The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Foundr Media
0
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan is a leading entrepreneurship show featuring in-depth conversations with successful founders and business leaders. Guests have included Mark Cuban, Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and many others. Host Nathan Chan shares proven methods, lessons from failure, and inspirational stories to help listeners start, build, or grow their businesses.
Jaksot
-
705: (Solo) How Success Made Me Neglect the Thing That Built Everything 14.09.2026 11minI am going to tell you about the dumbest thing I have done in 12 years of building Foundr. It is not a bad hire or a failed launch. It is something far more dangerous, because I did not even realise I was doing it. For four years I took my eye off the thing that built this entire business, and by the time I noticed, I had left years of growth on the table. Here is the trap: when your monetisation engine is printing money, it gives you permission to be complacent about the thing that is actually feeding it. The better the downstream business performed, the less attention we gave the upstream asset driving all of it. In this episode, I get honest about how our podcast drifted into autopilot for years, the signals that told me my core was neglected, and the aggressive refocus that brought it back. Here's what you'll take away: • Why "fine" can be the most dangerous word in business, and how success itself makes you complacent about what got you there • The four warning signs your core product is drifting, from flattening growth to customer feedback getting generic • Why your best people gravitate to the new shiny thing and your core quietly gets the B team • What Gary Vaynerchuk told me about never being complacent when one channel is winning, and why I resisted it at first • The packaging lesson that blew my mind: how two identical-quality episodes got wildly different results based on title and thumbnail alone • The three question test I now run on every new initiative to tell a real opportunity from a distraction in disguise If things in your business are going "fine" right now, this episode is a warning worth heeding. Ask yourself when you last personally touched your core product and obsessed over making it better, because if it is not recent, you might already be on autopilot. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
704: How One Pivot Turned My FAILING Startup Into a $300M Brand 10.09.2026 49minMariam Naficy sold her first company for over $100 million in cash - two weeks before the Nasdaq crashed in 2000. Then she did something harder. She built Minted, a crowdsourced design marketplace her own investors thought was weird, watched it generate zero sales for its first month, and was one day away from shutting it down when it turned the corner and took off like a rocket ship. Today Minted does around $300 million a year, and she's now chairwoman while building her third company, Arcade, an AI-to-physical-product marketplace that's already raised $42 million. In this interview, Mariam breaks down why she handed product decisions entirely over to the crowd, how she survived the 2008 financial crisis by going premium, and the viral loop she deliberately engineers into every business she starts. What you'll learn in this interview: • How she landed the Eve.com domain with 1% equity, a board seat, and a Disneyland trip - for a five-year-old • Why color cosmetics flying off the shelves revealed a market nobody thought existed online • How a low-budget crowdsourced design contest saved Minted from bankruptcy after a month of zero sales • Why she trusted the crowd over industry experts - and invented the photo Save the Date in the process • How going premium let Minted grow straight through the 2008 financial crisis • The virality principle: why she won't start a business without a built-in product-driven loop • Why every hire - even designers - had to pass a financial modeling test • How she scaled greeting cards into Target and Whole Foods - and why home decor didn't work • The exact mindset that got her through nearly shutting down: stop caring what anyone thinks • Why Arcade is built to protect artists' livelihoods in the age of AI If you're building a marketplace, wrestling with whether to trust your gut or your customers, or trying to grow through a downturn without burning cash, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about virality, community, and persisting through the moments that break most founders. SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH MARIAM NAFICY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mnaficy/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariam-naficy Website → https://www.minted.com/ Website → https://tonic.xyz/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
703: (Solo) If I Had to Start Over in 2026, Here's How I'd Make My First $1M 07.09.2026 10minIf I lost everything tomorrow, the team, the audience, the network, here's the exact tactical playbook I'd use to build back to $1 million from scratch. If I lost everything tomorrow, the team, the audience, the brand, the 13 years of relationships and network I have built, and I had to make $1 million from zero, here is exactly what I would do. This is not a motivational pep talk. It is the real, tactical, step by step playbook with no fluff. Here is the thing most founders get backwards: they build the product, then go looking for customers. You need to flip it. Find the customers first, then build the product. In this episode, I walk through the whole 0 to $1 million playbook, from how I would validate a physical product before spending a dollar on inventory to why founder-led content is the one thing I would do differently if I started over. Here's what you'll take away: • The exact three step validation process I would run before ordering a single unit, including why three star reviews are where the gold is • Why you need somewhere for your money to go before you make your first dollar, and how flying blind on cash flow nearly cost me early on • The one product, one channel rule and why trying to be everywhere is the mistake I see founders make constantly • The product economics I would insist on: 70% margins minimum and an AOV above $60 so paid ads can actually work • The pricing mistake I made on Foundr's Kickstarter that cost us thousands, and how to avoid it • My single biggest regret with Foundr: hiding behind the brand for ten years, and why I would make my face the brand from day one If you are thinking about starting something, or you are stuck spinning your wheels on a brand that has not taken off, this episode gives you the clean, no-nonsense sequence I would follow to get to that first million. Quick heads up: this episode is brought to you in partnership with Xero, the accounting software I have used to run Foundr since day one, and they have put together a genuinely strong offer for listeners in the show notes. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
