322: The Rise Of Messenger Marketing, With ManyChat Co-Founder and CEO Mikael Yan

Sep 1, 2020

Mikael Yan, Co-founder and CEO of ManyChat, shares his journey from e-commerce to building a leading messaging platform. He discusses the shift towards B2B and the significance of understanding customer needs for sustainable success. Yan highlights the importance of mindset in entrepreneurship and recalls his transformative move from Moscow to Silicon Valley. He emphasizes the future of messenger marketing, including the integration of SMS and email, and explores how businesses can enhance customer engagement through innovative messaging solutions.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

From E-Commerce to Messaging Solutions

03:03 • 10min

Building Sustainable Success in Self-Serve Products

13:13 • 5min

From Moscow to Silicon Valley: A Journey of Belief

18:21 • 20min

Mindset and the Future of Messaging

38:06 • 7min

Harnessing SMS and Messenger Marketing

44:54 • 7min

Mikael Yan, Co-Founder and CEO, ManyChat

When Mikael Yan launched ManyChat in 2015, other messaging apps were trying to impress investors with their fancy AI and NLP technologies. But not him. Instead, he made it clear to investors that his app was solely meant to solve a business problem: helping companies better communicate with and market to their customers.

Investors who were initially interested in ManyChat immediately lost interest. But not for long. Even though Yan and his founding team initially had to bootstrap their product, investors eventually recognized the potential behind their vision and got on board.

Today, ManyChat has over one million Facebook pages connected to its platform in over 190 countries. The company also recently raised its Series A from Bessemer Venture Partners. Given that 2020 is the first time in history that the number of messaging app users will surpass the number of social media users, it’s clear that ManyChat is just getting started.

Listen to this interview to learn more about Yan’s thoughts on the future of messenger marketing, the global mobile industry, and the importance of mindset as an entrepreneur.

If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.

Key Takeaways

Why Yan, after years of dabbling in the consumer space, turned his eyes to B2B
How ManyChat made timely use of Telegram Messenger’s API in 2015 and introduced the world of messenger marketing
The rise of private vs. public channels
Yan’s analysis on why China is so ahead when it comes to mobile and messaging apps
Why Yan believes in being product obsessed and understanding the customer experience above everything else
How Yan avoided the trap of building a product for the “cool” factor (and initially lost investor interest as a result)
The power of self belief in entrepreneurship, and how to cultivate this mindset
Yan’s personal glass ceiling
A look into the future of ManyChat and what Yan is most excited about when it comes to the messenger app industry

Key Resources From Our Interview With Mikael Yan

Visit the ManyChat website
Follow Yan on Instagram