?
<ul>
<li>He had a problem that he needed to solve for, he needed a multi-channel system that actually worked.</li>
<li>He couldn&rsquo;t find any software that truly solved his problem.</li>
<li>They started Skubana to solve the problem.</li>
</ul>
What made you decide that you needed to build your own software?
<ul>
<li>Had was working with his business partner to try and get a software solution.</li>
<li>When they realised they could not get pre-built software to adequately solve their issues they decided to build one themselves.</li>
</ul>
What were some of the moments when you realized what the software needed?
<ul>
<li>Chad gives credit to his business partner DJ, who pointed out that what they needed was not just an inventory system but an operations platform with everything unified.</li>
</ul>
What sort of problems did you have when you scaled and grew?
<ul>
<li>They needed more investments than they initially thought</li>
</ul>
What made you decide to narrow the vision for your software?
<ul>
<li>Going after specialized expertise has tremendous value.</li>
<li>At a Shopify conference and saw a presentation that made them realize that with an open API allowed people to build into their software, which would allow others to build into their platform and essentially do some of the work for them.</li>
</ul>
What did you do to keep your family afloat while building Skubana?
<ul>
<li>Chad is a first generation Amazon seller, which brings a lot of benefits.</li>
<li>His store helped to fund him while he was building Skubana.</li>
<li>He didn&rsquo;t take a paycheck from Skubana for a long time.</li>
</ul>
What difficulties did you face when starting the company and how did you overcome them?
<ul>
<li>Getting people to believe in their software.</li>
<li>He made a list of the top 10 ecommerce entrepreneurs he wanted to get involved and invest.&nbsp;</li>
<li>After his first investor many others followed, and eventually he got 2 people from that top 10 list.</li>
</ul>
What sort of questions do investors ask during the seed round?
<ul>
<li>You will need to think through every aspect of your business logistics. One seed investor asked what&rsquo;s happening with Chad&rsquo;s other business and what his role in the new business was.</li>
<li>Think through all the hard topics so that you have an answer.</li>
<li>Have some proof of concept conversations to better ready yourself for the real conversations.</li>
<li>Make a pitch deck, and send it out and ask for feedback. Build a relationship with potential investors.</li>
</ul>
How has the business changed from the early days?
<ul>
<li>The stakes are higher</li>
<li>They have a bigger team</li>
<li>They have a much better product</li>
<li>They have better product market fit</li>
<li>They have become more focused on what they are great at</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs that are just starting out?
<ul>
<li>Being able to find light in the dark times, and get through them helps you come out a better person.</li>
<li>There is always room for the best on the open market.</li>
<li>What works for one person may not work for you, follow your own rainbow.</li>
<li>Find the people who have the problem your product solves.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Chad@Skubana.com
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.skubana.com/">Skubana</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Skubana is the peanut butter to Shopify's jelly - Chad Rubin

Our guest for today is Russ Perry of Design Pickle.

 

Russ Perry has been involved in branding and marketing strategy for the last decade. He has worked to shift the status-quo with brands such as Apple, Morgan Stanley, Pebble Tec, LG, Botanicare, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

 

In 2015 he launched Design Pickle – the world's #1 flat-rate creative platform.

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
It is a network of a global creative team.
They connect entrepreneurs and businesses to on-demand creative help.

How does Design Pickle differ from competitors?
The scalability of their service and platform.
The quality of their services.
Consistency.
Their software and platform

How did you help found Design Pickle?
He had his own design pickle that needed to be fixed.
He set up an early version of Design Pickle with some third-party software and a couple of other people.
He realized that the model worked really well, especially as some of the designers were overseas, as the work was done “overnight”.
He looked at it and thought “what if I could package this”.

Where did you get the idea for the name and logo?
Russ is really great at branding.
The name for his previous consultancy was long and unwieldy, so he decided his new company had to be easy to remember and spell.
He likes fermented food, so he went with Design Pickle.
He made 2 sketches, and the one his daughter could identify as a pickle he used for the logo.

What were some of the moments where you realized exactly what Design Pickle needed?
The need for software to manage the business as they scaled.
Having instant communication with your designer.

What made you decide to dedicate a designer to each client?
It came down to the quality of the experience.
If a creative can really get to know the client and their brand, they can deliver better designs.
It makes it easier to track the customer’s experience.

How did you keep you and your family afloat when you started Design Pickle?
He kept his business relationships from his agency alive, he got some consulting work from past clients.
He was actually getting paid more and working less than when he had an agency.
He invested in personal development, he hired some coaches, and went to events.

Do you have any examples of your challenges and how you overcame them?
Russ has written a book about all of his personal challenges (see the bottom of the notes for a link)
Russ realized that isolation was his biggest challenge, and being able to open up about his problems is key to overcoming that.
All of your problems are personal ones.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs?
Be hyper niche and specific in your business, you can always branch out later.

