Web Masters

In this Startup Gold episode of Web Masters, Aaron returns to the story of Peter Sunde, co-founder of the Pirate Bay, a notorious file sharing website..The podcast explores how Sunde's journey challenges traditional views of entrepreneurship, focusing on his unique reasons for starting the controversial file-sharing site. Facing legal issues and even imprisonment, Sunde's experience raises questions about the true purpose of entrepreneurship.This episode of Web Masters will ask you to consider what drives entrepreneurs beyond the usual goals of profit and independence, and how do those motives impact outcomes?For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

In this Startup Gold episode of Web Masters, host Aaron explores some wisdom shared by Raj Kapoor, founder of Snapfish. The central theme revolves around the importance of skating to where the puck is going in entrepreneurship.Drawing from the advice of successful investor Bill Gurley, Kapoor emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to predict the future trajectory rather than focusing on the present. The episode delves deeper into the concept, connecting it with the evolving landscape of self-driving cars and highlighting the critical role of foreseeing opportunities in the entrepreneurial journey.For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

In the third episode of the "Startup Gold" series from Web Masters, Aaron explores the importance of timing in the ultimate success (or failure) of a business.The discussion about timing centers around his conversation with John Danner, CEO and founder of Net Gravity, the first Web marketing company in history.According to John, he was a "horrible CEO." And yet, his company was hugely successful. How does that happen? Hint: the answer has something to do with having great timing.For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

In the second episode of the "Startup Gold" series from Web Masters, Aaron revisits a conversation he had with Jason Olim.Jason Olim founded CDNow.com. It's a name most people don't remember these days, but it was the first major e-commerce retailer on the Web. In fact, it was Amazon before Amazon and had the dominant position over Jeff Bezos back when the Web was first taking shape.So why didn't CDNow become the world's most popular e-commerce platform? Why doesn't CDNow still exist? According to Jason's interview, the answer is the very thing that most entrepreneurs tout as one of the most important advantages in achieving entrepreneurial success.For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

After 100 interviews with 100 incredible entrepreneurs, Aaron and the Web Masters team are diving into the archives to extract some of the best advice about entrepreneurship and building profitable Internet businesses. We're calling it "Startup Gold."In the first episode of Startup Gold, we're catching back up with David Cummings, founder of Pardot, to explore his thoughts on what it takes to build a truly great product.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

In this episode of Web Masters, we delve into the fascinating journey of Taegan Goddard, the visionary behind Political Wire, one of the internet's longest-running political news websites.Host Aaron Dinin interviews Taegan to uncover the early days of blogging and internet media, how Political Wire became a go-to destination for political junkies, and the challenges and successes of building and maintaining a creator business model.Taegan shares insights into the evolution of Political Wire's monetization strategies, from early sponsorships to the current subscription and programmatic advertising model. Discover how Taegan's passion for politics and community-building transformed a side hustle into a full-time career, while also becoming a key part of the Political Wire brand.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

In this episode of the Web Masters podcast, we sit down with Daniel Ha, co-founder of Disqus, the popular online commenting platform. Daniel shares his insights and experiences in building a successful tech company, providing valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and webmasters alike. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of online engagement and discover the story behind Disqus.Key Points:Introduction to Disqus (02:30 - 07:45):Daniel introduces Disqus, explaining its purpose as a commenting system for websites and blogs.He shares the inspiration behind creating Disqus and how it aimed to solve the challenges of user engagement on the internet.The evolution of Disqus from a simple project to a widely adopted platform.Navigating Challenges and Finding Success (07:45 - 16:15):Daniel discusses the initial challenges of building and scaling Disqus, including user acquisition and monetization strategies.The importance of building a strong community around the product and leveraging user feedback for continuous improvement.How Disqus differentiated itself from competitors and gained traction in the market.The significance of providing value to both publishers and commenters in fostering a thriving ecosystem.Lessons from Building a Tech Company (16:15 - 26:50):Daniel reflects on the lessons learned throughout his journey as an entrepreneur.The importance of staying focused on solving a specific problem and delivering a superior user experience.The value of building a team of talented individuals who share the same vision and passion.Overcoming the challenges of fundraising and securing investment for startup growth.The role of persistence, adaptability, and continuous learning in entrepreneurial success.The Future of Online Engagement (26:50 - 34:40):Daniel shares his insights on the evolving landscape of online engagement and the impact of social media.The challenges of combating spam and maintaining quality discussions in online comment sections.The rise of alternative forms of engagement, such as video and audio comments.The importance of privacy and data security in an era of increasing concerns.Closing Thoughts and Advice (34:40 - 38:15):Daniel offers final words of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs and webmasters.The significance of staying true to your vision and persevering through challenges.Embracing continuous improvement and seeking feedback from users.The excitement and opportunities that lie ahead in the tech industry.Conclusion:In this engaging episode, Daniel Ha, the founder of Disqus, takes us on a journey through the challenges and triumphs of building a successful online commenting platform. His insights shed light on the world of online engagement, providing valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and webmasters. Whether you're interested in the tech industry or seeking inspiration for your own startup, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and experience from a seasoned entrepreneur. Tune in and discover the power of online engagement with Daniel Ha.You can also find a complete transcript of the episode here.

