Foundr Magazine Podcast | Learn From Successful Founders & Proven Entrepreneurs, The Ultimate Startup Podcast For Business

Kirin Sinha never wanted to run a startup. She was on a secure path in academics when her research into augmented reality (AR) showed her a vision of the future. So, at 25 years old, Sinha launched Illumix, an AR technology and media company focused on developing immersive experiences for mobile. To date, Illumix has secured $31M in venture capital funding, including investment from acclaimed director Michael Bay. In this episode, you’ll learn how to invest in the metaverse and lead a business with a vision toward the future.  Listen to Nathan and Kirin discuss:  Why Illumix is “metaverse insurance”  How Star Wars inspired her research  Getting accepted into Disney’s accelerator Creating a Fright Night at Freddy’s prototype  The hype cycle around the metaverse  Why you should invest in 3D assets over 2D How digital twins can help ecommerce businesses How director Michael Bay became an investor  Why she thinks of fundraising as dating Framing goal setting as learning  Why you should give your opin

Have you felt the pain yet? Eventually, all founders face a battle with burnout or anxiety. So, where do you go when the momentum is drained? How do you stop treading water every day? In this episode, Nathan Chan and Dan Martell open up about the pain they’ve experienced trying to build successful businesses. Martell is an entrepreneur, angel investor, thought leader, and founder of SaaS Academy, the No. 1 coaching program for SaaS companies. He’ll teach you healthy strategies from his new book BUY BACK YOR TIME, so you can learn to integrate your work and life.  Nathan and Dan discuss: How a rehab program saved his life How he first got into SaaS  The three levels of time trades Work/life integration and ​​emotional shrapnel  How to build a perfect week How to work through burnout  The “buyback” principle and loop  4 ways to create leverage in your time  The 1-3-1 method  And much more advice on founder health... Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't for

Roland Peralta was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010. So, he researched a botanical that could keep his symptoms at bay and inadvertently improved his hair quality. Over dinner, future co-founder and friend Giorgos Tseti shared his hair loss struggles and that he was looking for an organic solution. Their initial research turned into a 10-year relationship that’s built Nutrafol into the #1 dermatology-recommended hair growth supplement in America.  Listen to Nathan and Roland discuss:  The challenges of his businesses in fashion and beauty   What is “biohacking,” and using it for Nutrafol  How stress became the problem and solution for Nutrafol  Self-funding Nutrafol by eating beans and rice Why one vulnerable article 10x Nutrafol’s monthly sales Developing a seeding strategy with health professionals  Why conferences are the best place to get product endorsements  How to temper the expectations of the customers  Fiscal responsibility as a startup  And much more clinical product advice…

How can you build a sustainability-driven business? By solving a global problem. Jordy and Julia Kay’s former careers in winemaking and architecture led to recognizing plastic waste’s impact on the planet. In 2019, the couple launched Great Wrap, working with Monash University to create the only compostable stretch wrap made from food waste. In 2022, they received $24 million in series A funding to help reach their 10-year vision of a world where plastic doesn’t exist.  Listen to Nathan discuss with Jory and Julia about:  Falling hard into a personal and business relationship Partnering with a university for commercial product research  How licensing and partnering helped Great Wrap scale faster Building a pilot factory from scratch The benefits of being both a B2B and DTC business The risk and reward of being an impact-driven business Advice for going into business with a significant other How to raise funding as a manufacturing startup  And much more impact-driven business advice… This episode

Ten years ago, Nathan Chan started Foundr Magazine to discover what it takes to build a successful business. A decade on, he’s learned the sacrifice, victories, and obstacles that it takes to create a company of value for a global community of students. In this special episode, foundr’s contributing editor, Luke Ferris, puts Chan on the hot seat to reflect on the 10-year anniversary of foundr.  Listen to Luke and Nathan discuss:  Nathan’s childhood and first jobs The origins of foundr Discovering a feeling of euphoria with foundr How he overcame burnout Memorable interviews over the decade What he’s learned from foundr students  How he’s changed as a person and leader What’s next for foundr And more founder advice… This episode is powered by 99designs by Vista, a global creative platform that makes it easy for you to work with professional freelance designers from around the world.  Together with 99designs, we’re offering you a $30 discount on your first design contest. Head to 99designs.com/fo