Resources:

Websites: 

Design Pickle

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The Sober Entrepreneur

Get hold of Ryan:

https://russperry.co/ 

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

Our guest for today is Russ Perry of Design Pickle.
&nbsp;
Russ Perry has been involved in branding and marketing strategy for the last decade. He has worked to shift the status-quo with brands such as Apple, Morgan Stanley, Pebble Tec, LG, Botanicare, and the Harlem Globetrotters.
&nbsp;
In 2015 he launched Design Pickle &ndash; the world's #1 flat-rate creative platform.
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>It is a network of a global creative team.</li>
<li>They connect entrepreneurs and businesses to on-demand creative help.</li>
</ul>
How does Design Pickle differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>The scalability of their service and platform.</li>
<li>The quality of their services.</li>
<li>Consistency.</li>
<li>Their software and platform</li>
</ul>
How did you help found Design Pickle?
<ul>
<li>He had his own design pickle that needed to be fixed.</li>
<li>He set up an early version of Design Pickle with some third-party software and a couple of other people.</li>
<li>He realized that the model worked really well, especially as some of the designers were overseas, as the work was done &ldquo;overnight&rdquo;.</li>
<li>He looked at it and thought &ldquo;what if I could package this&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
Where did you get the idea for the name and logo?
<ul>
<li>Russ is really great at branding.</li>
<li>The name for his previous consultancy was long and unwieldy, so he decided his new company had to be easy to remember and spell.</li>
<li>He likes fermented food, so he went with Design Pickle.</li>
<li>He made 2 sketches, and the one his daughter could identify as a pickle he used for the logo.</li>
</ul>
What were some of the moments where you realized exactly what Design Pickle needed?
<ul>
<li>The need for software to manage the business as they scaled.</li>
<li>Having instant communication with your designer.</li>
</ul>
What made you decide to dedicate a designer to each client?
<ul>
<li>It came down to the quality of the experience.</li>
<li>If a creative can really get to know the client and their brand, they can deliver better designs.</li>
<li>It makes it easier to track the customer&rsquo;s experience.</li>
</ul>
How did you keep you and your family afloat when you started Design Pickle?
<ul>
<li>He kept his business relationships from his agency alive, he got some consulting work from past clients.</li>
<li>He was actually getting paid more and working less than when he had an agency.</li>
<li>He invested in personal development, he hired some coaches, and went to events.</li>
</ul>
Do you have any examples of your challenges and how you overcame them?
<ul>
<li>Russ has written a book about all of his personal challenges (see the bottom of the notes for a link)</li>
<li>Russ realized that isolation was his biggest challenge, and being able to open up about his problems is key to overcoming that.</li>
<li>All of your problems are personal ones.</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>Be hyper niche and specific in your business, you can always branch out later.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://designpickle.com/">Design Pickle</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sober-Entrepreneur-Change-Your-Family-ebook/dp/B078RTP834">The Sober Entrepreneur</a>
Get hold of Ryan:
<a href="https://russperry.co/">https://russperry.co/</a>&nbsp;
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Customer Service people are basically therapists - Russ Perry

On today’s episode of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we chat to Ryan Phillips.

 

Ryan Phillips started completely broke working out of his grandparents spare bedroom and in two short years built a wildly profitable online business, which he has grown to $1MM+ per year. He is the founder of VideoSuite and Interactr and is focused on personal growth and development.

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
Interactr is an interactive video platform
It allows you to create a video that a user interacts with, which allows you to deliver the correct sales pitch for that user.

How does Interactr differ from competitors?
A lot of the features are more marketing and direct response related.
It’s an enterprise level software without the enterprise level cost.

How did you help found Interactr?
He was a full time martial arts instructor
The members of the martial arts school had a session with a life coach, who went over their internal value structures.
The coach pointed out that Ryan’s internal values were not consistent with running his own martial arts school.
He had to pivot his whole life plan.
He decided that an online business would be the best idea, and got a mentor for internet marketing (which he failed at).
His accountability partner suggested that they create a product teaching entrepreneurs how to make great videos with their phone.
He posted to facebook one day about how grateful he was not to have a 9-5 job, and this caught the eye of an old friend. They went to dinner to discuss some ideas.
The 2 launched a successful product together, and agreed to a partnership.

What were some of the moments where you realised exactly what Interactr needed?
The initial idea was literally to copy a more expensive offering and offer it at  lower price.
They listened to their users and made changes each year.

How do you capture user feedback?
They have a request page, and they also receive feedback from the user FaceBook group. The page also contains an up and down vote feature so users can pick which feature should be built next.

What is the online formula for success?
Traffic + conversion = sales
Is your product solving a problem or is it providing a solution to a desire? Those are the only things people will pay for.
$100 or less needs a sales page.(Low ticket)
$500 - $2000 needs a webinar (Mid Ticket)
$5000 - $15000 needs an application process that leads to an actual call (High ticket)

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
Every successful company has challenges
When you become successful, te problems don’t stop
Get used to failing forwards, fast

Resources:

Websites: 