On this episode of Web Masters, we sit down with Jed Carlson, co-founder of ReverbNation, the premier online platform for independent musicians and bands to showcase their talent and connect with fans. Leveraging his experiences as a serial entrepreneur, Jed shares his insights on building a successful tech startup, the challenges of scaling a platform, and the importance of creating value for both artists and fans.We delve into the origins of ReverbNation and how the company has grown to become a global leader in the music industry, with over 4 million artists, bands, and labels using the platform to share their music with fans around the world. Jed also shares his thoughts on the changing landscape of digital media, the impact of social media on music promotion, and the future of the music industry.Whether you're a music enthusiast, a tech entrepreneur, or simply curious about the intersection of music and technology, this episode offers a fascinating look into the world of ReverbNation and the innovative strategies that have made it a success.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

If you've ever had to buy textbooks for school, you know how shockingly expensive they are. You also probably know about Chegg, the company that first made online textbook rentals easy and cheap.At first glance, textbook rentals might not seem like big business, but lots of people need textbooks. Plus, some legal hurdles for Amazon -- the obvious competitor -- left an opening that Osman Rashid, founder of Chegg, was able to squeeze through. The result was a company that's been helping college kids everywhere save money on textbooks and lots of other things.On this episode of Web Masters, Osman shares the story of how he and his cofounders built Chegg into one of the most valuable education service providers on the Web.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

If you want to fly across the world tomorrow, you can make your plans within minutes while sitting on your couch. But booking travel used to be much more complicated. It required calling (or visiting) travel agents who would manage all of your reservations for you, and then you'd have to wait from them to send your tickets and itineraries. The process could take hours, and ensuring you'd found the best prices was near impossible.That all changed when American Airlines began making their travel booking software available online. The man who led those efforts was Terry Jones. Terry Jones was a former travel agent turned tech ops manager who oversaw American's initiative to launch the website that ultimately became Travelocity, and it forever changed how people traveled.If that weren't enough, Terry also went on to help found Kayak, the travel comparison engine that made finding the best and cheapest flights as easy as booking online.In this episode of Web Masters, Terry talks about how he helped build both revolutionary pieces of travel software. For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

Chances are, before you take a vacation, you do lots of research figuring out where to go and what to do when you get there. Today, that's as easy as a Google search, but that wasn't always the case. In the early days of the Web, vacation research required hours of tedious detective work as you pieced together little bits of information about the places you wanted to visit from questionable sources.That all began to change when Steve Kaufer launched TripAdvisor. His travel review website completely revolutionized the travel industry and changed the way people took vacations.On this episode of Web Masters, Steve shares the story of not just building TripAdvisor, but running it for two decades through both an acquisition and going public.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

What would the Internet be without pictures and videos of cats doing ridiculous things? Luckily, we'll never have to find out, and it's thanks, in part, to Ben Huh.In the early 2000s, Ben bought a popular cat meme website called I Can Haz Cheezburger and he turned it into the Cheezburger Network, one of the Internet's most popular user-submitted content websites. In its heyday, the site was so popular it produced everything from coffee table books to reality television shows.As social media matured, user-submitted content websites waned in popularity, and along with it, so did Cheezburger Network, but not before Ben's sites forever flooded the Internet with thousands of memes that we might never escape.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

For almost as long as people have been communicating on the Web they've been using it to talk about stocks. At the heart of those conversations since the very beginning were the Gardner brothers, David and Tom. Together they launched The Motley Fool.The Motley Fool began as a small financial newsletter for friends and family, it evolved into one of the most popular forums on AOL, and it's since become one of the most reputable sites for financial advice anywhere on the Web. During the journey it's survived three enormous market crashes and a host of other problems that would kill most startups. But somehow, those problems have only made The Fool stronger and even more popular.On this episode of Web Masters, join one of the Fool brothers -- David Gardner -- as he shares the story of how he and his sibling have made themselves prominent leaders of financial conversations for three decades.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

