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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123: Startup Growth Pains, Marketing Strategies, Buying & Selling Companies with Wil Schroter

123: Startup Growth Pains, Marketing Strategies, Buying & Selling Companies with Wil Schroter

Wil Schroter never set out to become an entrepreneur. In fact, he didn't have that much interest in business in the first place. But in 1995, he found himself in the office of his college guidance cou...

22 Dec 20161h

122: How Timbuktu Labs Created the Most Successful Publishing Kickstarter Campaign in History (Crowdfunding Series Part 6)

122: How Timbuktu Labs Created the Most Successful Publishing Kickstarter Campaign in History (Crowdfunding Series Part 6)

After working in the children's media industry for over five years, there was something that was bothering Francesca Cavallo. She found herself asking the question: "Why does almost every princess in ...

15 Dec 201655min

121: How Willi Footwear Raised $36,232 to End Flip Flop Blowouts (Crowdfunding Series Part 5)

121: How Willi Footwear Raised $36,232 to End Flip Flop Blowouts (Crowdfunding Series Part 5)

A unique product snags attention. A boring product does not. Brad Munro says crowdfunding is most successful when you have the former—something innovative like Willi Footwear’s improved flip flops. “T...

8 Dec 201634min

120: The Master of Systems (Michael Gerber) Shares How to Scale Your Business

120: The Master of Systems (Michael Gerber) Shares How to Scale Your Business

Thirty years ago, Michael Gerber released a book called The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About it. It carried within it lessons on what it means to be an entrepreneur, the imp...

1 Dec 20161h 6min

119: How Who Gives a Crap Raised $66,000 by Sitting on a Toilet (Crowdfunding Series Part 4)

119: How Who Gives a Crap Raised $66,000 by Sitting on a Toilet (Crowdfunding Series Part 4)

Simon Griffiths sat down for what he believed in and, it turned out, parking it on a toilet was an epic marketing win for a good cause. Griffiths and the team behind Who Gives a Crap toilet paper empl...

24 Nov 201625min

118: How Canary Raised 20x it's $100,000 Goal on Indiegogo (Crowdfunding Series Part 3)

118: How Canary Raised 20x it's $100,000 Goal on Indiegogo (Crowdfunding Series Part 3)

The Canary team didn’t start their company with crowdfunding. In fact, they had been working on the idea for roughly a year before turning to Indiegogo. “We decided that crowdfunding would be a great ...

17 Nov 201653min

117: How the Oto-Tip Campaign Raised $77,000 to Disrupt the Cotton Swab Industry (Crowdfunding Series Part 2)

117: How the Oto-Tip Campaign Raised $77,000 to Disrupt the Cotton Swab Industry (Crowdfunding Series Part 2)

A team of doctors and engineers wanted a safer alternative to Q-Tips, so they created it. By understanding where potential users were coming from and staying on point with the idea that their product ...

9 Nov 201631min

116: How Eskil Nordhaug Raised $123,000 to Change Mobile Video (Crowdfunding Series Part 1)

116: How Eskil Nordhaug Raised $123,000 to Change Mobile Video (Crowdfunding Series Part 1)

The problem Eskil Nordhaug wanted to solve for people was simple. Videos taken with smartphones or small cameras are notoriously shaky. So he simply looked at the needs. He asked himself what it would...

2 Nov 201647min

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