702: Mark Cuban Calls Us His BEST Shark Tank Deal Ever ($200M+) 03.09.2026 1t 1minFour childhood friends pooled $30,000 in a Chicago apartment to make wet wipes for men. Everyone told them dudes would never use them. Thirteen years later, Dude Wipes does close to $220 million in retail sales, runs on a team of just over 20 people, and is Mark Cuban's best-ever Shark Tank investment. They bootstrapped almost the entire way, none of them had retail experience, and they built a nine-figure business in a category the legacy players weren't even watching. In this interview, Ryan Meegan breaks down how they carried a business to $40 million with just three people, the guerrilla news-jacking playbook that made Dude Wipes a worldwide Twitter trend for pennies, and why brand marketing they never tried to measure was the smartest bet they made. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why four founders with different skill sets and zero egos never clashed in 15 years • How they got their first national retail deal with Kroger through pure cold-calling hustle • The Shark Tank bidding war that landed Mark Cuban's check - and why he calls it his best investment • Why going viral and trending #3 worldwide on Twitter barely moved sales - and why they kept doing it anyway • The Isaiah Crowell NFL moment: how a $3,500 deal turned into ESPN, Howard Stern, and national press • The Amex float strategy: how putting every PO on a credit card funded growth without big raises • Why they refused the VC and Shopify-loan path most DTC brands take - and how they built bank credibility instead • The line-extension trap: why deodorant and body wash failed, and how Covid refocused them on flushable wipes • How three people ran the business to $40M before hiring 15 more • Why they took private equity from TSG while keeping control - and the billion-dollar goal behind it If you're bootstrapping a CPG brand, trying to build awareness without a war chest, or wrestling with whether to chase line extensions or go deeper in your core category, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about brand, capital efficiency, and staying in the game long enough to win. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH DUDE WIPES Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dudewipes/ Website → https://dudewipes.com/ Ryan's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-meegan-07971859/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
701: Trieu Doubled His Brand To $200K/Month In 5 Months - Whilst Still Working Full Time 02.09.2026 28minTrieu became a dentist because he liked working with his hands and helping people - he got into UCSF's dental school as the very last student accepted, number 81 in a class of 81. Then the job started breaking his body. Aching neck, aching back, and mentors around him retiring early from surgeries. So he tinkered with some prisms until he could sit up straight and see like he was looking through a microscope, filed a patent, and built Hero Loops - ergonomic loupes that do the job of a $20,000 wall-mounted unit. He launched it one month before the pandemic hit. He still practises dentistry full time while running the whole thing. In this episode, Trieu gets honest about the brutal timing of launching right before Covid, the years it took to crack marketing after nailing the product, and how he thinks about building - including a psychology framework he borrowed straight from dentistry. What you'll learn in this interview: The origin story: how his own neck and back pain, plus watching colleagues retire early from surgery, drove him to prototype an alternative to the bulky $20K microscopes on the market Why he left dentistry income on the table for product income - and the scaling logic behind it: a product has quality control and consistency, while a dental chair only makes money when you're in it The painful timing lesson: launching one month before the pandemic, doing $20K in the first month, then watching competitors use the downtime to copy his product - and why he still says launch before it's perfect The plateau most founders hit: stuck at $5-6K a month with a great product because "you can be the best dentist, but if nobody knows about you, they won't come" The single change that broke the plateau: a new website and platform that did $50K in its first month How defining what "success" actually looks like - and watching that target keep moving from $50K to $100K to $200K - helped him appreciate the milestones instead of always chasing the next one The core ads skill that drove the growth: learning when to turn ads off, when to turn them on, and when to increase budget - and building the confidence to do it The "five Ps" framework he uses to judge whether a product will sell - pain, profit, prestige, preservation, and pleasure - and how Hero Loops hits several at once Why static ads outperform video for his analytical, detail-oriented audience - and how live customer-reaction reels hook attention at the top of the funnel What's next: bringing manufacturing in-house for faster delivery and expanding worldwide beyond the US - and the licensing and distribution hurdles that come with it If you're a professional with deep expertise in a field, sitting on a product idea but unsure whether you can build something outside your day job - this episode is for you. Trieu's story is a grounded reminder that the product is only half the battle: learning to market it is the skill that actually compounds, and you don't have to quit everything to start. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH BY TRIEU TON LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/trieu-ton-3b7055122/ Website → https://heroloupes.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
