645: (Solo) Why Your Email List Is Your Most Valuable Asset in 2026

Summary

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Episode 645: (Solo) Why Your Email List Is Your Most Valuable Asset in 2026
Release Date: March 30, 2026
Host: Nathan Chan

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Episode Overview

In this solo episode, Nathan Chan emphasizes the increasing importance of building and nurturing an email list as the single most valuable asset for founders in 2026. He shares personal stories from his journey with Foundr, explains the concept of an “owned audience,” and delivers practical advice on how to maximize email marketing’s impact—regardless of list size. Nathan also highlights the pitfalls founders commonly encounter and offers benchmarks and actionable tactics for boosting email-driven revenue, all delivered in his candid, mentor-like tone.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Email Lists Matter More Than Ever

• Email vs. Social Platforms:
  Nathan positions email lists as “owned audiences,” contrasting them to social media, where reach depends on shifting algorithms and rented platforms.

  • Quote:

    "When you're chasing reach on social, the smartest founders are quietly building something much more valuable. And it's an owned audience, an audience that they can reach out to directly, not through an algorithm or a platform." (02:00)

• The Value of Control:
  Email lets you bypass unpredictable algorithm changes, ensuring you can always reach your customers.

2. Foundr’s Origin Story and Lessons Learned

• Personal Anecdote:
  Nathan recounts how a semi-viral blog post led to early program launches and a partnership with a renowned marketing mentor.

  • Quote:

    "Early days founder, right? I started the magazine, started the podcast, started to interview successful founders, and then I went full time on founder and I was growing founder through Instagram, and I got 10,000 followers in two weeks... And that was how our education platform began." (03:25)

  • The Mentor’s Key Question:
    His mentor’s first question:

    "How many names do you have on your email list?" (06:15)
    This highlighted that email subscribers are foundational for major launches.

• Humility and Growth:
  Nathan reflects on his own early ambitions, calling the million-dollar launch goal “pure ego” and admits how naive he was.

3. Building Relationships, Not Just Lists

• Beyond Volume—Focus on Engagement:
  Size isn’t everything; the real value lies in the relationship you foster with subscribers.

  • Quote:

    "Having a massive email list doesn't mean everything either. It's the relationship you have with the people." (08:15)
    "When someone joins your email list... they've chosen to hear from you, they've given you permission to show up in their inbox, and that level of permission creates a stronger relationship." (09:10)

• Revenue Benchmark:
  Aim for 20-30% of business revenue to come from email marketing—a key health indicator for ecommerce founders.

  • Quote:

    "A good benchmark for you is you want to be generating at least 20 to 30% of your total revenue in email marketing." (10:10)

4. Common Mistakes and How to Optimize

• Neglecting Flows and Campaigns:
  Many founders under-utilize flows (like abandoned cart sequences) and don’t run enough campaigns.

  • Advice:

    "It's a constant game of iteration, split, testing your headlines, making sure you've got a good cart abandonment sequence—like, always, always, always optimizing this channel." (11:45)

• List Growth Tactics:
  Nathan shares a host of lead generation strategies:

  • Exit intent popups
  • Giveaways
  • Quizzes (especially for more sophisticated brands)
  • Exclusive offers and waitlists
  • Educational content and community access
  • Quote:

    "We've got quizzes, we've got all sorts of giveaways, lead magnets, we've got exclusive offers, we've got wait lists, we've got content, we've got education, we've got community access... But fundamentally, it's the relationship you build with your email list and don't abuse it." (15:20)

5. Tools and Resources

• Omnisend Recommendation:
  Nathan recommends Omnisend as his preferred email marketing platform, noting its effectiveness and partnership with Foundr.
  • Quote:

    "We highly recommend Omnisend over Klaviyo. We are Team Omnisend." (13:15)

  • Foundr+ Platform—Nathan plugs their email marketing training and resources for founders who want step-by-step guidance.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This might not sound flashy or exciting at first, but in my opinion, this is one of the most powerful assets that a founder can build in 2026, and that is your email list." (00:56)
• “If there's anything that you take away from this particular episode, it's build your email list. Please, please, please, please build your email list and treat it like gold, because it truly is.” (14:15)
• On the dangers of ignoring email:

