Cyrus Claffey – Wild Business Growth Podcast #271: Intercom Iterator, Founder of ButterflyMX

How can you improve a piece of technology millions have used for decades? That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Cyrus Claffey. Cyrus is the Founder and Executive Chairman of ButterflyMX. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 271: Cyrus Claffey – Intercom Iterator, Founder of ButterflyMX

Cyrus Claffey, the Founder and Executive Chairman of ButterflyMX, joins the show to share his journey from Hawker at the Ren Faire to revolutionizing the intercom for apartment buildings. Hear how to iterate your product, declunkify your industry, find the right customers to pitch to, decide which ideas are worth pursuing, and some Show and Tell. This episode covers everything from DVDs to Battlestar Galactica. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What kind of beer went into the goblets
• A sticky analogy
• How did Cyrus get the idea for ButterflyMX
• What are some big inflection points in the life of ButterflyMX
• How iterative was it building ButterflyMX
• What is Cyrus’s process for taking Notes on a date
• How do you survive a Minnesota winter
• What do you call bike road rage

Connect with Cyrus at ButterflyMX.com and on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Ren Faire
  • [0:27] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:39] Connect with Cyrus at ButterflyMX.com and on LinkedIn
  • [2:42] How was Cyrus’s experience working at a Renaissance Fair (Ren Faire)
  • [2:50] Macalester College
  • [4:36] Sci-Fi (Science Fiction), Fantasy
  • [4:59] Shoutout, Alyssa!
  • [5:21] What kind of beer went into the goblets
  • [5:32] IPA (India Pale Ale)
  • [5:49] Belgian Golden Ale, Belgian Strong Ale
  • [6:17] What is a Hawker
  • [6:38] Marketing, Sales
  • [7:03] A sticky analogy
  • [7:17] Carnival Barker, Busker
  • [7:29] What entrepreneurial lessons did Cyrus learn from the Ren Faire
  • [8:22] Show & Tell
  • [8:28] Shoutout, Tom!

• The ButterflyMX Story
  • [10:13] Hoboken, NJ
  • [10:27] ButterflyMX App
  • [11:14] How did Cyrus get the idea for ButterflyMX
  • [11:35] Entrepreneur
  • [11:41] DVD (Digital Video Disc)
  • [11:49] Shoutout, Matt!
  • [12:18] Real Estate
  • [13:6] UPS (United Parcel Service)
  • [14:06] iPhone
  • [14:53] Apple, Nest
  • [15:13] AvalonBay
  • [16:03] iPad
  • [16:39] Technology (Tech)
  • [17:34] Curb Appeal
  • [18:20] Declunkify!
  • [18:50] How iterative was it building ButterflyMX
  • [19:00] IP (Intellectual Property), Trade Secrets
  • [19:32] South Orange, NJ
  • [20:32] Call Flow
  • [21:19] Retrofit
  • [22:32] How do you find customers to pitch to
  • [22:51] Resident Experience
  • [23:03] Boutique Hotels
  • [23:49] Retention (Real Estate)
  • [24:17] FedEx (Federal Express), Amazon
  • [24:57] PropTech (Property Technology)
  • [28:09] User Experience (UX)
  • [28:23] DING!
  • [28:49] What are some big inflection points in the life of ButterflyMX
  • [29:16] Litmus Test
  • [29:47] Hardware vs. Software
  • [30:11] NMHC OpTech (National Multifamily Housing Council Operation Technology)
  • [30:27] Millennials
  • [30:37] Launch Pad
  • [30:51] People’s Choice Award
  • [31:37] Market Share
  • [32:33] Next Gen Intercom
  • [33:11] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23
  • [33:13] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity
  • [34:07] How do you stay creative
  • [34:30] Encyclopedia Britannica
  • [35:32] AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  • [35:51] Positive Feedback Loop
  • [36:27] What is Cyrus’s process for taking Notes on a date
  • [36:47] “Sophisticated Content”
  • [36:56] Programmer
  • [37:32] How do you decide which ideas are worth pursuing
  • [38:54] 10,000 Hours
  • [39:37] The Great Financial Crisis

• The Unusual
  • [40:27] Always
  • [40:32] What’s a Weird Talent Cyrus has
  • [40:38] WOW! Bravo
  • [41:36] What’s Cyrus’s biggest pet peeve
  • [42:27] What’s a quirk he has
  • [43:08] What do you call bike road rage = Bike Rage
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [44:27] Luke Skywalker, Star Wars
  • [44:51] Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Blade Runner
  • [45:54] What would Cyrus’s Show & Tell be today
  • [47:08] How do you survive a Minnesota winter
  • [47:24] Skyways
  • [49:21] Where does the name ButterflyMX come from
  • [47:57] MaxPodcasting
  • [49:11] Ethos vs. Pathos
  • [49:18] What does MX stand for
  • [49:50] The King of the Butterflies!
  • [49:57] WHOOPS!
  • [50:09] Connect with Cyrus at ButterflyMX.com and on LinkedIn
  • [50:33] What are Cyrus’s Final Thoughts
  • [51:52] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [52:10] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [52:13] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [52:15] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [52:20] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Cyrus Claffey on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And go to a Ren Faire with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!