700: (Solo) The Ambassador Strategy - How to get Famous People to Sell Your Brand for Free 31.08.2026 13minI interviewed the founder of HexClad about a year ago. Cookware, pots and pans, not the sexiest category in the world. But their ambassador is Gordon Ramsay, one of the most famous chefs on the planet. And when he holds up your pan, you do not need to explain anything else. So here is the question nobody asks: how does a cookware brand get Gordon Ramsay without a massive ad budget or a celebrity agency on retainer? Here is the answer: a genuinely great product and a strategy. The same strategy I have used to build Foundr for over a decade and that I apply to every brand I advise. In this episode, I break down the ambassador playbook step by step so you can get respected people in your market to endorse your brand, even if you are starting with zero audience and zero connections. Here's what you'll take away: • The three pillars of a brand that breaks through: a genuinely great product, next level design, and ambassadors • The "who's who in the zoo" framework for identifying the 10 to 30 people your customer already trusts • Why the gatekeeper is not an obstacle but your way through the door, and how to treat them accordingly • The follow up strategy that got me Barbara Corcoran after two years and how one question reframes "no" into "not right now" • The Amazon coming soon hack that lets you offer distribution instead of asking for a favour, and how it landed me Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins • Why ambassadors are not a "later, once we're big enough" thing, and how each one you land makes the next one easier If you have been assuming that big-name endorsements are reserved for brands with big budgets, this episode will show you exactly why they are not, and give you a concrete list to start working through this week. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
699: A Pizza Oven Saved My Life - Then It Built a $100M Company 27.08.2026 1t 13minTom Gozney hit rock bottom with addiction at 21 and spent nearly a year in a South African rehab facility. What saved him back home wasn't a business plan - it was a brick oven he dug into his garden, because cooking pizza for his friends was the only way he could socialise without alcohol at the centre of it. He noticed something: after a few weeks, people stopped bringing beer and started bringing toppings. That shift in behaviour became the entire thesis of the brand. Fifteen years later, Gozney is valued at over $100 million, did $8.5 million in the first four hours of its Dome launch, and forged the portable pizza oven category from scratch. In this interview, Tom breaks down why he redesigned a fully tooled product weeks before shipping after watching a Steve Jobs documentary, how a synchronised Instagram launch with 30 influencers generated 27,000 signups, and the imposter syndrome that made him underprice his own ovens for years. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why he says he's selling a shift in human behaviour, not hardware or pizza • How he got his first oven sale by leaflet-dropping a restaurant with genuinely terrible branding • The £5K loan from his mum that funded the first fibreglass mould and website • Why he scrapped a fully tooled steel design weeks before shipping - and retooled it in silicone in a month • The Richard Branson exchange that put an oven on Necker Island and fuelled the Rockbox launch • The synchronised 30-influencer Instagram drop that drove 27,000 signups before a single unit shipped • How the Dome launch did $8.5M in four hours, crashed the site, and triggered death threats over a pizza oven • Why going straight to big factories doesn't work before you've proven volume - and how middlemen killed his early margins • How he rebuilt his entire supply chain by recruiting a board and COO who'd done it in outdoor grilling • Why imposter syndrome made him underprice for years - and what finally gave him conviction to charge premium If you're building a physical product brand, wrestling with manufacturing and margins you don't yet understand, or scared to price for the value you've actually built, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about brand, product obsession, and building something bigger than yourself. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH TOM GOZNEY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/tomgozney/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/gozney/ Website → https://www.gozney.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
698: (Solo) She Worked 7 Hours a Day & Made Zero Sales - This Was The Fix 24.08.2026 12minI got on a call recently with a founder in our community who had everything right. Amazing product, clear gap in the market, strong differentiators, all the boxes ticked. But she had no sales. So I asked her to walk me through her days, and she said she was doing seven hour days posting on TikTok, Instagram, running Facebook ads, trying everything. And I told her that was the problem right there. Here is what I keep seeing: the number one reason new brands fail at marketing is not a bad product. It is scattered focus. Every guru on the internet is telling you to be everywhere, and when you try to do everything, you become mediocre at all of it. In this episode, I make the case for doing less and break down the exact framework I gave her: one product, one channel, one message, to one customer avatar. Here's what you'll take away: Why scattered focus, not a bad product, is what kills most new brands, and how to spot it in your own business The one product principle: why obsessing over a single hero product beats spreading yourself across ten SKUs Why there is no wrong channel to start with, and how to pick the one to go all in on The hard lesson I learned building Foundr on the back of one channel I did not actually own Why most founders underprice their product, and how pricing can be the difference between a campaign that scales and one that never does Why the company that can afford to spend the most to acquire a customer wins, and how your unit economics decide that fight If you have got a great product but nothing is sticking, this episode will show you why, and give you a simple four step filter to focus everything down to what will actually move the needle. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
