469 episodes
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan Foundr Media
-
- Business
-
-
4.9 • 562 Ratings
-
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.
-
Building Yeezy with Kanye and Why He Left Adidas | Eric Liedtke
When Kayne calls you on a Sunday night, you pick up. That was Eric Liedtke’s life for years as the head of global brands at Adidas, where he was instrumental in building the Yeezy brand and scaling the Adidas ecommerce platform to a multi-billion dollar business. After a 26-year corporate career, Liedtke gave it up and started from scratch as the CEO and co-founder of UNLESS Collective, a plant-based streetwear brand designed to leave zero plastic waste. Nathan Chan and Liedtke go deep into his war stories from Adidas, working with celebrity talent like Kayne, and why starting UNLESS was a humbling experience.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Liedtke climbed from a sweeper to a board member at Adidas
The origins of Yeezy, its growth, and what went wrong
That Adidas built Kayne a sample room in Calabasas
What Kayne taught him about branding
Why UNLESS partnered with skate, surf, and snow influencers
The different skills between a corporate leader and an entrepreneur
Why he thought starting a business would be easier
Why Kayne almost bought UNLESS
Why you always need to have a Plan B
Supplying t-shirts for Robert Downey Jr.
And much more product branding advice…
Click here to start your business for $1. You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine -
He Made $2.8M Getting People High | Nick Shackelford
Nick Shackelford wants to get soccer moms buzzed. His brand, BRĒZ, targets consumers who want to relax without a hangover in the morning. The challenge is getting BRĒZ sold online to soccer moms when selling the product isn’t fully legal. Shackelford is the co-founder and managing partner at Structured Social and is Foundr’s How to Run Facebook Ads course instructor. But in this episode, Nathan Chan talks to a different Nick–the co-founder of THC beverage brand BRĒZ. He started the business in 2023 to show his clients that Facebook ads work. What happened next is truly extraordinary.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Shackelford started over with a THC beverage product
How BRĒZ earned $2.8M in sales in the first 10 months
Why BRĒZ came at the highest price point in the market
Why did they target soccer moms trying to get a buzz
About Shackelford’s sympathy for his advertising clients
Competing against the massive alcohol market
How Shackelford structures his ad campaigns
The grey area around THC product advertising
Why they spend $25K on ad per day
And much more CBD and THC product advice…
Click here to start your business for $1. You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine -
Why Twitter Rejected His AI Tool | Alex Elias
When Alex Elias started Qloo, “artificial intelligence” was a dirty word. A decade later, Qloo is a pioneer in AI. Qloo is an AI decision-making platform that helps corporate clients predict audience tastes and preferences. Elias says that we’re still in “the Napster era of AI” and that the hype will eventually become a subtle integration into our lives. In this episode, Elias shares about being an early adopter of AI and how he’s endured the hype to build a trusted business that Twitter once rejected.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
Why AI brings more problems for entrepreneurs to solve
The advantages and disadvantages of being an early adopter
When Qloo landed and lost Twitter as a client
How not to lose your identity in your business
How to develop long-term stamina as a founder
Why Elias biked commuted in NYC for years
How to use AI for your business beyond generative tools
Why AI will become more subtle in the future
And much more AI and founder mindset advice…
Click here to start your business for $1. You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine -
How Shay Mitchell Is Disrupting a $17B Industry
Shay Mitchell loves it when people approach her in public and ask about her luggage instead of a selfie. The multi-hyphenate founder never wanted her brand to be BÉIS by Shay Mitchell; she wanted her business to stand alone as a solution for customers. Mitchell is an actress, producer, entrepreneur, activist, mother, and author. She’s best known for her work on the hit show "Pretty Little Liars,” but has transitioned the Hollywood glitz for the boardroom blitz. Since 2017, she’s founded three companies: Amore & Vita Productions, BÉIS travel wear, and Onda canned sparkling tequila.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the name play a huge part in BÉIS development
Mitchell’s philosophy of learning
Why she’s still a consumer first
About the lengthy sampling and design process for BÉIS
How BÉIS turned negative publicity into a viral pop-up event
Four ways to partner with talent for your business.
How Drake became Onda’s first and best customer
About Mitchell’s new upcoming travel show Thirst
If she’s ever returning to YouTube
And much more brand, business, and founder advice…
Click here to start your business for $1. You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine -
How One Product Made Him $40M | Ezra Firestone
Ezra Firestone’s businesses generated $70M in revenue last year, but he says he’s just “some guy.” He started his first ecommerce store in 2006, selling Marge Simpson wigs. Despite being a high school dropout with no experience or education, he was determined to make his business work. Two decades later, he’s invested and co-founded five successful businesses, including Smart Marketer, an ecom education platform that helps entrepreneurs run stores that generate over $20 million in yearly revenue. In this episode, Firestone leans on his decades of experience to outline the fundamentals of a revenue-generating ecom business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why you don’t have to be “book smart” to be successful
Firestone’s step-by-step sales funnel
Why you need a basket-building product at the beginning
The benefit of a merchandising strategy
The three core aspects of business
What conversion-based commerce means
A TikTok Shop secret
How he almost went broke selling 8,000 Marge Simpson wigs
Why having fun helps you win in business
And much more ecom strategies and advice…
Click here to start your business for $1. You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine -
How to Create Pain Killer Products | Guy Kawasaki
At 67, Guy Kawasaki is still evangelizing about products. After building a tech career at Apple under Steve Jobs, Kawasaki set out on a winding career path, including founding startups, giving viral Ted Talks, investing in unicorns like Canva, and writing 16 books. Eight years after his last podcast appearance, Nathan Chan catches up with Kawasaki to distill his decades of wisdom down to the essential functions of creating a painkiller product that people love.
In this interview you’ll learn:
The two key functions of entrepreneurs
Why remarkable people have a growth mindset
When Steve Jobs tricked Guy while working at Apple
Getting mistaken for Jackie Chan
What makes a mission-led a**hole worth working for
How to create painkiller products for customers
To build confidence in small successes
Why failure is okay, but you should try and prevent it
What is evangelism marketing and how to use it for business
And much more founder advice and stories…
Click here to start your business for $1.
You’ll get all-access foundr+, where you’ll find more in-depth, proven strategies from founders like our guest today and support and advice from our global community of 30,000 founders.
If you loved this conversation and learned something new, rate and review this episode.
Stay in touch with us, follow foundr on your favorite platform:
Foundr.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Magazine
Customer Reviews
Amazing Content!
As far as business podcast go! This is such an amazing #podcast. I’ve been a loyal listener and listened to tons of episode and learned so much and has made me much more competent in business and I feel has helped sculpt me I to a better individual. Thank you to Nathan Chan and the #Foundr team!
Wow!!!
Everything about Foundr is simply amazing! Love this podcast, it’s super impactful.
This is a terrific Podcast!!
Loved this podcast and really enjoyed the episode with Kathryn Finney and learning about her Genius Guild venture that invests in black entrepreneurs building scalable businesses in black communities and beyond. Amazing episode and take aways!