281: Spartan Race’s Joe De Sena on Being in the Industry of Barbed Wire, Blood, and Bruises

281: Spartan Race’s Joe De Sena on Being in the Industry of Barbed Wire, Blood, and Bruises

Joe De Sena, like many of us, is a fitness fanatic. But his approach to fitness is a bit more...intense than most. De Sena used to participate in countless obstacle course races, Ironman events, and marathons around the world. But even those weren’t challenging enough for this hardcore athlete. That’s why, after wrapping up a decade-long career on Wall Street, De Sena decided to start his own adventure racing company. The first race De Sena hosted was on the British Virgin Islands, and it didn’t go very smoothly. That race cost De Sena half a million dollars and resulted in a participant getting lost at sea for several days. Thankfully, the races have evolved a bit since then—although are no less challenging—and are known today as the Death Race and Spartan Race, which are collectively a $60 million business that has revolutionized the world of obstacle racing. Check out this interview to learn more about De Sena’s financial, mental, and physical journey to popularizing this global franchise. Key Takeaways De Sena’s decade-long stint on Wall Street, and how it helped fund his next venture Why De Sena decided to start his own adventure racing company How the very first race De Sena hosted on the British Virgin Islands went terribly wrong for one participant The birth of Death Race and Spartan Race Why De Sena never gave up on his company, despite losing $8 million in the process over a span of 15 years How the network effect eventually helped the obstacle course races gain traction The expansion of Death Race and Spartan Race to 45 countries De Sena’s honest thoughts on work-life balance and what it takes to be an entrepreneur A sneak peek into his latest book, The Spartan Way

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631: He Built a $125M Brain Food Brand With Just 10 People | Will Nitze

631: He Built a $125M Brain Food Brand With Just 10 People | Will Nitze

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630: (Solo) How to Find People Who Actually Care About Your Business

630: (Solo) How to Find People Who Actually Care About Your Business

Most founders are desperate to hire — but they're asking the wrong question. It's not "How do I find great people?" It's "How do I find people who care as much as I need them to?" Here's the truth:...

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629: $50K to $300M+: How Two L'Oréal Employees Built Glow Recipe | Sarah Lee

629: $50K to $300M+: How Two L'Oréal Employees Built Glow Recipe | Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee went from cold-emailing 700 journalists by hand and sleeping two hours a night to building Glow Recipe into a nine-figure global skincare brand inside Sephora. And she did it without raising...

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628: (Solo) The Content Playbook I Wish I Had When I Started

628: (Solo) The Content Playbook I Wish I Had When I Started

If you’re staring at an empty Instagram feed, TikTok account, or LinkedIn page thinking, “What the hell do I even post?”, this episode is for you. Every early-stage founder hits this wall — and most s...

3 Feb 10min

627: How Lia Georgantis Built an Iconic Aussie Fashion Brand in Just 5 Years

627: How Lia Georgantis Built an Iconic Aussie Fashion Brand in Just 5 Years

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626: (Solo) Work Life Balance Is an Illusion. Here’s What Works Instead

626: (Solo) Work Life Balance Is an Illusion. Here’s What Works Instead

Most founders won’t say this out loud… work-life balance doesn’t really exist. At least not in the early years. I didn’t want balance — I was obsessed. I worked until 5 a.m., skipped sleep, skipped ho...

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625: From $70M in Debt to $1B Amazon Deal in 45 Days | Jamie Siminoff

625: From $70M in Debt to $1B Amazon Deal in 45 Days | Jamie Siminoff

One billion dollars. That’s what today’s guest built — after being rejected on Shark Tank, nearly going bankrupt multiple times, and spending millions before making a single sale. In this video, Jam...

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624: (Solo) How to Create More Than You Consume (Without Burning Out)

624: (Solo) How to Create More Than You Consume (Without Burning Out)

Most founders drown in content — YouTube, TikTok, newsletters, podcasts — but they rarely create anything themselves. And here’s the problem: consumption doesn’t build businesses; creation does. In...

20 Jan 9min

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