The Serial Entrepreneur Behind Chargify And Engine Yard Talks Openly About His Hits And Misses – with Lance Walley

Lance Walley, Chargify, B2B, Customer Acquisition, System

When I read this line in Lance Walley’s LinkedIn profile about a previous startup, I knew he’d be the kind of frank interviewee you’d need to hear: The system worked very well, but frankly, the world didn’t seem to care :-(

In this interview, you’ll hear the stories behind many of the companies Lance launched, including FaceBridge, the company that inspired that line. You’ll also hear how a 1% ownership difference in his first business made a world of difference.

Today Lance is probably best known for Engine Yard. Some of the world’s biggest Rails websites are on the Engine Yard Platform. Recently, he went on to be the co-founder of Chargify, which simplifies recurring billing for Web 2.0 and SaaS companies.

Lance Walley

Chargify

Andrew: Three messages before we get started. I have a brand new sponsor. Scott Walker, the entrepreneur’s lawyer. Frankly, I’m not even sure why he’s paying to sponsor Mixergy since Scott Walker is a pretty well known lawyer in the start-up community. You probably already know him from his Ask the Attorney posts on Venture Beat or from Venture Hacks or from Quick Sprout. Scott is the guy you turn to when you’re raising money from VCs or selling your business. But, if you’re launching, he’ll also help you get your company structured properly. So, check out walkercorporatelaw.com.

PicClick is a company launched by my buddy Ryan Sit. He is the guy who Craigslist banned when he created a visual way to search that site. But, Ryan is a fighter, man. So, he launched a new site. PicClick, which is a visual way to search EBay, Etsy, and other sites. PicClick is less than two years old and already it’s profitable. Way to go, Ryan....

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