  "So your big takeaway here is while social is important... in 2026 when algorithms change constantly, whether it's paid or rented platforms—even if your list is small, I'd encourage you to have regular communication [and] optimize your flows." (17:40)

• On long-term value:

  "Trust me, it will pay its weight in gold." (16:05)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:56 — Main theme introduced: Why email is critical
• 02:00 — Contrast between social media and owned audience
• 03:25-06:15 — Nathan’s viral blog post and pivotal mentoring moment
• 08:15 — The importance of list relationships over size
• 10:10 — Revenue benchmarks for email marketing (20-30%)
• 11:45 — Optimizing email flows and campaign advice
• 13:15 — Platform recommendation: Omnisend
• 14:15 — Core takeaway: build your list and treat it like gold
• 15:20 — Tactics for list growth and relationship building
• 17:40 — Social media volatility and the need for email ownership

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Actionable Advice for Listeners

• Start Now: Don’t underestimate a small list—begin list-building immediately.
• Focus on Relationship: Prioritize trust and engagement, not just raw numbers.
• Optimize Relentlessly: Test and refine email flows and campaigns to maximize revenue contribution.
• Use the Right Tools: Evaluate options like Omnisend and consider upskilling with dedicated email marketing training.

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For more entrepreneurial resources and proven methods, Nathan invites listeners to explore the Foundr+ platform for hands-on programs, training, and community support.

End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

Hey, founder fam. I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omnisend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e commerce founders. We've been recommending Omnisend to founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling to seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results. Did you know, on average, OMNISEND customers make $68 for every one. $1 they spend, which is an insanely

[B]

good return on investment.

[A]

And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code. Founder50. Just head to omnisend.com founder without the

[B]

e to get started.

[A]

All right, now let's jump back into the show.

[B]

Hey, founder fam. Nathan here. Welcome back to another founder to founder solo episode.

[A]

This is a really good one.

[B]

It's something I'm passionate about and it's the power of an email list, even if it's small, and why your email list is more important than ever in 2026. So this might not sound flashy or exciting at first, but in my opinion, this is one of the most powerful assets that a founder can build in 2026, and that is your email list.

[C]

Here are the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Founder podcast with Nathan Chan.

[B]

