The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Yancey Strickler, Author and Kickstarter Co-Founder In this inspiring podcast interview, Nathan Chan sits down with Kickstarter co-founder and author Yancey Strickler to discuss his 'Bento Box' method for making better decisions, how his company Kickstarter found it’s feet, and our unhealthy obsession with “financial maximization”.  Strickler was working as a music journalist in New York when a chance encounter with future co-founder Perry Chen in a restaurant led to the creation of Kickstarter, and crowdfunding as a category-defining player in a new field.  A writer at heart, Stickler used his time post-Kickstarter to write the groundbreaking This Could Be Our Future. An in-depth look at our current obsession with financial gain, and how society has conditioned us to always choose whatever will make the most money. Making the right choices in life is a mission close to Strickler’s heart. As such, he created the revolutionary “Bento Box” framework, an inspiring and humbling process for individuals and businesses alike to frame and structure their decisions. This podcast is one of our most inspiring insights into human nature and the importance of caring for our future selves and our future business. Learn from Strickler as he gives you the secret Bento Box method to help you make the right decisions in life. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss! Key Takeaways Strickler discusses how the idea for Kickstarter came about in 2005 while working in the music industry Why it took Strickler close to 4 years for the idea to be executed The conscious decision to frame Kickstarter as a funding method for passion projects and new ideas rather than a charity platform Why Kickstarter was originally called “Kickstartr” Pitching the idea of Kickstarter and the initial investors, and getting Andy Baio onboard with the project How they went from unpaid developers to profitability in 14 months The effect of being a category-defining player in a new field  Stepping down from his position at Kickstarter Strickler’s new book “This Could Be Our Future” and our current obsession with Financial Maximisation: whatever makes the most money is the right decision Strickler’s Bento Framework Now Me: profitability  Future Me: as a business, your values Now Us: stakeholders, employees, suppliers, etc. Future Us: the bigger idea of what you want to be Key Resources From Our Interview  https://www.ystrickler.com/book

27 Okt 20201h 5min

Kamal Ravikant, Author and Founder, Venture Capitalist In this special podcast interview, Nathan Chan sits down with renowned author and founder Kamal Ravikant to discuss his thoughts on mentorship, entrepreneurs, and everything in between.  Ravikant traces his journey back to a point in time most entrepreneurs face: he was doing too much and he was burnt out. In fact, it took losing everything for him to realize what he needed to change: his mindset. Throughout his journey, the ups and downs, the lows and highs, Ravikant is a master of maintaining a balance between persistence and open-mindedness in everything he does.  Listen in as Ravikant discloses the powerful reason he chose to write his bestselling book: 'Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It', and how the book developed from a self-published book to a global success spreading joy and love published in 16 languages.  This podcast is raw, honest, and a deep insight into personal growth. Learn from Ravikant as he discloses the universal importance of loving yourself, being humble, and caring deeply. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss! Key Takeaways Ravikant holds the honor of being the fourth ever podcast interview by Foundr back in 2014 His beginnings riding the wave of the internet boom  Why it took losing everything to realize he needed to change his mindset His ideology that you should build a business by identifying a problem and creating a solution first The power investors hold over entrepreneurs, and what drove him to become a doer Why he believes in having a strong entrepreneur mindset His re-launch of the global bestseller Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It published in 16 languages worldwide Ravikant discusses his upcoming projects and behind-the-scenes of funds Ravikant addresses the changes in Silicon Valley, and what advice he would give to upcoming entrepreneurs Why you need to be humble and care deeply, always.

20 Okt 20201h 1min

Joanna Griffiths CEO Knixwear CEO of global intimates brand Knixwear Joanna Griffiths sits down with Nathan Chan to reveal how she took $20k to and made $50m in revenue last year.  In this wonderfully inspiring episode, Griffiths’ discusses how she became an “accidental entrepreneur” with Knixwear. Initially begun as a passion project to create high-quality leak-proof intimates, Griffiths’ put aside her initial goal to run her own media company and instead decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.    In school, her business plan won a competition, and she used the $20k prize to begin chasing her dream of solving a universal problem. After years of trials and errors, including a first-time sample order of 40,000 pairs of underwear, Knixwear quickly found it’s feet and is now a $50m a year company. Knixwear has 85 employees globally, and Griffiths’ still reels at the idea that her company sells an item every 6 seconds.  Listen in as Griffiths’ discusses the lows and the highs of being a first-time business owner, TV advertising, and why she always chooses the path of risk so she doesn’t look back and wonder “what if”.  Key Takeaways How Griffiths’ original plan to run her own media company led her to pursue her MBA How her intimates brand Knixwear began as high-quality leak-proof underwear Why Griffiths dedicated her time to solving this universal problem, and why she feels she is an accidental entrepreneur as a result Why she chose to take a chance rather than risk looking back with regret Griffiths’ discusses her initial business funding: she won a business plan competition at school and received $20k  How she used the $20k for product development, launching, and crowd-funding Griffiths’ reveals that the first order was the biggest mistake, but she values progress over perfection Knixwear has passed $50m annual revenue, and that they sell an item every 6 seconds Griffiths’ discusses the early days of wholesale business, and the struggles first-time entrepreneurs face How she identified her target market and shaped her product accordingly