697: I Sold My House to Fund My Idea - and Built a £26M brand 20.08.2026 50minSam Faiers had already shut down two businesses. She'd laid off her entire team in one day when the fashion brand stopped turning a profit. So when she found a collagen formula every manufacturer told her couldn't be made, she put the money from the sale of her house into it anyway. Revive Collagen launched in August 2020, mid-lockdown, with no marketing budget, and hit £1 million in sales in 13 weeks. Six years later it's on track for £26 million, sits in 6,000 US retail doors including Ulta, Walgreens and CVS, and is the most awarded supplement brand in the UK - all bootstrapped. In this interview, Sam breaks down the mistakes from her failed businesses that she deliberately reversed the second time, why she spent five and a half years without an office, and what a Kim Kardashian post actually does for a business (it's not what you'd think). What you'll learn in this interview: • Why she sold her house to fund the launch - and how two failed businesses gave her the conviction to do it • The two-year R&D battle where every manufacturer said no - and why that formula is now nearly impossible to copy • How one raw, unpolished video about her own acne drove the entire first 13 weeks • Why they had no office for five and a half years - and the exact overhead mistake that killed her last brand • The cash flow discipline that changed everything: reviewing accounts weekly, not monthly • How they got a six-figure London bus campaign for around 20% of rate card • The ambassador playbook: why they gift product for months before ever signing a deal • What the Kim Kardashian post really did - and why the retailer meetings mattered more than the sales spike • Why she deliberately kept her face off the packaging to avoid being labelled a celebrity brand • How they build products around life stages instead of one supplement for everyone If you're bootstrapping a wellness or supplement brand, deciding whether to put your own face on your marketing, or coming back from a business that failed and trying to get it right this time, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about product, trust, and building something bigger than your own name. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH SAM FAIERS Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/samanthafaiers/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/revivecollagen/ Website → https://revivecollagen.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
696: Jamie Left a Nike Exec Job to Bootstrap A Drinkware Brand - Now It's On Track For Seven Figures 19.08.2026 1tJamie spent over 20 years in corporate America, including a stint as a Nike executive, before a barbecue accident changed everything. Hosting friends and family in Park City after a near-perfect day outdoors, he tripped and sent a tray of drinks flying over everyone. That clumsy moment sparked two ideas at once: a better, genuinely leak-proof product, and a brand built around the outdoor-lifestyle-and-moments-of-pause philosophy he and his wife Michelle wanted to live by. He funded SMMT Outdoor entirely himself, went all in from day one, and spent nearly two years and 50 prototypes getting the product right. In this episode, Jamie is refreshingly honest about the unglamorous middle of the journey - the weeks with one or two orders, the pivot away from the category he launched in, the agency burns, and what it actually feels like to go from leading teams of teams at a billion-dollar company to being a solo operator with one contractor. What you'll learn in this interview: The barbecue accident that sparked the whole brand - and why Jamie built SMMT around an emotional "active days and moments of pause" philosophy, not just a product spec Why he launched in bags first, then pivoted to drinkware after 18 months and 50 prototypes - and how that detour taught him the business he actually needed to learn The reality of the early days: weeks with one or two orders, days of "crickets," and the humbling gap between corporate experience and blank-page entrepreneurship Why he chose to bootstrap with only family capital - keeping the cap table simple, feeling the pain of his own money, and buying himself the freedom to make long-term decisions The "rocking chair test" he uses for big life and business decisions - fast-forwarding to age 80 and asking what he'd regret not doing Why he deliberately built for a sustainable family business rather than a unicorn - and his case for why a $10-20M brand is a huge win nobody talks about enough The Thanksgiving dinner spent refreshing Shopify to see if the drinkware launch would work - and why 25 sales on day one felt enormous The exact equation he obsessed over instead of chasing revenue: customer lifetime value over CAC - and why he attacked the numerator first through bundles, pairs, and a 980-unit limited edition program How a $15 personalisation upsell, print-on-demand art drops, and a rethought checkout experience quietly built margin and average order value The hard-won mindset lessons: entrepreneurship isn't linear, most businesses fail from lack of conviction or poor cashflow rather than bad ideas, and "cortisol management" is a real barometer of startup life If you're a corporate operator wondering whether your experience actually translates to building something of your own - or you're bootstrapping slowly and quietly, doubling year over year without the meteoric rise - this episode is for you. Jamie's story is a grounded reminder that deep patience, obsessing the right numbers, and genuinely loving the problem you're solving matter far more than a fast start. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH BY JAMIE PARKER Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/smmtoutdoor/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-parker-77b2639/ Website → https://smmtoutdoor.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