I know email marketing has been around for a long time. It's not the newest channel, it's the trendiest platform, and it definitely doesn't get the same attention as TikTok or Instagram or Facebook ads or meta ads or whatever you want to call it, or TikTok shop and all these hot channels. But that's exactly why it's so powerful when you're chasing reach on social. The smartest founders are quietly building something much more valuable. And it's an owned audience, an audience that they can reach out to directly, not through an algorithm or a platform. And it's not rented. And they can do it through a relationship that they control. So in a world where social platforms change constantly, this kind of ownership is super valuable for your brand, especially in the online space. So I never forget. Actually, it's a crazy story, actually. I don't know. Can't believe I'm even sharing this. So, early days founder, right? I started the magazine, started the podcast, started to interview successful founders, and then I went full time on founder and I was growing founder through Instagram, and I got 10,000 followers in two weeks. And one of the things that I used to do is I like to share everything, just like I'm doing with you guys now. And I wrote this blog post and I posted in a few places like Reddit and a few forums and it actually went semi viral. And the blog post was titled From 0 to 10,000 Followers in 2 Weeks on Instagram. Got hundreds, if not thousands of comments when blogs were a thing. And then a lot of people started to email me and they said, hey, Nathan, do you do consulting? I'm like, no, I don't, I don't do consulting. Okay, well can you do this for me? Like, do you have an agency or something? Like, I'm like, no, no, I just want to grow founder. And they're like, oh, do you have a course? And that was how our education platform began. And I launched this cohort based learning. It was kind of cool. And we had a hundred people sign up for a hundred dollars. It was really fun. And I was like, okay, now I'm gonna, you know, turn this into like a, an online program. And it was really impactful. So many people gone through that back in the day. And anyways, long story short, I, you know, wanted to do a launch of this new version of the program. And the guy that created the software that allowed me to create the digital magazine, he was like, really, like a world renowned marketing type guy. And one of his claims to fame was he was one of the first people in the Internet to do a million dollar launch and make a million dollars in an hour. And I thought, wow, how cool would it be to do a million dollar launch? And pure ego, like, so dumb, right? I'll be the first to tell you, it's just so silly and so much ego. So silly, guys. Anyways, this is what happens when you're young, right? I've got a bit more aging wisdom about me. And so I caught up with him. It turns out he lives in Melbourne. And I caught up with him and you know what, the first question I said, oh, I want to do a moondo launch. Would you be open to partnering with me on it? I don't even know how I thought of it, but I was like, do you want to partner with me on it? And this guy was like, you know, like a hero of mine. Like, he was, he was like my mentor, one of my early mentors. And he's like, hey, Nathan, okay, so how many names do you have on your email list? And ever since then, that's when I knew, okay, wow, this guy's A smart guy. Funnily enough, we actually ended up, you know, working together. We did. You know, it took six months to do this thing. I'd never do it again. And we did do a million dollar launch or close to. It wasn't far off. Pretty much depends how you want to calculate it. But the way we got there was from the amount of email subscribers. And the same thing applies for you as an E Com founder, online business. Right? And this is a lesson that I learned, right? And you know, founder has had millions of people join our email list in the past decade. And one thing I will tell you as well is having a massive email list doesn't mean everything either. It's the relationship you have with the people. And that brings me to my next lesson. An email list. And getting names on your email list is great, but what's even better is having a relationship with those people. And so when someone joins your email list, that's the first thing. But the next thing that needs to happen is you need to have a relationship with that person. So when somebody opens an email from your brand, they've chosen to hear from you, they've given you permission to show up in their inbox and that level of permission creates a stronger relationship. And this is why so many successful e commerce brands generate a significant portion of their revenue through email marketing. So a good benchmark for you is you want to be generating at least 20 to 30% of your total revenue in email marketing. And one of the biggest mistakes so many E Comm founders make is they don't optimize their flows, they don't do enough campaigns. And I want to talk about that now. I'm definitely no guru, not special. And we've got so much awesome training in the Founder plus platform with some of the best in the world like Chase Dimmin. And we're talking about these things inside founder operators very soon as well. And the thing is, right, it's a constant game of iteration, split, testing your headlines, making sure you've got a good card abandonment sequence like always, always, always optimizing this channel. And if you right now are not getting at least 20% of your total revenue from email, and that's a good place that you can start generating more sales. And here's the cool thing, right? It doesn't cost you more, right? It doesn't cost you more. Yes. You know you can use Omnisend. We are big fans of Omnisend. They sponsor this podcast, right? And we highly recommend Omnisend over Klaviyo. We are Team Omnisend sign up. We've got an awesome code you'll hear about and it's in the show notes. But the thing to take away here is it's not just about building an email list. And you know, we can do the basics around exit intent pop ups, giveaways. You know, quizzes are amazing as well when you're brands a bit more sophisticated. But it's one thing to build your list, it's another thing to build that relationship, foster that relationship. It's another thing to do more campaigns and optimize your flows. So if there's anything that you take away from this particular episode is build your email list. Please, please, please, please build your email list and treat it like gold, because it truly is. It's one of your biggest assets in your business. I can testify to that, Founder. And you know, even our e commerce brand that I used to own, healthish, has generated a lot, a lot of money from having a really engaged email list. So how can you build your emails? You know, we've got quizzes, we've got all sorts of giveaways, lead magnets, we've got exclusive offers, we've got wait lists, we've got content, we've got education, we've got community access. There's so many different things that you can do to build your emails. We've got exit intent pop ups, we've got all these cool things, right? But fundamentally, it's the relationship you build with your email list and don't abuse it. Trust me, it will pay its weight in gold. So your big takeaway here is while social is important, and don't get me wrong, we have millions of followers on social in 2026 when algorithms change constantly, whether it's paid or rented platforms. Even if your list is small, I'd encourage you to have regular communication optimize your flows. And if you do want help or you do want to be an awesome platform, I highly recommend our friends at Omnisend. You can check out one of our programs on the Founder plus platform. We have a dollar trial. You can check it out. Founder.com membership, designed specifically for beginners, walks you through how to set up everything properly, setting up your flows, growing your list, all that good stuff, and we have an awesome deal that's just for you guys. But anyways, if you're serious about building this side of your business, I highly recommend checking that out. And as always, this thank you for listening. I will see you in the next one. Speak soon.