Podcast
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Hosted by Foundr Media · EN
Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan.
About the show:
For over a decade, The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan has been a leading entrepreneurship podcast for open-book conversations with, by, and for founders. Whether you're starting, building, or dreaming about your business, The Foundr Podcast is where you can access experienced founders who've been in your shoes to learn their proven methods, lessons from failure, and inspirational stories.
Past guests include Emma Grede, Mark Cuban, Neil Patel, Kendra Scott, Alex Hormozi, Trinny Woodall, Tim Ferriss, Sophia Amoruso, Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins, Amy Porterfield, Ed Mylett, Michelle Zatlyn, Reid Hoffman, Scooter Braun, Dany Garcia, Marc Lore, Ariana Huffington, Pat Flynn, Lewis Howes, Jordan Harbinger, and many more.
About the host:
Nathan Chan is the CEO of Foundr and the creator of The Foundr Podcast. Chan literally started from knowing nothing. He was just an average guy working in a 9-5 job he utterly hated. He knew nothing about entrepreneurship, nothing about startups, nothing about marketing, and nothing about online or how to build a business. In the past decade, Chan's built Foundr into a global leader in entrepreneurial education, helping tens of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs start and scale their businesses.
Need help with your business?
Visit foundr.com/foundrplustrial to join a global community of entrepreneurs, gain access to proven strategies, and fast-track your business growth confidently.
160episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
671: Tori Quit The Barber Shop, Built a Brand In Her Spare Room, and Hit $1M In Under 2 Years
Jun 1000:44:18Summary readyTori Gill was still cutting hair on weekends when she sold her first 20,000 sunscreens. A former hairdresser with two kids, no e-commerce background, and a product that took two years to develop, she launched Sun & Daughter on Boxing Day 2024 and hasn't really stopped since. This is the follow-up episode - and a lot has happened. In this episode, Tori gets real about what scaling from $100K to a million-dollar brand actually looks like from the inside: the stockouts, the 54-hour Facebook ad account lockout, the $20,000 orders she had to back herself on, and the retail decision she's made that could either be her smartest move yet - or, in her own words, "the biggest mistake of my life." What you'll learn in this interview: How a consumer watchdog report on failing sunscreen SPF tests became an unexpected growth moment - and how Tori moved fast enough to capitalise on it Why she packed every order from her spare room for a full year, alongside two kids and two days a week in the barber shop, before finally moving into a warehouse the week before Christmas The exact moment a Choice magazine article turned into a sales spike, and how having your formula independently tested can become your most credible marketing asset How Tori used a trending audio format - kids in hats, waiting for SPF results - to make an ad that outperformed every polished campaign she'd ever run Why she treats her Instagram like a reality TV show, and what that means for how she handles UGC, consistent visuals, and the decision never to post other people's faces on her brand page The average order value lesson she learned from Founder that led her to build out hats, brushes, wet bags, and bundles - and push her AOV from $75 to over $111 Why she skipped Black Friday, never ran a sale in year one, and then sold 1,000 sunscreens in 24 hours the first time she did - and why she hasn't done it since Lessons from adding 5 to 10 new ad creatives every single week, and why she's changed her entire campaign structure three times in 15 months How she uses Instagram Stories polls to let her community choose product colours, hat designs, and packaging - and why it's as much about solving her own indecisiveness as it is about building loyalty What she's learned about going into major retail - the upfront stock commitments, the hidden marketing costs, and why she still doesn't know if it was the right call If you're building a product brand and starting to feel like you're holding multiple plates in the air at once - ads, content, stock, manufacturing, team, retail - this episode is worth your time. Tori doesn't have it all figured out, and she says so. But the way she thinks through each decision, tests before she scales, and keeps backing herself anyway is exactly the kind of thinking that turns a spare-room operation into something real. Ready to scale with Meta Ads the right way?Join Nick Shackelford (BREZ $90M+), Phoenix Ha, and Nathan Chan LIVE on 19 June (EDT) / 20 June (AEST) for a FREE 2-hour workshop packed with proven strategies for creative testing, customer acquisition, and profitable scale.Save your free spot: https://foundr.com/pages/fom-workshop 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 TORI GILL Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/sunanddaughter_/ Tori's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/@torigill__/ Tori's Barber Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/torigill_barber/ Website → https://www.sunanddaughter.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
Summary
