In this episode of Personal IPO, Nathan sits down with Isaac French — the designer, builder, and creator behind Live Oak Lake, a stunning micro-resort in Texas that he turned into a $7 million business. Isaac shares the full story: how he started with just $19,000 in savings, went $500K over budget, got banned by Airbnb two weeks after launch, and still built a brand that generated $500K+ in its first year with 55% margins. It’s a conversation about risk, design, belief, and what it means to build something truly beautiful, both online and in the real world.

Isaac French

Nathan May

Twitter/X

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Isaac

02:05 The story of Live Oak Lake

11:16 Building value direct to customer

16:27 From rock bottom to thriving business

22:35 Creating with passion and care

33:20 A unique upbringing

36:33 Building a personal brand

40:32 Helping others build value driven businesses

47:00 The value of connecting with communities

Personal IPO Podcast is where top creators, founders, and operators share how they build businesses that thrive on owned platforms.

Each episode, we dig into:

→ How they started and scaled their audience

→ Tactics that drive their growth and revenue

→ Stories from their biggest wins and toughest failures

→ Ideas and philosophies shaping what they built

E6 – Encouraging adherence to long-term medication