Self enablement evangelist and learning experience platform expert Greg Smith has been working with Million Labs for over a year to launch his startup - MixDeck -  a sales learning platform that puts users at the centre.

His mission is to democratise learning with high value content. Greg hopes MixDeck will become the first-click resource for sales learners from when they’re students all the way up to retirement. 

MixDeck has been five years in the making, and it’s come a long way. In this blog post, Greg shares his no-code journey. 

Pictured: Greg Smith, MixDeck founder

How MixDeck works

I work for a sales training company full time. We have big clients who pay premiums for our service. They grab the tools, technology, and sales methodology, and push that down to their entire sales team. 

While this is super useful, I felt the industry needs a platform that allows individuals to find content that meets their needs as we’re moving to a world of self-enablement. A growing number of people are choosing degrees in sales. 

We want to help upskill people before they go into their first sales job. It can help people to decide whether they want to pursue a job in sales before they actually get hired, which can save companies heaps of money. But also, if they show an initial interest, it may help them to find their first role.

Users find content that's been contributed by other users, and start to construct playlists of content that resonates with them and fits their own learning needs. These get uploaded to the platform as tracks and albums. And again, other people can curate that into playlists of their own.

It will soon allow people to add premium albums and charge for them. We’ve also partnered with a US-based firm, PSE, to offer certifications including Advance Sales Skills. Its members can get free access to MixDeck which helps us to promote it far and wide. This enables sponsorship from the corporate world because they get access to the students. Hiring is a very expensive and lengthy process. MixDeck can help to create a way to cut through that.

Overcoming challenges 

Time was my biggest challenge as I was already working full time, so administratively that was quite difficult for me. My employer has been supporting me by allowing me time to work on MixDeck. I think other employers should do the same for employees who have side hustles. It’s motivated me to perform better in my full-time work.

Another challenge has been getting enough content contributors on board to attract more students. So I’ve been bringing sales educators on board who have a bank of students wanting to learn. 

Funding and prioritising has also been a challenge as I’ve got a finite number of resources.To mitigate this I’ve been trying different marketing tactics to see what works and what doesn’t, and thinking carefully about how to get more bang for my buck.

Hopefully by sometime next year, there'll be 1000s of accounts active on MixDeck. This will make it more attractive to the corporate world, which makes it more attractive to students. I’m also hoping to eventually offer other types of learning as well as sales on the platform.

Pick a partner wisely

If I could give just one bit of advice to anyone looking to venture on a no-code journey it would be: if you’re not doing the development yourself, pick a partner wisely.

In my case, one day I was searching for no-code brands to try to figure out how I can get this thing built quickly and efficiently. I found I needed to test the concept in an existing platform, and then I discovered the no-code world. 

I came across Bubble and from there, I found Million Labs. I’ve been working with the team for a year and a half and it’s been great. I really trust Million Labs’ work and feel empowered by them.

Launch faster, better and quicker with Million Labs

You don’t need to use code to launch a startup. There are better ways to do it, and we can help. Join the no-code revolution by working with us! 

Find out how we can help you go to market quicker, make money faster and increase your chances of success. Join our Startup Lab or launch your startup with the Bubble app.