Why Evite Lost Its MoJo — But Still Grew Sales To $21 Mil – with Harry Lin
Harry Lin is giving me a gift with this interview. In 2006, when he became Evite’s SVP and General Manager, he helped the company grow annual sales from $13 million to $21 million. The gift he gave me (and you) is to come to Mixergy and peel back that success to show us Evite’s vulnerabilities so we ambitious upstarts can learn what’s inside the minds of big companies like Evite, and how we can take them on.
What you’re going to see in this interview is why Evite seems to have lost its mojo and now looks dated. You’re going to understand why bigger companies can’t easily use those lean startup techniques that help younger startups stay nimble. But this isn’t a puff piece designed to inflate your chest by giving you empty confidence. We also talk about how, despite its stodginess, Evite managed to grow sales by $7 million a year and kept back a raft of anxious competitors.
Today Harry is the CEO of Lottay, the company that aims to make sending money a great gift experience.
Harry Lin is the CEO of Lottay, the web site that allows you to give money through PayPal as a meaningful and fun gift. Previously, he was the CEO of Zig, the SVP and General Manager of Evite, and VP of ABC.com / Disney.
All right, before we get started I have to tell you about my sponsors. And by the way, what a great interview you’re about to listen to. You’re about to be taken inside a big company to find out why they make so much money, to find out why they’re so inflexible at times, to find out how you can compete with them and to find out how you can partner up with them. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that’s taken you in and given you this kind of look. All right. But first the sponsors.
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