13 Okt 202055min

Ulrich Boser, CEO, The Learning Agency Founder and CEO of The Learning Agency, best-selling author, and Foundr course Instructor Ulrich Boser sits down for an in-depth discussion on becoming a better learner, the misinformation surrounding information, and the big secret to mastering any skill (and we mean any skill).  The ability to absorb and retain information effectively is often thought of as some sort of elusive skill that you’re born with, but Boser seeks to dispel this once and for all. The ability to learn effectively isn’t something assigned at birth, no one has a “set learning” style, and your ability to absorb information ultimately comes down to how you decide to approach everything. Author of the best-selling Learn Better, Boser reveals to Foundr’s Nathan Chan why he started his company, why feedback is crucial, and why he believes everyone should throw away their highlighters if they want to learn better.  In this conversation, Boser takes everything you thought you knew about learning and spins it on its head. If you have any questions about Boser’s upcoming course, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.  Key Takeaways Boser discusses how his childhood sparked his passion to hone and master the ability to pick up skills effectively Why Boser began The Learning Agency Boser discusses the prevalence of learning myths Common learning myths and why they impact learning Why active learning will always overshadow passive learning How to engage with the material; quiz yourself, and identify gaps in your knowledge  Why previous knowledge on a topic will boost your learning The importance of feedback on your learning

6 Okt 202050min

Malcolm Ong has never shied away from change. In fact, his ability to adapt is what has given him a front-row seat to multiple business transformations—first as the co-founder of education platform Skillshare to now as the Head of Product at South China Morning Post. After launching Skillshare in 2010, Ong led the business through a significant pivot—from being a completely offline, in-person model to one that’s now membership-based and 100% online. In the process, he also witnessed the massive growth of the online education industry, which has only been sped up by the Covid-19 pandemic. After leaving Skillshare, Ong joined South China Morning Post, a global, English-language news media company owned by Alibaba. His job has been to transform this company from a traditional, local newspaper into a more modern, global media empire. A task that he has exceeded, as he’s grown their number of monthly active users from 4 million to over 50 million and significantly expanded the outlet’s readership beyond Asia. In this conversation, Ong gives us a deeper dive into these milestones throughout his fascinating career and shares his best recommendations on how to transform a business. If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.  Key Takeaways Why Ong decided to tackle the education industry How Skillshare launched as a 100% offline education platform  What contributed to Skillshare’s success The scalability issues that Skillshare faced, and how this led to the company transitioning online Ong’s advice when it comes to pivoting your business Why Ong eventually left Skillshare in 2016 What intrigued Ong about the job offer from South China Morning Post (SCMP) Ong’s experience living in Hong Kong, and how it has given him the front seat to many historical events How Ong has helped SCMP transform from being a traditional media company to a cutting-edge product and customer-focused business Ong’s advice to entrepreneurs about trying on different hats Key Resources From Our Interview With Malcom Ong Visit the SCMP website Follow Ong on LinkedIn and Twitter