VideoSuite/Interactr

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

Traction

Get hold of Ryan:

https://www.instagram.com/ryanphillipshq/?hl=en

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On today&rsquo;s episode of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we chat to Ryan Phillips.
&nbsp;
Ryan Phillips started completely broke working out of his grandparents spare bedroom and in two short years built a wildly profitable online business, which he has grown to $1MM+ per year. He is the founder of VideoSuite and Interactr and is focused on personal growth and development.
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>Interactr is an interactive video platform</li>
<li>It allows you to create a video that a user interacts with, which allows you to deliver the correct sales pitch for that user.</li>
</ul>
How does Interactr differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>A lot of the features are more marketing and direct response related.</li>
<li>It&rsquo;s an enterprise level software without the enterprise level cost.</li>
</ul>
How did you help found Interactr?
<ul>
<li>He was a full time martial arts instructor</li>
<li>The members of the martial arts school had a session with a life coach, who went over their internal value structures.</li>
<li>The coach pointed out that Ryan&rsquo;s internal values were not consistent with running his own martial arts school.</li>
<li>He had to pivot his whole life plan.</li>
<li>He decided that an online business would be the best idea, and got a mentor for internet marketing (which he failed at).</li>
<li>His accountability partner suggested that they create a product teaching entrepreneurs how to make great videos with their phone.</li>
<li>He posted to facebook one day about how grateful he was not to have a 9-5 job, and this caught the eye of an old friend. They went to dinner to discuss some ideas.</li>
<li>The 2 launched a successful product together, and agreed to a partnership.</li>
</ul>
What were some of the moments where you realised exactly what Interactr needed?
<ul>
<li>The initial idea was literally to copy a more expensive offering and offer it at&nbsp; lower price.</li>
<li>They listened to their users and made changes each year.</li>
</ul>
How do you capture user feedback?
<ul>
<li>They have a request page, and they also receive feedback from the user FaceBook group. The page also contains an up and down vote feature so users can pick which feature should be built next.</li>
</ul>
What is the online formula for success?
<ul>
<li>Traffic + conversion = sales</li>
<li>Is your product solving a problem or is it providing a solution to a desire? Those are the only things people will pay for.</li>
<li>$100 or less needs a sales page.(Low ticket)</li>
<li>$500 - $2000 needs a webinar (Mid Ticket)</li>
<li>$5000 - $15000 needs an application process that leads to an actual call (High ticket)</li>
</ul>
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
<ul>
<li>Every successful company has challenges</li>
<li>When you become successful, te problems don&rsquo;t stop</li>
<li>Get used to failing forwards, fast</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="http://videosuite.io/products.php">VideoSuite/Interactr</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837">Traction</a>
Get hold of Ryan:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ryanphillipshq/?hl=en">https://www.instagram.com/ryanphillipshq/?hl=en</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Fake it till you make it - Ryan Phillips

On today’s episode of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we chat with Andy Lambert of ContentCal!

 

Andy has over 10 years of experience in creating markets, building profitable businesses, and leadership roles in industry-leading SaaS organizations. He is one of the Founding Team of ContentCal, an award-winning social media marketing technology software that has gone international since launching in January 2017.  

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
It simplifies how businesses do content marketing
Most businesses’ content marketing is very fragmented
ContentCal brings all content marketing together into one sphere

How does ContentCal differ from competitors?
They are multi-channel
Built by non-tech marketers

How did you help found ContentCal?
It was originally a content marketing agency under a different name
He wanted to simplify their content creation and scheduling process
Andy was introduced to the founder of the agency by a mutual connection
Andy had some concerns because the content app market was crowded, but ultimately decided to join the team.

What did the team look like when you joined to start work on the software?
The agency was about 10 people.
They got some guys in Russia to do coding of the software, based on some designs the product manager had done.
Andy was employee number 2 on the software.

What made you ultimately decide that joining the ContentCal team was the right idea?
He knew that an investor was making  a commitment that would make it financially sound for the company to hire employees and offer them a salary

How did the idea of the software come to be and become a reality?
Alex had the initial idea
Colin bought into Alex’ idea and invested in him

Any advice to entrepreneurs about investors?
The challenge comes in drawing a line so that your investors don’t meddle too much in your business
Some investors may not have relevant views
Have a good board chairman who is on your side and understands that the product and marketing teams know better than your investors and can advocate for you
Pay attention to who's money you are taking, not all money is good money to take

What were some moments when you realized exactly what ContentCal needed?
What they originally made had very good feedback from users
They are still on the journey of making ContentCal into the final product
They realized that the marketing team can’t be the only ones working on content
They are connecting all the dots on the ideas that they gain from users to take them on the journey of creating ContentCal

 

What difficulties did you face when starting the company and how did you overcome them?
The hardest thing at the start is to find paying customers. 
They learned they had to find their customers themselves, mostly by annoying people on LinkedIn.
They bought an email list and sent out emails, and found that they got a lot of feedback but it took a while to figure out what was good feedback.
They found it was best to find their minimum viable audience

 

What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
An idea is worth nothing without people to execute on it and invest in it
Customers are harder to sell to than investors.
An idea is just a research project.
Don’t forget to own your growth. Don’t rely on ads on places like Facebook, it’s building your business on rented land.

