314: From Stay-At-Home Mom to an $845M Acquisition: How Drunk Elephant’s Tiffany Masterson Made The Leap

There are not many interviews where Nathan Chan is speechless, but this is one of them. If you want to learn how to find product market fit, build a successful team, and create a lasting business, then Uri Levine has the map. Levine is the co-founder of two unicorn startups–Waze and Moovit. He’s been a founder, investor, and chairman for more than ten successful startups focusing on solving big problems. His new book “Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution-a Handbook for Entrepreneurs” was called “The Bible for entrepreneurs” by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.  Listen to Nathan and Uri discuss…or Nathan learn:  How to start with solving a problem Why it took four years to get Waze right  Why you need to learn how to fire before you hire Why value creation is the purpose of entrepreneurship How to measure product market fit Convincing the “holy grail” of customers  Why most startups fail Why there are only right decisions And much more product market fit wisdom… 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

14 Jul 20231h 2min

Manuel Mueller started his first mattress company when he was 19 years old, and since then, he has never stopped iterating to create the perfect mattress. In 2013, he launched sleepwear company Emma, one of Europe’s fastest-growing sleep innovation companies, with mattresses, beds, and pillows sold in over 30 countries to 4 million customers. Learn the marketing strategies and mindset that allowed Emma to endure the DTC mattresses boom and continually have 30% year-over-year growth.  Listen to Nathan and Manuel discuss:  Starting his first mattress company at 19 years old  Finding product market fit by doing customer service  Standing out in the competitive DTC mattress boom Approaching product development research as a startup Why you shouldn’t raise money to raise money Advice on entering a new national market  Marketing attribution hacks for small businesses How your mindset can overcome your competition And much more DTC marketing 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

7 Jul 202344min

Ali Ghosdi was a reluctant founder. He planned to become an academic researcher and professor, not lead a successful tech startup. In 2013, alongside six other co-founders, Ghosdi helped build an open-source data product called Apache Spark, a best-of-breed future predicting code. The research project eventually became a business called Databricks. In 2016, he was picked as CEO and helped transform the open-source startup into a technology enterprise with a $38 billion valuation. Databricks boasts investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Microsoft, and Amazon.  Nathan and Ali discuss: Being a reluctant startup co-founder Partnering with Andreessen Horowitz as their first investor The pros and cons of having co-founders The pressure of living up to early success Transforming an open-source startup into a revenue enterprise  The difference between professional and founder CEOs How startups and small businesses can use AI tools right now. Why product market fit is an art How to work backward in your business  Why you shouldn’t listen to the consensus  And much more data, AI, and product 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

30 Jun 202349min

If your business or brand has a podcast, listen up. In this episode, we’re diving into the current state of podcasting with Max Cutler, Parcast founder, Spotify’s former head of talk creator content, and The Hollywood Reporter’s most powerful people in podcasting. Cutler became a podcast pioneer when he bootstrapped his true crime network, which sold to Spotify in 2019 for $100 million according to the Financial Times. As a Spotify executive, he signed and produced the most popular podcasting personalities, including Alexandra Cooper, Joe Rogan, and Brené Brown. In the Spring of 2023, Cutler announced he was leaving Spotify to jump back into his first love–entrepreneurship. In this exclusive interview, Cutler reveals what it takes to create a successful podcast and what founders should focus on.  Listen to Nathan and Max discuss:  Launching and growing Parcast on simplicity  How the Spotify deal come about  Identifying and working with talent Knowing when it’s right to sell your business  Why he chose to leave Spotify  What differentiates a successful podcast? Pathways to building a business around podcasting What type of podcast he’d start in 2023 And much more podcasting and entrepreneur 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

23 Jun 202349min

Michelle Zatlyn and her co-founders were outsiders when they moved to Silicon Valley to launch their web security startup. It was 2009, in the middle of a recession, but the team knew their visceral early-user feedback validated the need to be bold. In 2010, Cloudflare launched its first freemium product and hasn’t looked back. Today, Cloudflare has four million customers worldwide, surpassed a $1 billion revenue run rate, and employs 3,200 team members. Zatlyn currently serves as the publicly traded company’s president and CEO. She is one of the few women founders leading a public tech business.  Listen to Nathan and Michelle discuss:  A “made for TV” meeting with her co-founders Validating an idea with visceral feedback Being a Silicon Valley outsider Starting a tech business during a recession Launching a product MVP Six business reasons to have a freemium product  Being a female founder in the tech industry And much more tech founder 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

17 Jun 202358min

Since 2006, Immad Akhund has been investing in and building startups. But he always struggled with working with traditional banks to run his startups, especially as a non-US resident. He figured someone else would solve it, but the issue was still on the table by the time he exited his fourth startup in 2017. So, he launched Mercury, a bank for startups that now is a fintech unicorn valued at $1.62 billion. On the side, Akhund also is an angel investor of 240-plus startups, many of which are unicorns.  Listen to Nathan and Immad discuss:  How failure hooked him onto entrepreneurship  The origins of Mercury as a fix for startup banking How he used Twitter to earn customers Why the journey is better than the end result  Where he invests in future-state startups What makes a strong entrepreneur  Why your small customers matter  Common mistakes startups make with banks And much more fintech 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

9 Jun 202344min

Your first product won’t always be your best seller. Jessica Rolph’s organic baby food business Happy Family Organics failed twice before finding product market fit and scaling from $0 to $63M in sales. After exiting HappyFamily in 2016, Rolph launched Lovevery, a subscription brand that sells early-childhood development play kits and solutions. Lovevery has 300,000+ active subscribers and has been named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies.”  Listen to Nathan and Jessica discuss:  How she discovered a market for Lovevery and Happy Family Why Happy Family failed twice before they even launched The bootstrapped early days living in New York City  Exiting to Danone and dreaming about Lovevery  Why ugly prototypes are the way to go How Happy Family’s best-seller came about by accident How to find product market fit for retail and DTC If you need a subscription product How to retain customers  And much more product 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

2 Jun 202358min

Adrian Grenier was a rebellious artist before he was known for his acting roles in Entourage, Devil Wears Prada, and Clickbait. Now he’s a rebellious entrepreneur, investor, and activist. Learn how Grenier’s disenchantment with fame and wealth led him to start and support social impact businesses through DuContra Ventures and Earth Speed Media with co-founder and co-CEO Bia Carminati.  Listen to Nathan and Adrian discuss: His trajectory from punk rebel artist to movie star How mortality drives our need to keep achieving  How to let go of your business to let it grow  Ba Minuzz, the business mind behind DuContra Ventures  Building trust with business partners  What he learned from his failed beer company Why sometimes you need to let go of a dream The mission of Earth Speed Media And much more social impact business 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 clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

26 Mai 202340min