Kathryn Finney started her first business at age nine, selling friendship bracelets to her older brother’s friends. She’s a Yale graduate and started and exited multiple media companies, including her groundbreaking The Budget Fashionista. Even with her resume of accolades, Finney faced prejudice in the startup world just because of her gender and race. So in 2020, she used her two decades of entrepreneurship experience to start Genius Guild. This venture fund invests in black entrepreneurs building scalable businesses that serve black communities and beyond. Finney is also the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Build the Damn Thing: How to Build a Successful Company When You’re Not a Rich White Guy. In addition, she was the first black woman business author at Portfolio/Penguin Books. Listen to Nathan and Kathryn discuss:  Making $75 per week selling bracelets as a 9-year-old What her rugby career taught her about building teams Building and exiting her fashion blog during web 1.0  How digital

Jess Hatzis is the co-founder of frank body, the world's leading coffee-based skincare company, and ad agency Willow & Blake. In 10 years, Jess has built frank body from “that brand on Instagram” to a global beauty brand with over 6 million customers. Learn the origins of the #frankeffect brand voice, starting a business with friends, and shifting from ecommerce to retail. Listen to Nathan and Jess discuss:  Quitting her job and starting Willow & Blake with her best friend Starting frank body as a case study Creating the first-person #frankeffect brand voice Does influencer marketing still work? The challenge of adapting to TikTok  Mixing business and friendships When Ariana Grande copied them Moving from the “Instagram brand” stereotype  Advice for working founder moms  Copywriting fundamentals And much more beauty business advice… This episode is powered by 99designs by Vista, a global creative platform that makes it easy for you to work with professional freelance designers from around the wo

Brian Littlefield is the co-founder and chief product officer of JOCKO FUEL, which creates nutritional supplements and beverages in partnership with retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink. Littlefield and his business partner first met Jocko through their business, Origin US, which was planning to launch a line of health supplements. Jocko wanted in. Learn how Littlefield led the product development process and created a standout supplement business around Willink’s powerful personal brand.  Listen to Nathan and Brian discuss: How obesity changed his life His first impressions of Jocko Willink  How to make business partnerships work Building a business around a personal brand Dealing with the crazy growth of Jacko Fuel  How to advertise health supplements  Why you shouldn’t put value in follower count  Why he embraced the “mad scientist” label Skills from jiu-jitsu that translates to business How to develop a strong mentality And much more product development advice…  This episode is powered by 99desi

Suneera Madhani is the CEO and founder of the all-in-platform transaction platform Stax. She’s listed on Fortune’s prestigious 40 Under 40 list, a recipient of EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year award, and host of CEO School, a top 25 entrepreneur podcast with a 300,000 female-listener community. Last year, Stax became a unicorn startup with a billion-dollar valuation. But for Madhani, it’s not about milestones–it’s the journey. Learn about her incredible journey from the daughter of immigrants to a CEO breaking barriers in a male-dominated fintech startup industry.  Listen to Nathan and Suneera discuss: Her upbringing with entrepreneurial immigrant parents  What she learned from working at her family businesses  Her subscription pitch getting rejected by her bosses  Starting a business with family and friend's capital  Proving out a hypothesis with a scrappy MVP Fundraising in a male-dominated fintech community  Her “3 minds” for decision making  Mentorship and building a trusted team  Starting her podc

Is advertising spending sucking your business dry? Ronnie Teja knows the feeling. He is a self-taught digital marketer, entrepreneur, and founder of Branzio watches. In 2018, Teja lost $2 million because of a freeze on his advertising accounts. So, he quickly learned to divest his business and developed an organic SEO framework that, within 2 years, boosted website visitors from zero to 2 million per month.  Listen to Nathan and Ronnie discuss:  From picking blueberries to the managing ad campaigns The unexpected journey of starting Branzio watches When PayPal banned his accounts The 30-30-30 divestment strategy  Demystifying SEO for ecommerce  Why SEO strategy isn’t instant gratification  Why Reddit is a secret SEO tool Direct-response vs. brand marketing The importance of first-party data Burnout and imposter syndrome And much more SEO strategies… Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait,