Resources:

Websites: 

ContentCal

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The Lean Startup

The Startup Owner's Manual

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On today&rsquo;s episode of Automate, Delegate, Eliminate we chat with Andy Lambert of ContentCal!
&nbsp;
Andy has over 10 years of experience in creating markets, building profitable businesses, and leadership roles in industry-leading SaaS organizations. He is one of the Founding Team of ContentCal, an award-winning social media marketing technology software that has gone international since launching in January 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>It simplifies how businesses do content marketing</li>
<li>Most businesses&rsquo; content marketing is very fragmented</li>
<li>ContentCal brings all content marketing together into one sphere</li>
</ul>
How does ContentCal differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>They are multi-channel</li>
<li>Built by non-tech marketers</li>
</ul>
How did you help found ContentCal?
<ul>
<li>It was originally a content marketing agency under a different name</li>
<li>He wanted to simplify their content creation and scheduling process</li>
<li>Andy was introduced to the founder of the agency by a mutual connection</li>
<li>Andy had some concerns because the content app market was crowded, but ultimately decided to join the team.</li>
</ul>
What did the team look like when you joined to start work on the software?
<ul>
<li>The agency was about 10 people.</li>
<li>They got some guys in Russia to do coding of the software, based on some designs the product manager had done.</li>
<li>Andy was employee number 2 on the software.</li>
</ul>
What made you ultimately decide that joining the ContentCal team was the right idea?
<ul>
<li>He knew that an investor was making&nbsp; a commitment that would make it financially sound for the company to hire employees and offer them a salary</li>
</ul>
How did the idea of the software come to be and become a reality?
<ul>
<li>Alex had the initial idea</li>
<li>Colin bought into Alex&rsquo; idea and invested in him</li>
</ul>
Any advice to entrepreneurs about investors?
<ul>
<li>The challenge comes in drawing a line so that your investors don&rsquo;t meddle too much in your business</li>
<li>Some investors may not have relevant views</li>
<li>Have a good board chairman who is on your side and understands that the product and marketing teams know better than your investors and can advocate for you</li>
<li>Pay attention to who's money you are taking, not all money is good money to take</li>
</ul>
What were some moments when you realized exactly what ContentCal needed?
<ul>
<li>What they originally made had very good feedback from users</li>
<li>They are still on the journey of making ContentCal into the final product</li>
<li>They realized that the marketing team can&rsquo;t be the only ones working on content</li>
<li>They are connecting all the dots on the ideas that they gain from users to take them on the journey of creating ContentCal</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
What difficulties did you face when starting the company and how did you overcome them?
<ul>
<li>The hardest thing at the start is to find paying customers.&nbsp;</li>
<li>They learned they had to find their customers themselves, mostly by annoying people on LinkedIn.</li>
<li>They bought an email list and sent out emails, and found that they got a lot of feedback but it took a while to figure out what was good feedback.</li>
<li>They found it was best to find their minimum viable audience</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>An idea is worth nothing without people to execute on it and invest in it</li>
<li>Customers are harder to sell to than investors.</li>
<li>An idea is just a research project.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t forget to own your growth. Don&rsquo;t rely on ads on places like Facebook, it&rsquo;s building your business on rented land.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.contentcal.io/">ContentCal</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="http://theleanstartup.com/">The Lean Startup</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/0984999302">The Startup Owner's Manual</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Customers are harder to sell to than investors - Andy Lambert

On today’s show, we have 2 amazing guests in one episode! I am interviewing Rob and Kennedy of Response Suite.

Rob entertains with hypnosis and Kennedy has a comedy show using his skills in psychology, body language, and reading people to read his audience’s mind

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
Response Suite is a user survey software
Funnels customers to the correct product.
Integrates your surveys with all of your marketing channels to enable entrepreneurs to turn feedback into sales.

How does Response Suite differ from competitors?
Response Suite uses every answer that a customer gives to each question in a survey and creates a map of the customer on a granular level.
Integrates with all your other marketing tools.
Brings all your customer information into a single place.

How did you found Response Suite?
Neither Rob nor Kennedy wanted to be entrepreneurs, they are both entertainers.
While they were performing they each started online businesses to fill in time.
They realized that there was no good, single software that could use surveys to funnel their customers to the correct course or product on their sites in the way they wanted.
They wanted to be able to treat their customers as individuals to give subscribers a better experience and to increase profits.

How did you make your idea a reality?
They ignored all the advice, they self-funded.
Taking VC would go against their core value of never getting a job.
As non-tech people it was impossible for them to outsource into another country, so they hired a developer locally.
Having never had a traditional job, they didn’t even know how to do an interview.

What were moments that made you realize exactly what your software needed?
While they were talking about their initial idea they realized that they could integrate their surveys into anything that has to do with your marketing.
Realizing that a survey is something that could be put in front of customers at every step of the customer journey instead of just at the end.

How did you keep the company funded?
They initially decided to allocate as much as they needed to keep the company going.
They tried to make sure that they had 12 months of staff wages available at all times.
They did a one-off launch that covered their bills for a while.
They released Response Suite as a monthly or yearly SaaS.
They were not making money, and then got hit with a tax bill.
The company almost folded.
They pivoted the business to become profitable.

