Ask HN: What happened to Mixergy?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3604330

by donky_cong • 14 years ago

19 15 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

After a year break I came to the site and..

1/3 the site is commercials for 'courses'. 1/3 the site 'advice' from 20 year old who have yet to make any real business

And 9/10 out of the remaining interesting interviews are paid.

Half hour of browsing and I ended up d/l one interview that I am only half interested in.

I understand Andrew's want to make money, but it looks like the quality dropped sharply too

ISeemToBeAVerb2• 14 years ago

Hmm... I'm not sure why you think the quality has dropped. If anything, I think his interviews have improved in quality and diversity.

It's true that some new content is premium only, but all of the interviews are free the week they're released, and many of the older podcasts are still free to listen to.

I commend Andrew for finally deciding to monetize the business more. While I certainly agree that he could do a better job on the marketing side (I don't use Twitter, so I dislike having to tweet for the sample content), I think he deserves to get paid.

AznHisoka• 14 years ago

I watched/read some of their interviews. They were interesting, and some give us a very good picture on what the process of starting a business is like in the early stages. he covers a wide range of businesses too, which I like (sites from Thrillist to DailyBurn). However, I wouldn't pay for the content because it ultimately didn't teach me anything I didn't already know.

I did like the one video talking about someone's failure, though. I think they need to do more of it: we can learn more from failures sometimes.

mgallivan• 14 years ago

Mixergy has a very... fluffy feel as a website. It reads like it's going to sell you a PDF document that will change your life in 5 quick steps.

But once you get into the actual interviews there is real substance. Andrew is an excellent interviewer - I just think he needs to rebrand the site.

ISeemToBeAVerb2• 14 years ago

I agree. People that have followed Mixergy know the content is worthy. However, I can certainly see how someone finding it for the first time might be turned off.

My main constructive criticism would be this:

Don't make people spam their Twitter followers just to view the premium samples.

a) It annoys people that don't use Twitter (yes, we exist) b) It makes me have to have a relationship with you before I've even evaluated your content.

In my mind, it's more effective to allow people to sample your premium content with the least amount of resistance.

Keep the list building separate from the sample content. You can always find something to give away specifically for the list subscribers.

corkill• 14 years ago

Quality seems to be always improving to me. Occasional questionable guest but that's to be expected when you pump out so many interviews. Having random people on there is good I think it exposes everyone to new ideas.

He has really focused on extracting actionable tactics. Check out the courses section. Worth the money I think.

btw as far as I know you can still get every single interview free on itunes.

The only thing I would like to see is a short summary of points/tactics/interesting stuff for each interview. No-one has time to watch them all or read all the transcripts.

james_ash2• 14 years ago

I challenge you to find a better place to go online for specific, actionable advice on the many facets of building an internet business.

glimcat• 14 years ago

http://news.ycombinator.com

james_ash2• 14 years ago

that's not a serious answer.

redrory• 14 years ago

http://techzinglive.com/

andrewhillman• 14 years ago

I understand what 'donky_cong' is saying. I have nothing against the quality of videos or the content provided, it's great stuff if you're willing to dig deeper than scrolling past all the class titles, but at first sight the website comes off like one of those one page "I made $1m in 365 days" sites. However, his content is of quality, but the design implementation could be better - not an easy problem to solve and I am sure he thinks about this a lot.

biopharma_guy• 14 years ago

I have been watching Mixergy for last two years as a non programmer and I can say it is worth watching. It has forced me to think what entrepreneurship is and motivated me to learn programming. If you criticize then do it constructively. I mean show me a site/blog which has brought so many founders (both successful and unsuccessful) to their knee to spit out their real life experience and I will take your word. And I am sure there are so many niches out there screaming to be exploited in other fields (biotech, pharma, commodities etc).

mapster• 14 years ago

At Mixergy I feel there are 3 categories of interviews: 1) 4 hr work week - book selling hucksters, 2) valley insiders built then sold for undisclosed bank and now have new site to promote, 3) regular shmo built a business online, doing well, and has lots to share. Andrew works very hard to cover a broad spectrum of tastes. I prefer learning from group #3, but that's me.

nhangen• 14 years ago

I stopped listening when he started doing interviews with Internet Marketing types and bloggers. For a time, there was great content/interviews, and while there are still some gems buried amongst the rubble, I couldn't help but be turned off by the App Sumo promotions and later, the courses engineered by hucksters. Sadly, Mixergy now feels like a Don Lapre commercial.

aymeric• 14 years ago

Although the premium content is getting more present on the website, I still believe Andrew delivers a lot of value for his non clients.

But at $25/month, the amount of value is unbelievable, and if you'd look a few years back, $25 wouldn't look much for everything that is being offered.

Information seems to devalue very fast.

As wannabe entrepreneurs, we should encourage people who are trying to make money, not criticize them when they do.

taphangum• 14 years ago

Depends on what you're looking for.

If you're interested in direct, actionable advice that WILL make you money. Then Mixergy is the single greatest resource out there. If that isn't your interest then maybe it isn't.

Ask HN: What happened to Mixergy?

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