695: (Solo) I Was Winning. So Why Was I Falling Apart? 17.08.2026 12minA few years ago I started waking up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, cold sweats, this overwhelming feeling of dread I could not explain. And the strangest part was there was no crisis. The business was good. Revenue was up. Everything on paper was working. But something was deeply wrong, and it took me weeks to even name it. Here is what nobody tells you about burnout: it does not always show up when things are falling apart. Mine showed up during the best run of my professional life. And when you are winning, you keep going, because why would you stop? In this episode, I get honest about hitting a wall I never saw coming, what crippling anxiety actually felt like for someone who genuinely loves his work, and the rituals and mindset shifts that pulled me out and keep me balanced now. Here's what you'll take away: Why burnout often arrives at your peak, not your low point, and why there is no alarm that tells you when you have crossed the line The scale framework I use now: family, relationships, friends, and work, and why the problem is never that it tips but that you fail to rebalance Why obsession without boundaries will eat you alive, even when the drive itself is real and necessary What Steve Huffman's answer to "is it ever enough?" taught me about the lie our minds keep telling us The specific practices that refill my cup now, from meditation and therapy to gaming, pickleball, and leaving my phone at the door Why taking care of the person building the business is not a weakness but the whole point If you are waking up in the night and you do not know why, or you have been feeding one side of the scale for years and telling yourself you are fine, this episode is for you. It does not mean you are broken. It means you need to take care of the person building this thing. This is a sensitive area, so a quick note: if any of this feels close to home and you are struggling with your mental health, it is worth reaching out to a professional or someone you trust. You do not have to sit with it alone. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
694: We Were Two Weeks From Shutting Down - Then We Found Our $30M Product 13.08.2026 49minChris and Jake Yap were two weeks from shutting down. A billion-dollar retailer had copied every product they launched and sold them for one tenth the price, then put it in the news - buy this coffee table from us for $499, or from them for $49. They'd burned their business savings, their personal savings, and taken out personal guarantee loans chasing speed. Jake was telling his wife he wasn't sure he could make rent. Then in those two weeks they made one switch that changed everything: instead of testing designs, they started testing problems. Little Lively launched last October, grew 30% compounding month on month, went worldwide in the same month it launched, and now spends around $600,000 a month on Meta. In this interview, Chris and Jake break down the exact testing framework that found their winning product, why they killed 700 SKUs to bet everything on one, and how they built an internal AI agent that runs across their entire company. What you'll learn in this interview: • The switch from testing designs to testing problems - and why it saved the business in two weeks • How they turned $10 wireless chargers off Alibaba into $300K cash in their first year • The Abundance Framework: testing up to 1,000 designs a week before ever committing to production • Why fast-fashion-style furniture drops became a vicious discount cycle that nearly killed them • How suppliers with 60-day payment terms effectively became their investors - and the relationship approach behind it • The 60 ROAS launch: what happens when you actually solve a real problem • Why they now welcome copycats - and how being 4-5 years ahead on the roadmap makes competitors into free marketing • Why they launched worldwide in the same month instead of proving one market first • "Australia is small and hard, the US is big and easy" - the contrarian take on market selection • Caesar: the company-wide AI agent living in their Slack that their team used to build an entire ERP system from scratch If you're running a DTC brand, drowning in SKUs and discounts, or trying to figure out how to find the one product worth betting everything on, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about focus, product testing, and what it takes to come back from the brink. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6 months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH LIFELY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/lifelyhome/ LinkedIn →https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifelyhome/ Website → https://lifely.com.au/ CONNECT WITH JAKE YAP LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-yap/ CONNECT WITH CHRIS YAP LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-yap-185964198/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
693: (Solo) How I Built a Billion Dollar Network From Nothing (And How You Can Too) 10.08.2026 10minI get this all the time. DMs, emails, some version of "hey Nathan, can I pick your brain?" And I get it, the intention is good. But here is what that message actually says to the person receiving it: I want your most valuable asset, your time, and I am going to give you nothing in return. Here is the thing: I grew up in the suburbs with zero entrepreneurial connections. No successful friends, no business-owning parents, no network to speak of. Every single room I have ever been in, I built my way into from nothing. And the principle that made it possible is stupidly simple. In this episode, I share the serve first, ask later framework and walk through exactly how I used it to land interviews with Richard Branson four months into building Foundr, connect with Gary Vee, Mark Cuban, and Arianna Huffington, and build a network that has carried me through some of the hardest seasons of my career. Here's what you'll take away: Why "can I pick your brain?" is broken and what it signals to the person on the other end The one question that should drive every networking interaction: how can I genuinely help this person and expect nothing in return How framing the ask around someone's mission, not your need, is what got Richard Branson to say yes to a four month old magazine The actual playbook for building from zero: how to figure out your currency, find the right person, and reach out with a specific offer tied to what they are working on right now Why stopping putting successful people on a pedestal is the mindset shift that changes how every conversation starts Why you need both peers and mentors in your network and what each one does for you that the other cannot If you have been waiting until you have more followers, a bigger platform, or something impressive to show before reaching out to people you want to learn from, this episode will show you that you already have more to offer than you think. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