How did you pivot your business to become profitable?
They learned that they were too focused on what they did not do well.
They pivoted by focusing on what they were good at.
They mapped out who the prospects for Response Suite were and focused on them.
They created a brand that targeted those prospects and funneled them toward Response Suite.

How does the company look now as compared to when you started?
They originally thought that in order to be a successful SaaS company they needed to have an office, but have since gone remote.
The majority of their customers come through back end marketing instead of front end marketing.

What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
Ignore advice. Not all the advice out there is relevant to you.
You are the only person who sees 100% of your content, you can push out content more frequently than you think.

Resources:

Websites: 

Response Suite

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The Lean Startup

The E-Myth

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On today&rsquo;s show, we have 2 amazing guests in one episode! I am interviewing Rob and Kennedy of Response Suite.
Rob entertains with hypnosis and Kennedy has a comedy show using his skills in psychology, body language, and reading people to read his audience&rsquo;s mind
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>Response Suite is a user survey software</li>
<li>Funnels customers to the correct product.</li>
<li>Integrates your surveys with all of your marketing channels to enable entrepreneurs to turn feedback into sales.</li>
</ul>
How does Response Suite differ from competitors?
<ul>
<li>Response Suite uses every answer that a customer gives to each question in a survey and creates a map of the customer on a granular level.</li>
<li>Integrates with all your other marketing tools.</li>
<li>Brings all your customer information into a single place.</li>
</ul>
How did you found Response Suite?
<ul>
<li>Neither Rob nor Kennedy wanted to be entrepreneurs, they are both entertainers.</li>
<li>While they were performing they each started online businesses to fill in time.</li>
<li>They realized that there was no good, single software that could use surveys to funnel their customers to the correct course or product on their sites in the way they wanted.</li>
<li>They wanted to be able to treat their customers as individuals to give subscribers a better experience and to increase profits.</li>
</ul>
How did you make your idea a reality?
<ul>
<li>They ignored all the advice, they self-funded.</li>
<li>Taking VC would go against their core value of never getting a job.</li>
<li>As non-tech people it was impossible for them to outsource into another country, so they hired a developer locally.</li>
<li>Having never had a traditional job, they didn&rsquo;t even know how to do an interview.</li>
</ul>
What were moments that made you realize exactly what your software needed?
<ul>
<li>While they were talking about their initial idea they realized that they could integrate their surveys into anything that has to do with your marketing.</li>
<li>Realizing that a survey is something that could be put in front of customers at every step of the customer journey instead of just at the end.</li>
</ul>
How did you keep the company funded?
<ul>
<li>They initially decided to allocate as much as they needed to keep the company going.</li>
<li>They tried to make sure that they had 12 months of staff wages available at all times.</li>
<li>They did a one-off launch that covered their bills for a while.</li>
<li>They released Response Suite as a monthly or yearly SaaS.</li>
<li>They were not making money, and then got hit with a tax bill.</li>
<li>The company almost folded.</li>
<li>They pivoted the business to become profitable.</li>
</ul>
How did you pivot your business to become profitable?
<ul>
<li>They learned that they were too focused on what they did not do well.</li>
<li>They pivoted by focusing on what they were good at.</li>
<li>They mapped out who the prospects for Response Suite were and focused on them.</li>
<li>They created a brand that targeted those prospects and funneled them toward Response Suite.</li>
</ul>
How does the company look now as compared to when you started?
<ul>
<li>They originally thought that in order to be a successful SaaS company they needed to have an office, but have since gone remote.</li>
<li>The majority of their customers come through back end marketing instead of front end marketing.</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>Ignore advice. Not all the advice out there is relevant to you.</li>
<li>You are the only person who sees 100% of your content, you can push out content more frequently than you think.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.responsesuite.com/">Response Suite</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="http://theleanstartup.com/">The Lean Startup</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280">The E-Myth</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

How is this supposed to go? - Rob and Kennedy

On the show today we get to sit down and share a few laughs with Zeb Evans of ClickUp!

Zeb Evans is a serial entrepreneur and libertarian that's started several software companies with over $100 million in revenue. Currently, he's founder and CEO at ClickUp, a productivity platform where people plan their work.

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
ClickUp is an all in one platform for productivity.
Very customizable features.
ClickUp works for everyone as compared to competitors who are for a specific market.

How did you decide to found ClickUp?
Zeb has been a lifelong entrepreneur
His prior company was a social media company, through that he started his project managing journey.
They were using a LOT of productivity apps, and that’s where they got the idea to make a single app for all of your productivity ideas.
He had a near-death experience, moved to Silicon Valley, and kept going with ClickUp.

What did some of the initial meetings look like?
It was always about flexibility.
The vision has always been to build something that will work for any size team.
They make sure that their features are always independent of each other so that if you don’t use the feature you can turn it off without breaking your workflows.

Where did the name ClickUp come from?
Zeb did a social media platform before ClickUp, so clicks were something they were always thinking about.
He had trademarked the name ClickUp, and it just stuck with them.
There’s a fake answer here. 
The reality is that it was a name they had already trademarked, and it stuck with them.
Zeb says your company name needs to be easy to Google and spell, and make it memorable.