29 Sep 20201h 5min

John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO, Whole Foods Market Right now, every company needs strong leadership to guide them through these challenging times. Thankfully, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO John Mackey is well versed on the principles of leadership and is launching his latest book, Conscious Leadership, this month to help other founders put those ideas into practice.    In addition to the book, people can see Mackey’s approach to leadership in action with Whole Foods. While Mackey is grateful that his stores are still in full operation during Covid-19, he doesn’t try to hide the fact that circumstances have been extremely challenging—from rapidly scaling its supply chain to accommodate the sudden demands of customers to generating almost no revenue as a result of all the sanitation products the business has had to invest in.   But these obstacles don't bother Mackey. As a conscious leader, his priority is making sure that every single one of their 100,000 team members has access to the resources they need to stay safe at work. He has also raised every in-store worker’s pay by $2 per hour, provided two extra weeks of sick pay for those who have to quarantine, and is giving unlimited callouts during this time.    In this conversation, Mackey shares more about what it means to lead with love, how founders can attract and retain great talent in this challenging environment, and so much more. If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.  Key Takeaways An overview of Mackey’s best-selling book, Conscious Capitalism A sneak peek into Mackey’s latest book, Conscious Leadership, and what inspired him to write it The two most important pillars of leadership Why Mackey believes in leading with love  How Mackey is putting conscious leadership into action during the pandemic The challenges Whole Foods has been dealing with from a supply chain and revenue perspective  Why being an Amazon subsidiary adds a layer of complexity to the Whole Foods business How to attract and retain great people during these challenging times  What Mackey has done to support Whole Foods employees during Covid-19 Why Mackey believes in the win-win-win mindset, and how this attitude can guide your business decisions  The importance of leading by example  Key Resources From Our Interview With John Mackey Get your copy of Conscious Leadership here

22 Sep 202048min

Kurt Seidensticker, Former NASA Engineer & Founder and CEO, Vital Proteins How did Kurt Seidensticker go from being a NASA engineer to the founder of one of the biggest protein brands in the world? Believe it or not, his career path has been a perfect culmination of experiences—one that has led him to his current position as the CEO of Vital Proteins, a brand that was recently acquired by Nestlé and is expected to generate a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue this year.    Even when Seidensticker was working at NASA as an aerospace engineer, he was constantly running his entrepreneurial brain and thinking up new projects to undertake. After several years of working in a diverse array of industries—from cellular phone systems to high-speed internet—he decided to strike out on his own and started his own data center company and ecommerce platform.    Despite appearing to be completely unrelated businesses, these two companies served as the launching pad that allowed Seidensticker to start Vital Proteins in 2013. His ingestible collagen product took the protein market by the storm and saw over 300% YOY growth in its early days.   In this podcast episode, Seidensticker discusses what led to the incredible growth of Vital Proteins—from having first-mover advantage to finding negotiating power when dealing with retailers. He also shares his best recommendations when it comes to influencer marketing, moving fast, and so much more.    If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.  Key Takeaways Why Seidensticker decided to become an aerospace engineer  The business ideas Seidensticker had while working at NASA and worked on space programs, underneath was entrepreneurial drive How Seidensticker came to work on pivotal projects in the cellular phone systems and high-speed internet space Why Seidensticker decided to strike out on his own How the data center company and ecommerce platform he built became a launching pad for Vital Proteins The experience that led Seidensticker to explore the world of protein, and how he created a whole new category around ingestible collagen How Seidenstricker and his team approach influencer marketing differently  Seidensticker’s school of thought when it comes to the power of product vs. marketing The benefits of operating under the radar and having first-mover advantage How Vital Proteins educated consumers and drove the market for collagen  Why Seidensticker recommends going online before retail, and how he gained negotiating leverage with retailers Details about Vital Proteins’ partial acquisition by Nestlé Why Seidensticker believes in progress over perfection Key Resources From Our Interview With Kurt Seidensticker Visit the Vital Proteins website Find Seidensticker on LinkedIn

15 Sep 202046min

Mike Michalowicz, Author & Co-Founder, Profit First Professionals Right now, every entrepreneur has the same question on their mind: how do I recover or maintain my company’s profit levels during Covid-19?   That’s why we were so eager to sit down with Mike Michalowicz, who is a serial entrepreneur, author, and creator of the Profit First system. Our own CEO and founder, Nathan, used Michalowicz’s teachings to completely change the way he manages Foundr’s finances. And now we want to bring you the same level of knowledge to help you through these challenging times.   In this conversation, Michalowicz shares his best recommendations on how to manage your cash flow, financial priorities, and more during a pandemic. If you have any questions on how to take a profit-first mindset right now, this episode is for you.    If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com. Key Takeaways What Michalowicz learned from building and selling his first two businesses How going into bankruptcy changed the way that Michalowicz views entrepreneurship Michalowicz’s path to becoming a small business author, and how running two of his own companies contributes to his books What’s happening during “The Great Big Shift” How to manage cash flow during the pandemic The difference between sales issues vs. profit issues Michalowicz’s tips to organize your financial priorities during Covid-19 Why Michalowicz recommends pulling off the bandaid instead of chipping away when it comes to tough decisions An overview of the Profit First methodology and framework Parkinson’s Law, and how it applies to toothpaste Why Michalowicz recommends trusting wallets over words Key Resources From Our Interview With Mike Michalowicz Visit Michalowicz’s website

8 Sep 202029min