692: I Was Selling Muesli From My Car Boot - Now I Run a $35M/Year Brand 06.08.2026 48minNarelle Plapp started Food for Health twenty years ago making recipes for patients who couldn't find allergy-friendly food on any shelf. She loaded her first Woolworths order by hand - 14 pallets that showed up via fax and had to be paid on delivery, funded by $13,000 from her parents. One SKU eventually did over $2 million in a single retailer. Then she did something most brand founders never attempt: she borrowed $8 million, bought a paddock, and built her own factory. Nine years later, Grain and Bake is a $35 million business - targeting $45 million this year - manufacturing for some of Australia's biggest food brands, running 24 hours a day, five days a week. In this interview, Narelle breaks down what it actually costs to manufacture an allergy-friendly bar, the brutal reality of retailer margins most founders don't see until it's too late, and how she convinced the bank to back a factory before she had a single confirmed customer. What you'll learn in this interview: • How she got her first Woolworths ranging by making sure friends and family bought out every trial store • Why she borrowed $8M to build a factory on a paddock - and the soft commitments from brands that got the bank across the line • What it actually costs to manufacture an allergy-friendly bar - the hidden 10-hour cleans, swabs, and 8-person cleaning crews most founders never budget for • The $0.40 per bar reality - and how to work backwards from RRP to know if your margins will survive retail • Why retailer category margins have jumped from 35% to 55% minimum over 20 years - and what that means for your P&L before you pitch Coles or Woolies • The 13-week clock: how long you have to prove velocity on shelf before you get cut • How a $4M investment in automated cartoning increased her line output by 30% - and why she passed the savings to her brand clients • Why she trawled Europe to find the right oven - and what it takes to commission a factory when you've never built one before • The Grain and Bake client model: why manufacturing for other brands makes her a partner in their success, not just a supplier • What she'd tell every CPG founder before they pitch a retailer - the whiteboard session that changed one AFL footballer's entire business plan If you're building a CPG brand, trying to understand the real cost of manufacturing and retail at scale, or just want an unfiltered view of what Australian food manufacturing actually looks like from the inside, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about supply chain, margins, and what it takes to build something that lasts 20 years. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH NARELLE PLAP Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/narelleplapp/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/narelle-plapp-27b3771a/ Website → https://grainandbakeco.com.au/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
691: Anastasia's $850K Brand Collapsed To $42K A Month - Then She Tripled It Herself 05.08.2026 51minAnastasia Chapman came up with the idea for her brand where all good bathroom ideas start - sitting on a toilet, hiding a competitor's product she was too embarrassed to be seen with. She developed the formula in an Airbnb in Cape Town, mixing batch after batch and testing them by dropping samples into wine glasses of water. She hand-poured her first 50,000 units in her mum's garage. Then, after her biggest-ever year, a trademark dispute forced her to legally change the brand name overnight - and the meta ads machine she'd built her entire business on collapsed within two months. This is the story of the rebuild. In this episode, Anastasia is unusually candid about the whole messy arc: building Loui (formerly Lou Drops) as a complete e-commerce beginner, scaling to $850K on the back of just three winning ads, watching it crash to a $42K month after the rebrand, and clawing her way back by finally taking control of the ads she'd always outsourced. What you'll learn in this interview: The exact validation method she used before spending real money - handing friends five numbered samples and a "poop scorecard," then living with the product in her bathroom for months until she got it right Why she developed the product in 2022 but didn't properly launch until 2024 - and how she kept a full-time job while the business slowly proved itself How a trademark cease-and-desist forced a full rebrand right after she'd paid for 30,000 units of packaging - and the timeline she had to negotiate just to sell through existing stock The hard lesson about platform dependency: how being reliant on three winning ads and one outsourced media buyer left her exposed when it all stopped working Why she fired the person running her ads and took the account in-house - and what she discovered was actually being wasted once she understood the numbers herself The specific ad account restructure that turned things around: consolidating from scattered lookalike campaigns and multiple ad sets into a cleaner ABO testing structure The unit economics that actually matter beyond ROAS - add-to-cart cost, cost per purchase, frequency, and hook rate - and how knowing her kill threshold changed how fast she tests Why founder-led ads beat every expensive UGC creator she hired - and how a skit ad she was mortified to film "started printing money" overnight How she structures a solo founder's week around three "big rocks," swallows the toad first, and protects her time from busywork and AI rabbit holes The retail arm quietly growing alongside DTC - now in over 300 stores - and why an outside audit of her website and offer unlocked the next stage of growth If you're a solo founder who feels like the whole business rests on your shoulders - or you've built something on a channel you don't fully control and you can feel how fragile that is - this episode will hit home. Anastasia's story is proof that the answer usually isn't a white knight who rides in to save you. It's the far less glamorous work of understanding your own business well enough that nobody else has to. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH BY ANASTASIA CHAPMAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/iamstais/ Brand Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/tryloui/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasia-chapman/ Website → https://tryloui.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