670: (Solo) Why Great Products Lose to Better Offers - and How to Fix Yours
Jun 800:08:13Summary readyI see it every single time. Great product. Solid branding. Ads running. And yet it won't scale. Conversions are flat, the economics don't work, and the founder is convinced it's the creative or the funnel or the targeting. It's never the ads. It's the offer. Here's the problem: most founders spend 90% of their time perfecting the product and almost no time on the complete package around it. The framing, the bundle, the guarantee, the AOV. And without that, no amount of ad spend is going to save you. In this episode, I break down what a deliberately engineered offer actually looks like, why getting it right is the single biggest unlock for scaling, and the real-world examples from our Foundr Operators members and the brands spending $100K-plus a day that prove it. Here's what you'll take away: Why conversion problems are almost always an economics and offer problem, not a product, creative, or funnel problem How IM8 turned a supplement powder into an irresistible offer and why every element of their bundle is deliberately engineered How Foundr Operators member Emma tripled her brand's revenue with Sisu without increasing traffic, just by rebuilding her offer The AOV floor every e-commerce brand needs to hit before paid ads can scale profitably What makes an offer feel risk-free: guarantees, social proof, returns policy, and friction reduction done right Why your customer isn't buying a product. They're buying certainty, value, and the feeling that this is the obvious choice If your ads aren't scaling and your conversion rate isn't moving, stop tweaking your creative and start here. Getting the offer right is the thing that changes the trajectory, and everything else gets easier once it clicks. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. Ready to scale with Meta Ads the right way?Join Nick Shackelford (BREZ $90M+), Phoenix Ha, and Nathan Chan LIVE on 19 June (EDT) / 20 June (AEST) for a FREE 2-hour workshop packed with proven strategies for creative testing, customer acquisition, and profitable scale.Save your free spot: https://foundr.com/pages/fom-workshop 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
Summary
669: They Built a Luxury Beauty Brand in Year One — With a Team of Two | Brunel
Jun 400:53:19Summary readyA Victoria's Secret Angel and a Goldman Sachs investor built one of the most talked-about luxury body care launches in recent memory without raising a cent or paying a single influencer. Jasmine Tookes spent two decades on the world's biggest runways turning down incubator deal after incubator deal, waiting to build something real. When she finally met Sabrina Carstensen—who spent years evaluating consumer brands at Goldman—they launched Brunel bootstrapped, profitable, and with a two-person team that pushed their chemists harder than any brand they'd ever worked with. In this interview, the co-founders of Brunel break down how they built a luxury body care brand from scratch on a lean budget, why organic community came before paid ads, and what it actually takes to get suppliers and manufacturers to take a self-funded brand seriously. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why Jasmine turned down 15 years of incubator deals before building her own brand • How they kept capital in reserve for collection two before collection one ever sold • Why word of mouth and organic TikTok drove their entire early growth—no paid influencers • Why the three-oil bundle outsold every individual product on launch day • The packaging crisis four months before launch—and how sheer persistence solved it • Why they stayed fully organic for six months before turning on paid ads • How Sabrina's investor background shapes every capital decision at Brunel • Why they didn't hire until they were ready—not desperate • Why their chemists said no brand had ever pushed them this hard • What Miranda Kerr's 11 years building Kora taught Jasmine about legacy brands If you're building a beauty or lifestyle brand, trying to grow profitably without burning cash on paid ads before you're ready, or just want the real story behind what luxury brand building looks like on a bootstrapped budget, this conversation will change how you think about product standards, community, and building something that lasts beyond the founder's name. Ready to scale with Meta Ads the right way?Join Nick Shackelford (BREZ $90M+), Phoenix Ha, and Nathan Chan LIVE on 19 June (EDT) / 20 June (AEST) for a FREE 2-hour workshop packed with proven strategies for creative testing, customer acquisition, and profitable scale.Save your free spot: https://foundr.com/pages/fom-workshop 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 BRUNEL Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/brunel/ Website → https://brunelbeauty.com/ Jasmin's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jastookes/ 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
Summary
668: (Solo) The One Marketing Concept Behind the Fastest Growing DTC Brands Right Now
