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

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

If you've hosted a webinar or live event that fell flat, then this episode is for you. Casey Zeman is the CEO and founder of EasyWebinar, a live-stream platform and marketing automation tool. As a former actor and mortgage broker, Zeman was fed up with having little control over his success. So with the encouragement of a friend, he became a video marketing consultant focusing on YouTube. His work as a consultant tapped into the capability of live videos and webinars as a sales tool. So, in 2015 he reinvested his earnings as a consultant to develop a plugin called EasyWebinar, which allowed people to create a live webinar through their website. In 2018, he changed EasyWebinar's model to a SaaS business, offering full services to any online business looking to engage and convert its audience.  Listen to Nathan and Casey discuss: How the 2008 recession spurred his career in digital marketing Becoming a video marketing consultant before it was a thing Investing his consulting earnings into developing EasyWeb

Following a 20-year career in media, Trinny Woodall established herself as the expert in all things style, skincare, and makeup. Inspired by her unique design of stackable makeup pots, she established Trinny London in 2017 with the mission to give everyone the tools they need to feel their best. In this episode, Trinny shares her experience in product development, funding, personal branding, and how to develop a diehard fan base and community.  Listen to Nathan and Trinny discuss:  One of her early businesses selling socks to trade investors  Her weekly fashion column in The Daily Telegraph  Why the dot-com bust was the lowest point of her career What she learned from 20 years of television and What Not to Wear Selling her clothing to raise funds for Trinny London Launching and building Trinny London without paid ads   The personalization experience of Match2Me Starting a brand around your personal brand Nurturing the Trinny Tribe community  And more beauty business advice…  Who do you want t

After graduating from Harvard Business School alongside future tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Magnus Grimeland traveled the world as a consultant for McKinsey. After exploring Southeast Asia, he decided to lay down roots and leverage the region's enormous business potential. From 2013-2017, Grimeland built ZALORA into Southeast Asia's largest fashion ecommerce business. Now, he's supporting fellow founders through his latest business, Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. In the last 2 years, Antler made 190 portfolio company investments and has opened offices in 14 cities across 6 continents.   Listen to Nathan and Magnus discuss:  The atmosphere at Harvard during the Facebook era His journey to Southeast Asia and seeing its potential  Creating the first cash and delivery system in the region  Building ZALORA from scratch  Why ZALORA was a breeding ground for entrepreneurs His 3 things to look for in good talent  What separa

Some might say Alex Bouaziz, cofounder and CEO of Deel, was simply in the right place at the right time. Deel, an international payroll, compliance, and HR solution, launched in 2019 and, by May 2020, raised $14M in funding. Currently, they have 8000 customers worldwide, including Dropbox, Airtable, and Shopify. But good timing will only get you so far. To launch and grow a company as successful as Deel takes leadership with a clear mission and a solid infrastructure. The idea was simple: Create a company that matched employers and talented workers from anywhere in the world and give them the opportunity to work for the best companies without having to relocate.   Listen to Nathan and Alex discuss:  What Bouaziz learned from his first failed business How his work visa struggles inspired Deel  Taking the idea for Deel to Y Combinator The massive growth from the Covid-19 pandemic  Scaling through infrastructure and the customer Deel’s talent development strategy  A passion for unlocking talent beyond bor

At 24, Guy Pearson turned down a partnership to start an accounting firm. His early clients were digital companies, and Pearson was jealous that there wasn’t an online commerce system for his industry. So in 2013, he launched a new company called Ignition to simplify and speed up the transaction process for professionals like him. To date, Ignition helped facilitate more than 1M client engagements and over $2B in client payments. Ignition has offices in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, US, and the UK, with over 170 employees globally.   Listen to Nathan and Guy discuss:  How intrapreneurship transformed into entrepreneurship  The challenges of building the original software for Ignition  Expanding to new markets outside of Australia  Why he still sits in on candidate interviews  The heartbreaking moments of raising capital  Starting vs. scaling a business  The balance between an accounting brain and entrepreneurial heart  How to lead with an experimental mindset Transitionin