How a Failed Startup Helped Mike Muhney Find a $47 Million Idea
Mike Muhney is the co-founder and CEO of VIPOrbit Software, a company focused on building great contact management products. Their flagship product, Vipor CRM is available on iOS & Mac platforms. The company was founded in 2010 and to date has raised over $4 million in funding.
In 1986, Mike co-founded a software business that eventually failed. And with only $15,000 remaining from an angel investment of $100,000, they had to come up with another idea or close down the business. The idea they came up with was ACT! Contact Management Software, which they eventually sold for $47 million.
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Success Quote
- “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.” — John Greenleaf Whittier
- “Every attempt does not produce a hit, and every hit does not produce a home run. But every home run is the result of both an attempt and a hit.”
Book Recommendation
- “How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network into Profits” by Judy Robinett
Links, Resources & People Mentioned
- VIPOrbit – @ViporCRM
- ACT! Contact Management Software
- MikeMuhney.com
- Michael Jordan
- John Romero
- Charles Barkley
- Siebel Systems
- VentureFund
Contact Information
- Mike Muhney – @MikeMuhney | mike [at] viporbit [dot] com
- Omer Khan – @omerkhan
Recommended Podcast Episodes
- Perseverance in SaaS: Navigating Pivots, Exits, and New Ventures - with Jake Stein [404]
- What to Do When No One Will Pay for Your SaaS Product - with Ryan Born [228]
- Scratch Your Own Itch for SaaS Success - with Janna Bastow [158]
- PSPDFKit: Bootstrapping a SaaS $20K to $1M ARR in 8 Months - with Jonathan Rhyne [407]
- 5 Steps to Nailing Your SaaS Product Positioning - with April Dunford [252]
- SaaStock: Global Events for SaaS Founders, Executives & Investors - with Alex Theuma [256]
- Building an 8-Figure SaaS by Focusing on One Market - with Dave MacLeod [298]
- ClickFunnels: Bootstrapping a SaaS to $140M ARR with Webinars - with Todd Dickerson [413]
- TeamGantt: Bootstrapping a 7-Figure SaaS with Focus and SEO - with Nathan Gilmore [427]
- Fathom: Why Fixing Retention First Was the Key to Hitting $1M ARR - with Richard…