Jun 100:09:59Summary readyMost founders think their product is different. But if your marketing sounds like everyone else's — better ingredients, better results, better formula — your customer hears nothing. Because when everything sounds the same, nothing stands out. Here's the problem: customers don't just buy outcomes. They buy belief that your way of getting there is different. And without a unique mechanism, you're leaving that belief on the table — and handing the sale to whoever communicates their difference more clearly. In this episode, I break down the concept of unique mechanisms — what they are, why the fastest growing DTC brands all have one, and how to find and articulate yours even if you think you don't have one yet. Here's what you'll take away: What a unique mechanism actually is — and why naming the process, not just the outcome, is what makes a product feel proprietary How IMAÉ's "90-plus clinically dosed ingredients across nine organ systems" turns a supplement into a category of one Why Instant Hydration's Sel Gris sourcing and Pillar Performance's triple magnesium are textbook examples of mechanism done right How WHOOP repositioned from fitness tracker to "recovery-based performance system" — and why that framing is the whole game The four questions to ask yourself right now to uncover the unique mechanism you already have but aren't communicating Why most founders already have something differentiated — they just can't articulate it clearly enough to make customers believe it If your ads aren't converting the way they should, or your product feels like it's competing on price instead of value, this episode will show you exactly what's missing — and how to fix it before your next campaign. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — 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
Summary
667: He Built a $300M Men's Grooming Brand in JUST Three Years | MANSCAPED
May 2800:48:05Summary readyPaul Tran started Manscaped with $50,000, a bloody problem nobody was talking about, and a category that didn't exist. The company hit $300 million in revenue in just 36 months, eventually turned down a $1 billion SPAC deal, and has become the #3 men's grooming brand in a category dominated by companies over 100 years old—while staying profitable the entire way. In this interview, the founder and CEO of Manscaped breaks down the exact DTC playbook that got him from 10,000 units sold out in two weeks to nine figures in annual media spend, why he waited until $50–60 million in marketing spend before entering retail, and the counterintuitive brand decisions—including turning down better-performing ads—that built one of the most recognizable men's lifestyle brands in the world. What you'll learn in this interview: • How Paul identified a completely unaddressed category and validated it with just 10,000 units and $5-a-day Facebook ads • Why Manscaped had lower revenue than Paul's other two businesses at launch—and the three signals that told him it had the highest potential • The $18,000 mistake that wiped out a third of the starting budget in one hour—and what it taught him about brand vs. performance media • Why he deliberately waited until $50–60 million in annual media spend before entering retail—and why most brands jump in too early • The brand values decision that cost them short-term revenue: why they turned down better-converting ads that used provocative imagery • How 66% of first-time buyers chose a starter kit—and the bundle-testing framework behind it • Why he walked away from a $1 billion SPAC deal in 2021—and why that decision looks like genius three years later • The post-purchase upsell structure that turns a single transaction into a lifetime customer • Why consumer brands should never adopt the VC "raise and burn" playbook—and how Manscaped scaled to $300M while staying profitable • What Paul would do radically differently if he started today—and why AI changes the entire early-stage playbook If you're building a DTC brand, trying to figure out the right time to go into retail, or looking for the real story behind how a category-defining brand gets built from scratch on a shoestring, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about timing, positioning, and what profitable scale actually looks like. 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 PAUL TRAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/paultran/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhtran/ Website → https://www.manscaped.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
Summary
666: Jess & Victor Started A Jewellery Brand With $2,000 — Now It Brings In $40K A Month
May 2700:35:07Summary readyVictor Chan bought a $2,000 engraving machine off Amazon to make his girlfriend Jess a necklace — a hand-engraved star map of the exact moment they met. She thought it was the most thoughtful gift she'd ever received, and two weeks later they had a store. Two years on, By Lumine is doing $30–40K a month and Jess has quit her accounting job to go all in. A software engineer and a Big Four accountant — both with zero e-commerce or marketing experience — they started with $100 worth of blank pendants, cardboard packaging with a sticker logo, and a lot of figuring it out on evenings and weekends. What they built is a fully customisable, hand-assembled personalised jewellery brand where no two pieces are the same, consistently hitting 10x growth year on year. In this episode, Jess and Victor get completely honest about what the first two years actually looked like — two weeks with zero sales after launch, wasted batches from engraving errors, influencer gifting that went nowhere, and how US tariffs hit them just as they were finding their feet. What