What Sparked the Idea to Start a Sock Company

David Heath and Randy Goldberg turned Bombas from a scrappy Indiegogo campaign into the most successful Shark Tank investment of all time—now valued at $3.4 billion. In this interview, the Bombas co-founders share how a simple insight about homelessness sparked a mission-driven sock company, how they bootstrapped their way to product-market fit, and the strategies that allowed them to scale profitably in one of the most competitive eras of eCommerce. From bootstrapping and fundraising to Shark Tank, celebrity endorsements, and building a brand people love, this episode is a masterclass in combining profit with purpose. What you’ll learn from this interview: • How Bombas grew from a $140K Indiegogo campaign to a $3.4B business • The one-for-one donation model and why it worked when others doubted it • Bootstrapping tactics that fueled growth before raising outside capital • The Shark Tank experience and why it was a turning point for the brand • How Bombas navigated rising customer acquisition costs and scaled profitably • The mindset shifts needed to build a mission-driven business at scale • Why focus, authenticity, and constraints can be the biggest drivers of innovation By the end of this interview, you’ll walk away with a playbook for building a business that blends purpose with profit—so you can grow faster, stay focused, and create a brand that stands the test of time. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH BOMBAS Website → https://bombas.com/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bombas/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/bombas/ David's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtheath/ Randy's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/randysgoldberg/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast