Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan.
About the show:
For over a decade, The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan has been a leading entrepreneurship podcast for open-book conversations with, by, and for founders. Whether you're starting, building, or dreaming about your business, The Foundr Podcast is where you can access experienced founders who've been in your shoes to learn their proven methods, lessons from failure, and inspirational stories.
Past guests include Emma Grede, Mark Cuban, Neil Patel, Kendra Scott, Alex Hormozi, Trinny Woodall, Tim Ferriss, Sophia Amoruso, Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins, Amy Porterfield, Ed Mylett, Michelle Zatlyn, Reid Hoffman, Scooter Braun, Dany Garcia, Marc Lore, Ariana Huffington, Pat Flynn, Lewis Howes, Jordan Harbinger, and many more.
About the host:
Nathan Chan is the CEO of Foundr and the creator of The Foundr Podcast. Chan literally started from knowing nothing. He was just an average guy working in a 9-5 job he utterly hated. He knew nothing about entrepreneurship, nothing about startups, nothing about marketing, and nothing about online or how to build a business. In the past decade, Chan's built Foundr into a global leader in entrepreneurial education, helping tens of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs start and scale their businesses.
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Noura Sakkijha is a third generation jeweler who realized the entire fine jewelry industry was fundamentally broken—built on the outdated idea that men buy diamonds for women, not that women buy the diamonds themselves. In 2013, she launched Mejuri with a radical mission: create fine jewelry for women to buy for themselves. What started as a crowdsourcing platform quickly pivoted after just one year when sales didn't materialize. Over 11 years, Mejuri has sold 6.5 million pieces of jewelry and i...
Most people with a full-time job, 14-hour shifts, and zero business experience don't start a brand — Jesse did, and he's closing in on half a million dollars a year to prove it. After 16 years working in the mining industry, Jesse knew the gear handed to workers on site was genuinely not fit for purpose. So he did something about it, building Wolf Workwear — durable, functional workwear for heavy industries — one hour at a time between fly-in, fly-out shifts. He still hasn't quit his day job. He...
Email marketing doesn't sound flashy. It's not the newest channel, not the trendiest platform, and it definitely doesn't get the same attention as TikTok, Instagram, or Meta ads. But that's exactly why it's so powerful. Here's the truth: while most founders are chasing reach on social media, the smartest ones are quietly building something much more valuable — an owned audience they can reach directly, not through an algorithm or platform. It's not rented. It's a relationship they control. And i...
Chris Voss spent decades as the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator, where a single wrong word could cost someone's life. After talking down armed bank robbers and negotiating with terrorists, he discovered something critical: the rational bargaining models taught in business schools don't just fail—they're dangerous. Compromise is guaranteed lose-lose. Win-win deals are often code for "I'm picking your pocket." And everything you've been taught about getting to yes is actually destro...
Most founders think if their company is profitable on paper, they're safe. But here's the truth I learned the hard way: businesses don't fail because they're unprofitable. They fail because they run out of cash. I had a really good run for about 6-7 years at Foundr before I ever faced a serious cash crunch. And when it hit, it was terrifying — that feeling when you don't know if you're going to make payroll is something I'll never forget. You can have strong revenue, good margins, be growing, an...
Rosie Collins had a Christmas epiphany about baby shower gifts—every present focused on the baby, never the mom. That single observation turned into Deja Marc, a multimillion-dollar personalized jewelry brand that captures fingerprints, handwriting, and meaningful moments in elegant, timeless pieces. Within a year, she hit $400,000 in revenue while working full time. The secret? An engraving fairy she never actually met who packed orders while Rosie was at work, and an obsessive focus on masteri...
Most people spot a gap in the market and do nothing — Konnie Tsimiklis spotted one, had zero fashion experience, and built a brand around it anyway. A management consultant by trade, Konnie spent decades avoiding swimming pools because no swimwear on the market made her feel like herself. So she created her own — Unity Cove, Australia's first gender-inclusive swimwear brand — and hit $27,000 in sales in her first three months without spending a cent on ads. In this episode, Konnie holds nothing ...
Followers are easier to get than ever. But here's what most founders don't realize: genuine community and real relationships are becoming significantly more valuable. At Foundr, we've built an audience of over 5 million followers across social channels. We started growing that audience when organic reach was strong and content traveled far. But the landscape has completely changed. Content is faster, AI can generate posts in minutes, and attention is more fragmented than ever. And what I'm notic...
Rebecca Minkoff arrived in New York City at 18 with no money, no degree, and a low-paid internship that paid $3 an hour. She lived in a relative's playroom just to make it work. Twenty-one years later, she's built a globally recognized fashion empire and become one of the most influential voices in the fashion and entrepreneurial world. But the journey from handing out postcards in Union Square to building a $100 million brand wasn't linear—it was filled with $60,000 in credit card debt, strateg...
You've heard from the best in the business — Mark Cuban, Alex Hormozi, Emma Grede. Their stories are incredible. But sometimes, you need to hear from someone who's exactly where you are right now. Little Empires is a brand new series from the Foundr team, shining a spotlight on the builders inside our own community. These are Foundr students who are in the trenches — taking action, learning the hard lessons, and building their businesses in real time. No million-dollar investor checks. No built-...
If you're just getting started with e-commerce and you're wondering how to actually scale with limited cash and no audience, this episode is for you. I get asked this all the time: "Nathan, how do I get started when I only have a small budget?" Here's the truth: most founders tattoo their business idea to their arm. They fall in love with the brand, the product, the vision — and they hold on even when the unit economics don't work. But after launching Healthish to $1 million a year at close to 4...
Leila Hormozi went from six arrests in 18 months to building a portfolio generating over $250 million in annual revenue by age 30. What makes her story fascinating isn't just the rags-to-riches narrative—it's her unflinching honesty about the messy middle, her unconventional approach to leadership, and how she scales companies with ruthless precision while maintaining her humanity. Alongside her husband Alex, Leila has become one of the most respected operators in the business world, and in this...
Most founders think scaling Facebook ads is about finding one winning ad and spending more behind it. But that's not how it works — especially not anymore. Here's the truth: the brands that scale obsess over the numbers. Not just ROAS. Not just conversion rate. And definitely not just the data inside Facebook Ads Manager. They understand the full picture — from traffic to creative to business economics. And after watching Nick Shackelford scale a brand from $20K/day to $250K/day in ad spend in j...
Nick Shackelford has spent hundreds of millions of dollars profitably on Meta ads and grown Structured from zero to $76 million in revenue in under three years. And he's here to tell you this clearly: Meta isn't broken. Most founders are just reading the wrong signals. In this interview, the co-founder of Structured Agency and partner at BREZ breaks down what actually matters in 2026. From why testing more ads is often making performance worse to the exact point when Meta advertising stops being...
Most founders are either ignoring AI or drowning in it. But here's what I've learned after 13 years of building Foundr: AI isn't a shortcut to success — it's a tool. And when used right, it's like upgrading from a horse to a car. You make the same journey, but a lot faster. I've always run Foundr lean. At one point we had 80-90 people and it was a disaster — bloated, slow, misaligned. Now we move fast, we collaborate fast, and we scale without heavy layers of management. And AI is a massive part...
Amber and Andrew Salisbury turned a marriage argument about coffee into an eight-figure health food empire. After Andrew couldn't find a single coffee brand that prioritized health over marketing, the husband-and-wife founders spent two years in research and development with leading coffee scientists to create Purity Coffee—the first specialty-grade coffee engineered specifically for maximum health benefits. No shortcuts. No compromises. Just pure science-backed coffee that tastes incredible. In...
We've glorified remote work — the flexibility, the efficiency, the freedom to work from anywhere. And don't get me wrong, I love it too. But here's what we've lost in translation: humans are wired for connection. And when it comes to deals, creative work, strategic alignment, and building real trust, Zoom just doesn't cut it. I learned this the hard way while building something with Nick Shackelford, one of the best paid ad experts in the world. We were collaborating remotely for months — differ...
Will Nitze went from selling Linsanity T-shirts in his college dorm to building IQ Bar into a $125 million brain food empire—with just a team of ten people. No bloated headcount. No burning through VC cash. Just ruthless focus on unit economics and a contrarian approach to funding that let him scale aggressively while maintaining control. In this interview, the founder and CEO of IQ Bar breaks down how he turned a $73,000 Kickstarter into one of the fastest-growing CPG brands in America, why he ...
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: you can't scale alone. And no one will ever care about your business as much as you do. But after building Foundr and making every hiring mistake in the book (including paying half-million-dollar salaries that didn't work out), I've learned this: caring can't be taught, but it can be detected. In this...
Sarah Lee, co-founder of Glow Recipe, shares their journey from cold-emailing journalists and operating on minimal sleep to building a wildly successful Korean skincare brand. She discusses how their $50,000 bootstrapped venture broke even in three months, their Shark Tank experience, the strategic pivot from curation to owning their product line, and the power of founder-led marketing and transparent brand values. The episode offers a masterclass in product validation, retail strategy, and achieving massive growth without venture capital.
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 stay stuck because they don’t have a simple, proven system for figuring out what to post or where to start. In this episode, I walk you through the exact method I used this year to rebuild my personal brand and dramatically grow Foundr’s content output. It’s simple, practical, and works even if you h...
Lia Georgantis took over a multi-brand fashion boutique with no business experience, lost most of her suppliers overnight, then rebuilt it into one of Australia’s most recognisable fashion brands by posting relentlessly on social media. In this interview, the founder of Girls With Gems breaks down how raw, unfiltered content, six to nine posts per day, and authentic storytelling helped her scale through Covid, build a cult-like community, and launch a private label brand that now drives half the...
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 holidays, ignored my health, and pushed myself until the wheels fell off. And eventually, they did. In this episode, I share the truth about burnout, why obsession can be a superpower until it becomes a liability, and how I rebuilt my life using systems, structure, and intentional habits. This is the ...
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, Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, breaks down the real story behind building one of the most successful hardware startups of all time and selling it to Amazon for over $1B. What you’ll learn in this video: • How to validate and pre-sell a hardware product before manufacturing • The real cost of R&D wh...
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 this episode, I share the practical systems and mindset shifts I’ve used to consistently create content for my personal brand and Foundr, even while running a company. From my “create before you consume” rule, to batching, to living by my notes, to repurposing frameworks, this is the exact approach th...
Jordan Harper built an eight-figure skincare brand in its first year by maxing out five credit cards while already $500,000 in debt — and never raised a single dollar from investors. In this interview, the founder of Barefaced breaks down how years of treating patients as a nurse practitioner revealed a massive gap in the skincare market, why simplifying routines unlocked explosive demand, and how a password-protected pre-order generated over 1,000 sales in 48 hours with no email list. What you’...
Founder-led branding isn’t dead — but it is evolving fast. Showing your face and posting “day in the life” content is no longer enough to stand out. The bar has risen, audiences have matured, and what worked in 2020 doesn’t cut through in 2026. In this episode, I break down exactly what’s changing, what’s working now, and how to build a brand presence people actually want to follow. From docu-style storytelling, to world-building, to narrative-driven content, to what to do if you don’t want to b...
Nala was built by two founders with no fashion background who invested $200,000 before making a single sale and went on to sell over 400,000 pieces in just two years. In this interview, Chloe and Phil de Winter break down how they identified a gap in the intimates market, validated demand with fewer than 300 survey responses, and scaled an Australian lingerie brand into a cult favourite with a 70% repeat purchase rate and a national retail partnership with David Jones. What you’ll learn in this ...
One of the biggest challenges founders face — especially at the end of the year — is knowing what to do next and feeling confident that the move you're about to make is the right one. Certainty feels elusive, but the truth is: certainty is something you can manufacture. In this episode, I break down exactly how I’ve built certainty in my own business decisions, from landing interviews with icons like Richard Branson to reinventing Foundr’s business model during tough times, to launching Foundr+ ...
Adam Ewart turned a £50 excess baggage fee into a global bootstrapped logistics company operating in 145 countries and staying profitable for 15 straight years. In this interview, Adam breaks down how he built Send My Bag, the international luggage shipping service moving more than 250,000 bags annually with only 32 staff, all through ruthless automation, scrappy PR, and a customer-first obsession that outperformed airlines and traditional freight companies. What you’ll learn in this interview: ...