690: (Solo) The Truth About Selling Your Business (From Someone Who Said No) 03.08.2026 12minAt some point, if you are building a DTC brand and getting traction, someone is going to reach out. An aggregator, a private equity firm, a bigger competitor. And most founders have no idea what to do when that happens because nobody ever walks you through it. Here is the thing: that cold email landing in your inbox is not random. There are analysts sitting in offices right now scraping the internet for fast growing Shopify stores, looking for founders who might be ready to tap out. And they are hoping they caught you on a bad day. In this episode, I walk through everything I have learned about acquisition conversations, from the first time someone tried to buy Foundr twelve months in, to the advice I gave a close friend that led to a life changing exit after fifteen years of building. Here's what you'll take away: Why you always take the call, even if you are nowhere near ready to sell, and what you can learn from it Why the worst time to sell is when you are desperate and the best time is when everything is working The questions to ask in any acquisition conversation that will teach you more about your own business than years of operating alone How to hold your cards close without shutting the conversation down entirely Why businesses are bought not sold, and what that means for how you should be approaching your growth right now The warning signs that a buyer is trying to get you to sell it in your mind before the deal is done, and what that costs founders who fall for it If you have ever received one of these emails and did not know whether to reply, delete it, or get excited, this episode will give you a clear framework for handling it the right way. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
689: I Sold ONE Product in ONE Color - Then Exited for Half a Billion 30.07.2026 54minRob Ward exited Quad Lock last year for half a billion dollars. He never took a cent of outside investment to build it, was profitable every single month from day one, and ran the business with a skeleton team for years while competitors burned cash chasing scale. His first product got ripped off. His second became the thing everybody with a phone mount on their bike, car, motorcycle, or desk knows by name. This is his third appearance on the Foundr Podcast across a decade, and the first since the exit. In this interview, Rob breaks down the three-gate model he now uses to diagnose why DTC brands break, why he deliberately pulled his own face out of Quad Lock's content years before selling, and the single biggest myth he says destroyed a generation of e-commerce companies. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why "scale will fix our unit economics" is the biggest myth in DTC - and what it actually does instead • The three-gate model: first-order profitability, cash-back time, and LTV ratio - and how to know which gate you're failing • Why he built an ecosystem instead of a hero product - and how $200 of mounts creates real lock-in • How hiring painfully slowly kept Quad Lock profitable every single month it existed • Why he deliberately stopped putting his face in the brand's content - and how that decision protected the half-billion exit • The gross margin number he'd insist on if he started again today • Why the customer with the higher AOV today isn't always the one worth acquiring • How they used retail to extend reach without breaking the DTC model • What the private equity deal actually changed - and why the money never even entered the business • The three separate emotional hits of exiting: the first sell-down, the full sale, and the last day If you're bootstrapping a DTC brand, trying to fix unit economics that don't quite work, or thinking about what makes a business actually sellable one day, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about lock-in, margins, and building something bigger than yourself. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH ROB WARD Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/robyward/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwardau/ Website → https://www.quadlockcase.com FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
688: (Solo) I Lost Years Of My Life To This One Mistake (And You're Probably Making It Right Now) 27.07.2026 12minI have never said this directly on the show before, but shiny object syndrome did not cost me months. It cost me years. Entire years where the Foundr team was spread across five or six initiatives instead of going deep on one or two. And the worst part is it never felt like a mistake. It felt like being smart because I kept seeing opportunities everywhere. Here is the problem: every new thing you chase takes focus away from the thing that is already working. And the most dangerous shiny objects are not the bad ideas. They are the good ones that just are not the right ones for right now. In this episode, I share the three question decision making matrix I use now before committing to anything new at Foundr, two real examples of it in action, and why the founders running billion dollar companies almost always do one or two things exceptionally well rather than chasing everything. Here's what you'll take away: The three question matrix: ease of execution, financial impact, and customer impact, and how to score any new idea honestly before you commit How we used the matrix to greenlight Foundr's sponsorship arm and turn a cost centre into a high margin revenue stream with one person managing it Why the Kickstarter coffee table book that raised $200,000 was still the wrong decision, and what eight months of lost focus actually cost Why good ideas are more dangerous than bad ones when it comes to shiny object syndrome Alex Hormozi's concept of pushing through the depths of despair rather than jumping to the next thing when something gets hard What Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple and why doing fewer things at the highest level is still the most boring and most powerful strategy in business If you are spread across too many initiatives right now or about to chase something new because it feels exciting, this episode will give you a clear filter for making that call before it costs you time you are not getting back. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
