609: Tom Austin | Lessons from the Rise and Fall of And1

If you’re not getting knocked down, then you’re not trying hard enough. Tom Austin is a seasoned entrepreneur and currently partner in several technology start-ups. He is the CEO of Confidently, a personal, pocket-sized, confidence coach developed by a team of PhDs with decades of experience coaching elite performers.

Part of Tom’s track record was becoming Co-Founder of AND 1, a well-known, global basketball apparel brand. He was instrumental in evolving the AND 1 business strategy and brand for nearly a decade and built AND 1's footwear department from basically zero sales to just north of $200,000,000 annually! These days he is currently writing screenplays, advising start-ups, and consulting.

Let’s dive right in and learn Tom’s top lessons from the rise and fall of And1.

Things you will learn in this episode: 

[00:01 - 08:54] Opening Segment 

• I introduce today’s guest, Tom Austin 
• Bio 
• Be sure to check out guestio.com and start booking
• Tom gives some background on his story 
• Growing up in New England 
• Parents 
• Growing up with a love for sports 
• A push towards education
• Always wanted to play in the NBA 
• College experience 

[08:55 - 33:19] Lessons from the Rise and Fall of And1

• Tom talks about what he learned in his time in And1
• Teamwork - The importance of team alignment
• Competition - You will experience setbacks - learn from them 
• The value of practice and breaking things down
• How Tom defines success
• Am I and my family healthy and happy?
• What am I doing that is a net positive? 
• The And1 timeline and experience 
• Tom talks about his transition into finance and entrepreneurship
• Networking within sports and athletics 
• Going into a business partnership 
• Pivoting into the And1 business model 
• The beginning stages of And1
• Expectation vs. reality 
• Transitioning into basketball niche apparel 
• Starting with t-shirts and pitching them to retailers
• Landing a meaning with Footlocker 
• Always willing to learn
• When And1 started to catch on 
• Going all in 
• Getting a $600,000 order 
• The start of the Street Ball line - playing to endorsements
• Finding your flavor 
• The fall of And1 and its lessons
• Getting worn down on work 
• The issues in HR, systems, and market changes 
• Maintaining your infrastructure 
•  A word from our sponsor

[33:20 - 40:09] Access to Your Own Person Performance Coach

• Tom talks about his next steps after And1 ended 
• Getting back into a centered state 
• Going back to grad school
• Getting into filmmaking
• Tom shares about his newest business - Confidently 
• Coaching from sports psychologists 
• Giving people their own personal performance coach 
• Lessons people can learn from accessing the app 
• Getting excited about the team and the domain area
• Seeing everything come together

[40:10 - 50:34] Closing Segment

• Where to learn more about Tom’s 
• Links below 
• Why people don’t build relationships
• Depends on where you’re at 
• Strong and weak ties 
• The difficulties of finding a deeply trusted person
• Questions to ask yourself 
• Who you know or what you know?
• It depends on where you’re at and what you do 
• RaNDoM RoUnD
• How to engage with Tom
• Links below
• Final words 

Tweetable Quotes: 

“Having a team and being able to work and win together and having a common purpose, in what’s called alignment in the teamwork literature… All the teamwork related stuff is definitely number one.” - Tom Austin 

“You’re gonna get knocked on your butt, things aren’t always gonna go your way. So you got to learn from each thing - look at each set back as a learning opportunity.” - Tom Austin

“If I’m not getting knocked down, then I’m not trying hard enough.” - Tom Austin

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn. Go check out https://getconfidently.com/ and get your own pocket coach. 

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