Leadership doesn’t have to be complicated. Garie Dooley has over 15 years of experience helping founders and business leaders build phenomenal teams. After a career in education and corporate leadership, Garie discovered his passion for creating environments with high levels of trust and clarity of purpose that deliver sustainable success. He’s worked with Amazon, Redcape, Cricket NSW, AFL clubs, Foxtel, Johnson and Johnson, and our team at foundr. So if you’re looking for strategies to move your business from surviving to thriving, this episode is for you.  Listen to Nathan and Garie discuss:  The early days of his career leading business teams Working with sporting teams and corporations   Are great leaders naturally born?  Where to start if you want to become a leader What a phenomenal team looks like Winning deep, not shallow  How to build a high sense of trust  Identifying talent internally and externally Thinking differently about difficult conversations And much more leadership advice… Who

Aaron DeBevoise used to count YouTube views by hand. Now he’s helping creators like Mr. Beast, Dude Perfect, and Jordan Matter have the financial freedom to grow their businesses. After a disappointing start to his career in investment banking, DeBevoise launched the programming brand Machinima during the early days of YouTube. In 8 years, he grew Machinima into one of the most successful gamer channels on the platform. But he saw an opportunity to help creators become enterprises, so in 2019, he created Spotter, Inc. to provide capital and knowledge to creators so they can change the world. Spotter tailors investments to meet the unique needs of each creator they partner with, giving them the freedom to create without compromise.  Listen to Nathan and Aaron discuss: The “starving artist” days of early YouTube The danger of doing too many things  Why YouTube creators need capital at scale Getting Spotter off the ground The investment model of Spotter The challenge of creating a new category Bringing t

Meet the business behind the name. In 2009, Simon Sinek gave a TED Talk that has since become one of the most-watched videos of all time on TED.com, with 37 million plus views. His talk spurred NY Times best-selling books, speaking engagements, consulting gigs with globally-recognized brands, a podcast, a publishing arm, and viral quotes shared across social media. And it all started with the question–why?  Listen to Nathan and Simon discuss: What he learned from growing up internationally  Why he fell out of love with his first business Finding his why concept and sharing it with others How his time with military leaders inspired Leaders Eat Last Why there’s no such thing as “winning business” Why optimism Building a business around a personal brand What’s the most important thing for an entrepreneur  And much more advice on purpose… To learn more about Sinek’s principles, check out his books, or visit simonsinek.com. Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don'

After running a small cafe chain for over a decade, Abigail Forsyth experienced firsthand the amount of packaging waste used in the food and beverage industry. So, in 2008 she co-founded KeepCup and created the world’s first barista standard reusable cup. In the last 15 years, she built KeepUp into a multi-million dollar brand with reusable cups and bottles sold in 65 countries worldwide. Learn how she’s built a mission-driven business and adapted to the changing nature of sustainable products.  Listen to Nathan and Abigail discuss: Bringing KeepCup to life while running her cafes Getting her first B2B order using a shoebox Why behavioral change is the hardest thing to do The challenge of having B2B and B2C customers Scaling internationally and managing a growing team Becoming one of the first Australian B Corporations When a TV program doubled orders overnight The impact of Coivd-19 on the reusable industry  How to deal with copycats  And much more on mission-driven business… Enjoy 25% off Keep

Do you want to be a great leader? Do you want to build life-changing relationships with your team, customers, and colleagues? Then this is the episode for you. Dr. Adam Bandelli is a business psychologist whose childhood love for athletics motivated him to study great teams and leaders. After earning his doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology, he spent 15 years consulting on succession plans, working with boards, and coaching CEOs. Then he started a firm in 2015 called Bandelli & Associates. His firm focuses on consulting with CEOs and senior executives on hiring and onboarding senior talent, executive coaching, and executive education and learning. Bandelli is also the author of two books Relational Intelligence and What Every Leader Needs.  Listen to Nathan and Adam discuss:  Industrial-organizational psychology The 4 differentiators of his firm 3 things that make leaders great 5 keys to building life-changing relationships The leadership “mirror test” The 5 Cs of building trust Emotional