What were moments that made you realize exactly what your software needed?
The vision for where they are today was all there right from the start.
They weren’t perfect at what they wanted to do right from the beginning.
They learned primarily from user feedback along the way as to what they were doing right and wrong.
They either ship out a feature and then gather feedback or send out a survey beforehand.

How do you ensure that you are not only listening to what your users say they want but also building what they really need?
ClickUp has a few platforms and avenues for this
They use Canny, which is an upvote feature board.
They use Kendo, a data analytics platform.
Many times it’s not just about the data gathered, but about whether the feature is marketed or explained.

How did you start ClickUp and keep yourself going financially?
Zeb had money from his previous company that he invested in ClickUp.
It never actually occurred to him to get investors.
Zeb advocates becoming profitable as soon as possible, despite the current general opinion around profitability.
No one really wanted to fund a product that was everything for everyone initially anyway.
Eventually, they got investors, but that was very recently.

What is one thing that you initially sacrificed and are now getting around to?
Relationships. Zeb says when you start a company there is always something that becomes imbalanced while you chase your dream.

What are some of the biggest challenges you overcame?
There are a lot of little challenges that crop up daily. He describes his current role in the company as a firefighter, constantly putting out all the little fires that start every day.
They were very close to running out of money at the beginning, so Zeb had to go back to the business mindset instead of worrying so much about product.
Finding the right people makes the supposedly impossible, possible.
He learned the lesson from his previous job to hire fewer people and trust them to do their best.
He also learned that it was better to do manual testing rather than automated testing as automated tests can break and then need to be fixed.

What did you do to get your first users?
Their initial growth was 100% organic.
They relied on their users to be advocates.
They did a lot of content and SEO.

What was the business like in the early days compared to now?
Zeb says he didn’t really notice how much the business was changing.
Everyone in the business, while still wearing many hats, has niched down and concentrates more on fewer areas.
The team has grown to be much larger.

What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
Choose what tool you are building, it won’t work for everything. Choose a space.
Don’t be dumb about it, listen to feedback, but don’t lose your vision.
Focus on profitability, focus on the business.

Resources:

Websites: 

ClickUp

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The Lean Startup

The E-Myth

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

On the show today we get to sit down and share a few laughs with Zeb Evans of ClickUp!
Zeb Evans is a serial entrepreneur and libertarian that's started several software companies with over $100 million in revenue. Currently, he's founder and CEO at ClickUp, a productivity platform where people plan their work.
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>ClickUp is an all in one platform for productivity.</li>
<li>Very customizable features.</li>
<li>ClickUp works for everyone as compared to competitors who are for a specific market.</li>
</ul>
How did you decide to found ClickUp?
<ul>
<li>Zeb has been a lifelong entrepreneur</li>
<li>His prior company was a social media company, through that he started his project managing journey.</li>
<li>They were using a LOT of productivity apps, and that&rsquo;s where they got the idea to make a single app for all of your productivity ideas.</li>
<li>He had a near-death experience, moved to Silicon Valley, and kept going with ClickUp.</li>
</ul>
What did some of the initial meetings look like?
<ul>
<li>It was always about flexibility.</li>
<li>The vision has always been to build something that will work for any size team.</li>
<li>They make sure that their features are always independent of each other so that if you don&rsquo;t use the feature you can turn it off without breaking your workflows.</li>
</ul>
Where did the name ClickUp come from?
<ul>
<li>Zeb did a social media platform before ClickUp, so clicks were something they were always thinking about.</li>
<li>He had trademarked the name ClickUp, and it just stuck with them.</li>
<li>There&rsquo;s a fake answer here.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The reality is that it was a name they had already trademarked, and it stuck with them.</li>
<li>Zeb says your company name needs to be easy to Google and spell, and make it memorable.</li>
</ul>
What were moments that made you realize exactly what your software needed?
<ul>
<li>The vision for where they are today was all there right from the start.</li>
<li>They weren&rsquo;t perfect at what they wanted to do right from the beginning.</li>
<li>They learned primarily from user feedback along the way as to what they were doing right and wrong.</li>
<li>They either ship out a feature and then gather feedback or send out a survey beforehand.</li>
</ul>
How do you ensure that you are not only listening to what your users say they want but also building what they really need?
<ul>
<li>ClickUp has a few platforms and avenues for this</li>
<li>They use Canny, which is an upvote feature board.</li>
<li>They use Kendo, a data analytics platform.</li>
<li>Many times it&rsquo;s not just about the data gathered, but about whether the feature is marketed or explained.</li>
</ul>
How did you start ClickUp and keep yourself going financially?
<ul>
<li>Zeb had money from his previous company that he invested in ClickUp.</li>
<li>It never actually occurred to him to get investors.</li>
<li>Zeb advocates becoming profitable as soon as possible, despite the current general opinion around profitability.</li>
<li>No one really wanted to fund a product that was everything for everyone initially anyway.</li>
<li>Eventually, they got investors, but that was very recently.</li>
</ul>
What is one thing that you initially sacrificed and are now getting around to?
<ul>
<li>Relationships. Zeb says when you start a company there is always something that becomes imbalanced while you chase your dream.</li>
</ul>
What are some of the biggest challenges you overcame?
<ul>
<li>There are a lot of little challenges that crop up daily. He describes his current role in the company as a firefighter, constantly putting out all the little fires that start every day.</li>
<li>They were very close to running out of money at the beginning, so Zeb had to go back to the business mindset instead of worrying so much about product.</li>
<li>Finding the right people makes the supposedly impossible, possible.</li>
<li>He learned the lesson from his previous job to hire fewer people and trust them to do their best.</li>
<li>He also learned that it was better to do manual testing rather than automated testing as automated tests can break and then need to be fixed.</li>
</ul>
What did you do to get your first users?
<ul>
<li>Their initial growth was 100% organic.</li>
<li>They relied on their users to be advocates.</li>
<li>They did a lot of content and SEO.</li>
</ul>
What was the business like in the early days compared to now?
<ul>
<li>Zeb says he didn&rsquo;t really notice how much the business was changing.</li>
<li>Everyone in the business, while still wearing many hats, has niched down and concentrates more on fewer areas.</li>
<li>The team has grown to be much larger.</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>Choose what tool you are building, it won&rsquo;t work for everything. Choose a space.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t be dumb about it, listen to feedback, but don&rsquo;t lose your vision.</li>
<li>Focus on profitability, focus on the business.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://app.clickup.com/">ClickUp</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="http://theleanstartup.com/">The Lean Startup</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280">The E-Myth</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Productivity for everyone and everything - Zeb Evans