you'll learn in this interview: How a personal gift sparked a business idea — and the Etsy research that validated there was a real market for it Why starting with $100 worth of blank pendants and a $50 sticker logo is a legitimate launch strategy The early production mistakes that wasted entire batches — and the lesson on communicating with manufacturers down to the millimetre Why two weeks of zero sales nearly broke them — and what finally turned things around How Victor's software background became an unexpected competitive advantage — and the live preview tool that changed their conversion rate Why Meta ads outperformed every other channel for an emotional, personalised product — and how they learned it all from scratch The honest truth about influencer marketing: what they tried, what it cost, and why it didn't convert How they grew 10x in a single year while both still working full time jobs What getting hit by US tariffs mid-growth actually feels like — and how they kept going anyway Why Jess wishes she'd started earlier — and what she'd tell any founder sitting on the fence If you're thinking about starting something with your partner, building a brand in a saturated market, or just trying to figure out whether the grind of evenings and weekends is actually worth it — this episode will change how you think about what a real start looks like. Jess and Victor prove that the scrappiest beginnings can lead somewhere genuinely remarkable. 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 LUMINE Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bylumine_/ Website → https://bylumine.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
Summary
665: (Solo) Why Waiting Until You Feel Ready Is the Biggest Mistake You Can Make
May 2500:07:47Summary readyI still remember the day I launched Foundr. After all that work, all that effort — I made $5.50. And when I told someone close to me, they laughed. I was embarrassed, jaded, and genuinely questioning whether any of it was worth it. Here's the truth: that feeling never fully goes away. It just shows up in different forms. And if you're avoiding it, you're avoiding the exact things that grow your business. In this episode, I share why embarrassment isn't a sign you're doing something wrong — it's a sign you're doing something that matters — and walk through the real stories, including one of our Foundr Plus members who went from terrified of founder-led content to selling out her brand in days. Here's what you'll take away: Why visibility isn't about confidence or personality — it's about reps, and what happens when you commit to showing up before you feel ready How Foundr Plus member Donna launched Journey, put herself out there, got a shoutout from Brittany Saunders, and sold out in days The pattern every successful founder shares: awkward beginnings that nobody sees, and what that means for where you are right now Why avoiding embarrassment doesn't protect you — it just slows your growth How the discomfort of posting, launching, pitching, and hiring compounds into a skill set that gets easier over time The reframe that changes everything: stop asking "what if this is embarrassing?" and start asking "what if this moves my business forward?" If you've been sitting on a piece of content, a product launch, or a partnership pitch because it doesn't feel ready — this episode will show you that the discomfort you're feeling isn't a warning sign. It's the starting point. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — 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
Summary
664: He Changed How the World Builds Startups. Now He's Warning You About What Comes Next | Eric Ries
May 2100:56:51Summary readyEric Ries wrote the book that changed how the entire world builds startups. Now he's back with a more urgent argument: the way we're taught to build companies is quietly turning them against everything that made them worth building in the first place. The creator of The Lean Startup has spent years watching mission-driven founders get fired from their own companies, watching the spark that started everything get extinguished by the very success they worked so hard to create—and he's finally written the blueprint to stop it. In this interview, Eric breaks down the core ideas behind his new book Incorruptible, why your corporate charter was designed to sound boring so you'd ignore it, and how the loyalty of your best customers is the most valuable—and most endangered—asset your business has. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why the metrics you're tracking are actively destroying customer loyalty—and what to measure instead • The IMVU pivot story: how six months of data finally broke through Eric's stubbornness and forced the pivot that saved the company • Why product improvements that don't change customer behavior aren't improvements at all • How to know when it's time to pivot—and why the real problem is never the decision itself but getting your team to agree on the facts • Why DTC brands are systematically burning their most loyal customers with re-acquisition marketing they've already earned • The Saul Price story: how the founder of Fed-Mart was locked out of his own company—and came back to build Costco • Why only 20% of founders are still CEO three years after IPO—and the governance decisions made at founding that cause it • Why your corporate structure was deliberately designed to sound boring so you'll ignore it until it's too late • The two paths every mission-driven founder must master: the path of ethos and the path of integrity • How Novo Nordisk's 100-year-old governance structure—built by a Nobel laureate in the 1920s—accidentally created the most profitable pharmaceutical in history If you're an early-stage founder, a DTC operator who cares about building something that lasts, or anyone who's ever wondered why the companies that start with the most idealism seem to end up the most corrupt, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about structure, loyalty, and what it actually means to build a company worth protecting. 