687: I Broke Every DTC Rule and Built a $1 Billion Brand From My Garage 23.07.2026 52minSandra Oh Lin walked away from running eBay's fashion business in 2011 to pack craft boxes in her garage. She raised just $11 million in total - and never needed another dollar. KiwiCo has now shipped over 50 million crates, crossed $1 billion in lifetime revenue, runs profitably since 2016, and operates with a team of under 150. The standard DTC playbook says outsource fulfillment, buy every customer with paid ads, and burn cash until you exit. Sandra broke all three rules and built one of the most capital-efficient consumer subscription businesses ever created. In this interview, the founder and CEO of KiwiCo breaks down the two-word churn survey answer that unlocked profitability, why she's run her own warehouse for 14 years instead of using a 3PL, and how 70% of her traffic costs almost nothing. What you'll learn in this interview: • How she went from 19 crates taking five people all day - to 50 million shipped • Why she ran her own warehouse for 14 years instead of outsourcing - and why it crushed competitors every Christmas • The two words buried in churn surveys that led to launching three new subscription lines at once • How all three new lines sold out at the 2014 holiday launch - and drew a direct line to their first profitable month • Why 70% of KiwiCo's traffic costs almost nothing - and what those channels actually are • How a website going horribly wrong led her to recruit the first engineer at YouTube as co-founder • The motivation spreadsheet: why every team member distributes 100 points across what actually drives them • How the "graduation" mechanic turns developmental churn into a moment of delight • Why she raised less than $11 million total while building a nine-figure business • How she's revamping four subscription lines, expanding into retail, and launching internationally for the first time If you're building a subscription brand, trying to grow a capital-efficient DTC business without burning through VC cash, or looking for the playbook behind what 14 years of relentless operational discipline actually looks like, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about retention, fulfillment, and what it means to build a business that doesn't need to be sold. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH SANDRA OH LIN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/kiwico_inc/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandralin/ Website → https://www.kiwico.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast -
686: Claire Built The World's #1 Dachshund Brand From Home - Now Doing $140K/Month 22.07.2026 28minClaire Wolfson got her first dachshund at 20, became completely obsessed, and watched him get paralysed by the spinal condition that affects almost every sausage dog. The original plan was to design a supportive harness. That didn't work out. So her husband Chris drew a simple wiener dog silhouette, they slapped it on some beanies, and Bean Goods was born. That was 2011. Thirteen years, one capsule tee collection, two designers, and zero business education later - they're doing $140,000 to $150,000 a month. In this episode, Claire is refreshingly honest about what 13 years of slow, scrappy building actually looks like - the years of winging it on pricing and margins, the decade of running Instagram solo, the agency experiments that never paid off, and what finally shifted when she stopped doing it all alone. What you'll learn in this interview: How Bean Goods started with beanies, a logo, and no manufacturing experience - and why a capsule collection of 3 to 5 graphic tees in 2013 was the moment Claire knew it could be a real business Why starting on Instagram in 2012 - the year the platform launched - gave Bean Goods an early mover advantage in the dachshund community that still pays off today How Claire grew the brand's Instagram solo for nearly a decade with no social media strategy background, and what "consistency" actually looked like before it became a buzzword The pricing and margins reality of those early years: blanks at $3.50 to $8.50, one-colour screen prints, and absolutely no idea what a healthy margin looked like How they hit their first six-figure year around 2013 to 2014 using only organic Instagram and email marketing - and why MailChimp lasted for years before Klaviyo What eight years of just Claire and Chris doing everything actually cost them - and how getting their first intern in 2019 started to change the shape of the business The meta ads journey from 2017 onwards: a Facebook ads course built for service businesses, a short agency stint, and why she kept coming back to running them herself How Bean Goods went from inconsistent $68K to $80K months to consistently hitting $140K to $150K - and the specific ad account changes that drove it Why bundling is brand new territory for a 13-year-old brand - and what it says about how much room there still is to grow even when you think you know your business What it takes to build a team and a warehouse operation that can run for three weeks while you're in Europe - and why that, more than any revenue milestone, is the win Claire talks about most If you're building slowly and wondering whether the grind is ever going to compound into something real - Claire's story is the answer. Bean Goods didn't go viral. It didn't have a moment. It just kept going, kept learning, and kept showing up for a community of people who are, against all odds, extremely passionate about sausage dogs. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH BY CLAIRE WOLFSON Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/beangoods/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-wolfson-599b47a/ Website → https://beangoods.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast
Samankaltaiset podcastit
Suosittu maassa
Tämä podcast esiintyy myös näiden maiden podcast-listoilla.