In this episode we chat with the man in the bear suit, Matt Barnett!

Originally a British industrial designer & artist, Matt Barnett turned everything upside down to launch a tech company in Sydney Australia. Matt’s love of building great products is only surpassed by his total commitment to building great business culture, and Matt asserts that Bonjoro’s “customers as friends” culture has been the main driver of the businesses success. His goal is to be the next Zappos, to be the most loved brand in the world..

 

Tell us about what your software does for people?
Bonjoro is a one to one video messaging system.
It plugs in to your CRM and suggests points in the customer journey for you to send a personalized video.
Bonjoro gives you all the information you need for each customer for you to be able to do this, including the softwares used or steps made.

What makes Bonjoro different from other video making apps?
Personalization.
Bonjoro is more of a work flow tool than a video tool.
It prompts and drives actions and monitors the results.

How did you found Bonjoro?
The idea was born in the pub.
The original team members were all in Australia and the clients were mostly in the UK, so there was a large time difference.
They were good at converting customers, but they needed to make their messages more personal to help convert customers that they weren’t talking to directly.
Matt would send a video every morning when he was on the ferry to work every morning, including a lot of information recognising what the client was doing - personalized messages.
A client asked to use the personalized “video thing”, so Matt went back to his team and said “we should build that”.

What were some of the moments when you realized something your software needed?
Because it was a hack on the side they initially tried to just solve their own problem.
They integrated with other SaaS products to get new leads.

Where did the bear suit come from?
When the software got bigger they decided they needed a name.
They were joking around and decided on a bear.
It got out of hand from there.
Their brand has always been light hearted and fun and the bear thing was a perfect fit.

As your team grows, how do you maintain your company culture?
They started as just 3 in the agency.
They are now a team of 13.
Work out what your values are, yourself, not with a consultant.
Your culture is the thing that works for your business and you.
Bonjoro tries to hire true to the current culture, they look for weird people.

How did you keep your family afloat while you got Bonjoro going?
They did risk everything. Their agency was going well, they risked losing focus and the agency.
They got some news hires.
They did raise extra funds for Bonjoro.
You always have to take risks.

What difficulties did you face, and how did you overcome them?
Losing key members of the agency to the app.
Understanding their company culture and how to hire people who fit into it.
Hiring too quickly and making the wrong hire.

How does the company compare now to when you began?
They have a lot more processes now.

How do you keep your processes fun so that creatives follow them?
Results. Make sure you celebrate the results of the process.
Make solving the process fun..
Build your process for the team you have and double the team you have, don’t make the process for far more people than you have.

What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
Enjoy the journey.
The average SaaS company does not actually sell in 2 years.

Resources:

Websites: 

Bonjoro

Data Automation

Books mentioned: 

The E-Myth

Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:

podcast@dataautomation.com

In this episode we chat with the man in the bear suit, Matt Barnett!
Originally a British industrial designer &amp; artist, Matt Barnett turned everything upside down to launch a tech company in Sydney Australia. Matt&rsquo;s love of building great products is only surpassed by his total commitment to building great business culture, and Matt asserts that Bonjoro&rsquo;s &ldquo;customers as friends&rdquo; culture has been the main driver of the businesses success. His goal is to be the next Zappos, to be the most loved brand in the world..
&nbsp;
Tell us about what your software does for people?
<ul>
<li>Bonjoro is a one to one video messaging system.</li>
<li>It plugs in to your CRM and suggests points in the customer journey for you to send a personalized video.</li>
<li>Bonjoro gives you all the information you need for each customer for you to be able to do this, including the softwares used or steps made.</li>
</ul>
What makes Bonjoro different from other video making apps?
<ul>
<li>Personalization.</li>
<li>Bonjoro is more of a work flow tool than a video tool.</li>
<li>It prompts and drives actions and monitors the results.</li>
</ul>
How did you found Bonjoro?
<ul>
<li>The idea was born in the pub.</li>
<li>The original team members were all in Australia and the clients were mostly in the UK, so there was a large time difference.</li>
<li>They were good at converting customers, but they needed to make their messages more personal to help convert customers that they weren&rsquo;t talking to directly.</li>
<li>Matt would send a video every morning when he was on the ferry to work every morning, including a lot of information recognising what the client was doing - personalized messages.</li>
<li>A client asked to use the personalized &ldquo;video thing&rdquo;, so Matt went back to his team and said &ldquo;we should build that&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
What were some of the moments when you realized something your software needed?
<ul>
<li>Because it was a hack on the side they initially tried to just solve their own problem.</li>
<li>They integrated with other SaaS products to get new leads.</li>
</ul>
Where did the bear suit come from?
<ul>
<li>When the software got bigger they decided they needed a name.</li>
<li>They were joking around and decided on a bear.</li>
<li>It got out of hand from there.</li>
<li>Their brand has always been light hearted and fun and the bear thing was a perfect fit.</li>
</ul>
As your team grows, how do you maintain your company culture?
<ul>
<li>They started as just 3 in the agency.</li>
<li>They are now a team of 13.</li>
<li>Work out what your values are, yourself, not with a consultant.</li>
<li>Your culture is the thing that works for your business and you.</li>
<li>Bonjoro tries to hire true to the current culture, they look for weird people.</li>
</ul>
How did you keep your family afloat while you got Bonjoro going?
<ul>
<li>They did risk everything. Their agency was going well, they risked losing focus and the agency.</li>
<li>They got some news hires.</li>
<li>They did raise extra funds for Bonjoro.</li>
<li>You always have to take risks.</li>
</ul>
What difficulties did you face, and how did you overcome them?
<ul>
<li>Losing key members of the agency to the app.</li>
<li>Understanding their company culture and how to hire people who fit into it.</li>
<li>Hiring too quickly and making the wrong hire.</li>
</ul>
How does the company compare now to when you began?
<ul>
<li>They have a lot more processes now.</li>
</ul>
How do you keep your processes fun so that creatives follow them?
<ul>
<li>Results. Make sure you celebrate the results of the process.</li>
<li>Make solving the process fun..</li>
<li>Build your process for the team you have and double the team you have, don&rsquo;t make the process for far more people than you have.</li>
</ul>
What advice would you give other SaaS entrepreneurs?
<ul>
<li>Enjoy the journey.</li>
<li>The average SaaS company does not actually sell in 2 years.</li>
</ul>
Resources:
Websites:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.bonjoro.com/">Bonjoro</a>
<a href="https://dataautomation.com/">Data Automation</a>
Books mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280">The E-Myth</a>
Suggest a SaaS founder for the Automate, Delegate, Eliminate show at:
<a href="mailto:podcast@dataautomation.com">podcast@dataautomation.com</a>

Videos, an opera house and a bear suit - Matt Barnett

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate is a weekly podcast where we seek to educate entrepreneurs on the best ways to take back the time that can then be used for the things that can make a real impact in their businesses.

Host Will Christensen and his guests will pick apart the processes they use to decide whether a process needs to be automated, delegated, or simply eliminated from the business process altogether. Which of those processes worked, which needed some serious tweaking and which the guests are still working on today. 

Learn how some of the greatest minds in e-commerce are dealing with business issues, how they got to where they are today and some of the software they love to use.

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate is a weekly podcast where we seek to educate entrepreneurs on the best ways to take back the time that can then be used for the things that can make a real impact in their businesses.
Host Will Christensen and his guests will pick apart the processes they use to decide whether a process needs to be automated, delegated, or simply eliminated from the business process altogether. Which of those processes worked, which needed some serious tweaking and which the guests are still working on today.&nbsp;
Learn how some of the greatest minds in e-commerce are dealing with business issues, how they got to where they are today and some of the software they love to use.

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate is a weekly podcast where we seek to educate entrepreneurs on the best ways to take back time that can then be used for the things that can make a real impact in their businesses.

Host Will Christensen and his guests will pick apart the processes they use to decide whether a process needs to be automated, delegated or simply eliminated from the business process altogether. Which of those processes worked, which needed some serious tweaking and which the guests are still working on today. 

Learn how some of the greatest minds in ecommerce are dealing with business issues, how they got to where they are today and some of the software they love to use.

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate is a weekly podcast where we seek to educate entrepreneurs on the best ways to take back time that can then be used for the things that can make a real impact in their businesses.
Host Will Christensen and his guests will pick apart the processes they use to decide whether a process needs to be automated, delegated or simply eliminated from the business process altogether. Which of those processes worked, which needed some serious tweaking and which the guests are still working on today.&nbsp;
Learn how some of the greatest minds in ecommerce are dealing with business issues, how they got to where they are today and some of the software they love to use.

Automate, Delegate, Eliminate

Social links:

Follow the podcast:

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