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 ERIC RIES Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ Website → https://theleanstartup.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
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663: (Solo) More SKUs, More Problems — The Case for Going Deeper, Not Wider
May 1800:13:23Summary readyWhen I started getting serious about e-commerce, I genuinely believed the more products you had, the more successful you'd be. More SKUs meant scaling. I was completely wrong. Here's the problem: most founders launch a hero product, get early traction, and then the anxiety kicks in. What if it runs out of steam? What if a competitor copies me? So they launch a second product, then a third — and suddenly they're mediocre at five things instead of exceptional at one. In this episode, I share how I built and sold a seven-figure brand off a single water bottle, and break down how IM8 — co-founded by David Beckham — hit $120 million in annualised revenue in under a year on essentially one product, and what both stories mean for how you should be thinking about your brand right now. Here's what you'll take away: Why the urge to launch a second product is almost always driven by fear — and how to reframe it The three questions to ask yourself before you add a single new SKU How AG1, Liquid IV, and IM8 all built empires off one hero product — and what that blueprint looks like for a smaller brand Why going deeper on your hero product is a stronger competitive defence than launching more products The rule of thumb for knowing when you're actually ready to expand — and the mistake I made with Healthish that I'd do differently How simplicity in your product lineup directly improves your margins, your ops, and your mental bandwidth If you're thinking about launching a second product line before your first one is fully optimised, this episode will show you exactly what to focus on instead — and what's possible when you commit to doing one thing at the highest level possible. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — 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
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662: I Bet Everything On Sugar Free Candy — Now It Brings In $100 Million A Year
May 1400:54:14Summary readyDaniel Kitay put everything he had—his savings, his mortgage, and two months before his first child was born—on a container ship full of sugar-free gummy lollies from Switzerland. When a $250,000 shipping bill landed before he'd sold a single product, he had no option but to make it work. Five years later, Funday Natural Sweets does over $100 million in retail sales across 8,000 stores in Australia alone, selling a product every single second. In this interview, the founder of Funday breaks down how he convinced Chemist Warehouse to submit a purchase order before he had funding, why he deliberately avoided the confectionery aisle to sidestep Nestlé, Mars, and Mondelez, and his brutally honest take on when retail will make you—and when it will destroy you. What you'll learn in this interview: • How Daniel convinced Chemist Warehouse to submit a purchase order before he had a single dollar of funding • Why a $250,000 shipping bill with no backup plan was the moment that forced Funday to work • The $50,000 stock mistake that accidentally invented their limited edition drop strategy • Why he deliberately launched in the health food aisle—not the confectionery aisle—to avoid competing with the multinationals • The symbiotic DTC and retail flywheel: how retail drives online discovery and online fuels in-store velocity • Why he spent $25,000 on a brand agency before launch—and the real reason behind that decision • His brutally honest take on retail: when it's the biggest unlock for scale, and when it will wreck your margins • How Funday runs a $100 million business with just 25 employees—and the two-part hiring filter that makes it possible • Why he's launching into US retail nationwide in September, and the economies of scale that finally made it possible If you're building a CPG brand, weighing up when to take the leap into retail, or trying to figure out how DTC and bricks-and-mortar can work together instead of against each other, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about distribution, risk, and what it actually takes to build a category from scratch. 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 DANIEL KITAY Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fundaysweets/ LinkedIn → https://au.linkedin.com/in/daniel-kitay Website → https://www.fundaysweets.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
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