This past year, we've interviewed our most diverse selection of founders ever. So, as a special year-end treat, we're bringing together their best lessons, stories, and business advice in one final episode for 2022.  In this special episode, you'll hear valuable insights from:  Reid Hoffman and his learning experience with the PayPal mafia.  Emma Grede on developing SKIMS, Good American, and Safely.  Marc Lore and how he built a billion-dollar business in less than two years. Scooter Braun on discovering Justin Bieber. Toni Ko and how she became a self-made millionaire in her 20s.  Ed Mylett and his power of “one more” mindset. Jamie Kern Lima and why she believes in the power of authenticity.  Kendra Scott and how she built her makeup empire during a recession.  And much more... Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainin

Josh Reeves and his fellow co-founders wanted to tackle a problem they could spend decades fixing. But they didn’t want to solve something for Silicon Valley–it had to affect the masses. In Reeves’ experience, the hassle of setting up payroll and benefits was the problem to tackle. So, in 2011, the three Ph.D. dropouts spent a year building a payroll system that eventually became Gusto, a modern, online people platform that helps small businesses take care of their teams. On top of full-service payroll, Gusto offers health insurance, 401(k)s, expert HR, and team management tools. Today, Gusto has offices across the U.S and serves over 200,000 businesses. Nathan and Josh discuss: How his parents influenced his entrepreneurial mindset  Studying at Stanford and falling in love with problem-solving Why his first business didn’t have a purpose  Learning how to write code and building a payroll platform  The experience of the Y Combinator accelerator  How word of mouth and referrals drove Gusto’s initial sal

Mowbray is the co-founder of ZURU Toy Co., ZURU Edge, ZURU Tech, and Rhodes Pet Science. In 2018, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year in his home country, New Zealand, and he’s listed in the World Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. He and his siblings, co-founders Mat and Anna, are worth more than $3 billion, while the company revenue was north of $2 billion AUD in 2022. Despite their success, the siblings didn’t go into the toy business with a deep knowledge of business or manufacturing. In fact, they didn’t even know much about toys. They just had one hot air balloon model, a lot of hustle, and a willingness to learn from their mistakes. Listen to Nathan and Nick discuss: How a childhood hot air balloon model inspired the business Borrowing $20K from his parents to relocate to Hong Kong The growing pains of the early days and learning through failure  Their first toy megahits, Robo Fish and Bunch O Balloons Running a lean business using automation and no inventory The company’s 2% improvement philosophy 

Sourcing specialist Kian Golzari returns to the podcast to discuss how to develop a product from research to launch. Golzari is one of the world’s top sourcing experts. He has manufactured products for top companies and NGOs, including Tesco, the United Nations, the 2012 Olympics, Google, and more. In all, he’s sourced more than 2,500 products and works with 100 of the top sellers on Amazon. Listen to Nathan and Kian discuss: Branding vs selling Choosing a customer avatar Researching the competition  How to pick your flagship product Branding your products  Choosing a supplier How to test and adapt products And much more product development advice… Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clar

If you don’t know Mike Evans, you’ve probably used his first business when the craving for takeout hits you on a Saturday night. Evans started GrubHub in 2002 as a hobby and built it into one of the largest food delivery companies in the US, going public on the stock exchange in 2014. After exiting GrubHub, Evans took a break until he felt the pull to start a business that could benefit a community and customer base. In 2017, he started, Fixer, a “right now" home repair service that offers superior customer experiences while creating skilled employment paths in the building trades for men and women. Listen to Nathan and Mike discuss:  Starting GrubHub as a hobby website  Quitting his job and cashing out his retirement  How cofounder Matt Maloney helped scale the business Why creating value is more important than profit How delivery turned the business on its head His book Hangry and lessons on greed and empathy  Why quitting is okay Starting and building Fixer And much more founder advice… Who