Is it possible to start a wildly successful company by luck? It is according to Craig Newmark.As you can probably guess by the name, Craig is the founder of Craigslist, the ultra-popular classifieds website that millions of people have been using for decades to help solve just about any kind of need you could possibly imagine.But that wasn't the goal behind launching Craigslist. Instead, Craigslist was started as a simple email list to share what was happening in the Bay Area. How did it become a household name and a site for anyone and everyone to buy/sell/trade whatever they wanted? Find out on this episode of Web Masters.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

For millions of people, their first experience with the World Wide Web was made possible by America Online -- AOL. In fact, most people directly associate AOL with the Web. But did you know AOL predates the World Wide Web by nearly a decade?That's because, when AOL launched, the it was still illegal to use the Internet for commercialize activities. Instead, AOL was one of a handful of companies attempting to create their own global network. And, thanks to a bunch of CD-Roms you probably remember, AOL was the most successful company doing it.On this episode of Web Masters, you'll hear the story of how AOL got started and how it grew to be one of the biggest companies on the early Web as we hear from AOL co-founder Marc Seriff.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

Today, Jason Calacanis is one of the most prominent names in the Silicon Valley tech and entrepreneurship community. But, before he was a well-known West Coast investor, he was at the center of the smaller bust fast-growing East Coast tech scene in New York known as "Silicon Alley."Jason ran Silicon Alley Reporter, a magazine dedicated to the tech innovation happening in New York City. It grew from a 16 page, homemade, photocopied booklet into a 300+ page glossy generating millions in ad revenue.On this episode of Web Masters, Jason shares the story of how he created the magazine as well as what entrepreneurial life was like in the early days of New York tech.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

The Kickstarter name is synonymous with crowdfunding. It's like the Kleenex of the crowdfunding industry. But, strangely enough, Kickstarter didn't invent crowdfunding. The technique dates back centuries. Heck, Kickstarter wasn't even the first crowdfunding website. So how did it become the world's de facto crowdfunding platform?In this episode of Web Masters, we find out by speaking with one of Kickstarter's co-founders, Charles Adler. He shares the story of building the platform and how he and his co-founders turned a goal of helping artists fund their work into a global brand that's become synonymous with launching innovative new projects.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

Most of us do a significant chunk of our purchasing at Amazon.com. Or, at the very least, a site like it. Amazon may or may not be the cheapest, but we're pretty sure it'll have what we want, we know delivery will be quick, and the price will be competitive.Even though we don't give online purchasing a second thought these days, it actually took a lot of years for early web users to get comfortable buying stuff from the internet. That's because E-commerce didn't begin as a better option for most retail purchases. In fact, in the beginning, E-commerce was pretty crummy. It was hard to navigate, shipping times were slow, and there was lots of fraud.E-commerce had to evolve over time into becoming something that was clearly a better option than traditional, in-person commerce, and one of the people who had a big impact on that evolution was Amir Ashkenazi. He did it by helping people bargain hunt and comparison shop online, first through his DealTime platform, and then the company it became, which was Shopping.com.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

Most digital music pioneers encountered lots of resistance from the large music record labels. In fact, many of their companies were sued out of existence. But not eMusic.eMusic's founder, Mark Chasan, was one of the few digital music pioneers who actually managed to successfully navigate the early digital music waters, ultimately building an online music business that couldn't be stopped by the music industry and their endless string of lawsuits.On this episode of Web Masters, we'll hear how Mark did it, as well as the pioneering work he's doing now in a different and, arguably, much more important industry.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

When Alon Carmel launched JDate in 1997, he wasn't a pioneer in the online dating industry. He wasn't even a pioneer in the online Jewish dating industry. In fact, by the time he had the idea for Jdate, the Web already contained over a hundred Jewish themed dating websites. But rather than seeing all that competition and thinking the market was saturated, Alon saw the competition and figured: "It must be a good business."Recognizing the opportunity, Alon and his friend, Joe Shapira, focused on creating a popular brand. And it worked.From lavish parties to billboards across Times Square, Alon wanted to make sure everyone in the world knew about Jdate, even if not everyone was his customer. The result was the world's most popular dating website for Jewish people and a strategy for online dating focused on niche communities that Alon and his team expanded well beyond Jewish dating. It ultimately led to Spark Networks, one of the largest and most profitable networks of dating websites in the world.For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.