The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

In this delicious interview, Nathan Chan sits down with CAULIPOWER founder Gail Becker to find out how she took her ecommerce company from $0 to $100M in just 3 years.  Becker takes us on her tasty food brand journey, from her experience in corporate life as a marketer, to branching into the unknown to create something she wanted to see on the market: more food options for celiacs.  Listen in as she discusses the process of getting her product into 25,000 stores on her first try and the future of Amazon. This interview is perfect for anyone interested in entering the food industry, as Becker lays out everything she has learned along the way. And why in life, you should do something that you love.

Coming from a long line of shoemakers, it seemed only natural that Joe Foster follow in his family’s footsteps, but instead Foster decided to push his horizons even further and create a brand that would become a legacy. Listen in as Foster shares his incredible journey through generations of shoemakers to bring us the global brand we know today: Reebok.  Foster’s entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of inspiring, as he took the company through ups and downs, broke into competitive markets, and created a niche in the market for his brand. Acquired by Adidas in 2005 for a whopping $3.8 billion, Foster has since retired and authored a book: “Shoemaker: The Untold Story of the British Family Firm that Became a Global Brand”. In this astounding interview, Nathan Chan and Foster discuss the entrepreneurial journey, and everything Foster has learned along the way when it comes to business and brand.

When his 10 year old daughter was upset by negative comments posted about her artwork, Hovhannes Avoyan decided to do something about it. Almost a decade later, over 1 billion app downloads and 150 million active monthly, PicsArt has become a global movement.  Before founding PicsArt, Hovhannes Avoyan was already a successful entrepreneur with five startups that he sold to Lycos, Bertelsmann, GFI, TeamViewer, and HelpSystems. With a strong understanding of the market, scaling, and what it takes to build a viable business, it’s no wonder that PicsArt raised over $45m capital and now boasts partnerships with the world’s biggest influencers like Kim Kardashian. In this inspiring interview hosted by Nathan Chan, Avoyan discusses the importance of creating a safe space for creative expression, why community matters for a business, the future of AI and its place in design and art, and why he believes failure is part of success.

Power up, level up, and get ready to take your business to the extreme, with this incredible interview with Single Grain’s Eric Siu.  A former pro-gamer, Siu has been on the quintessential entrepreneur’s journey. He’s faced scaling issues, failure, and trying to do too much at once, and now he is ready to reveal why he believes gamers make the best entrepreneurs. In this electrified interview with Foundr, Siu discusses why every founder needs to have a good understanding of marketing, essential long-term skills you need to have, and why he predicts Clubhouse will be the ultimate training ground for entrepreneurs.

How does someone launch a $200 million beverage company with zero experience and four children under the age of six? Just ask super-mom, author, and Hint Water empire CEO and Founder, Kara Goldin.  Goldin was first inspired to launch her beverage company as an alternative to other unhealthy drinks on the market. Not only did Goldin manage to build a company that is now the largest privately owned non-alcoholic beverage company in America, but she placed Hint on the shelves of her local Whole Foods on the same day she went into the delivery room.Revealing all of the ups and downs of her journey in her new book, Undaunted: Overcoming Doubt And Doubters, Goldin speaks to Foundr’s Nathan Chan about relentless pursuit of your dreams, and overcoming fears and self-doubt along the way. Key Takeaways How Kara Goldin first began her mission of creating a healthier option for drinking water Facing challenges everyday, and Goldin’s commitment to learning all she could about an entirely new industry Why Goldin believes the best thing anyone can do for themselves is continue to learn and grow Dealing with naysayers and doubters, and how Goldin decided to instead use their feedback to hone her business vision

In 2011, Hiroki Takeuchi launched his first business GoCardless with his co-founders. Just under one decade later, they are processing over $15b in payments every year! Takeuchi’s first business began as a service to help streamline the messy process of collecting payments informally. Over the next several years, funding, scaling, and pivoting led him to create a simple service that helped collect recurring and one-off payments from customers.  Takeuchi’s approach to business is inspiring. Not only was he a first-time entrepreneur scaling a global business without experience, but he also knows the pains of imposter syndrome and anxiety over hiring overqualified experts. This interview with Nathan Chan serves to remind us all that greatness isn’t just past experience, it’s the willingness to learn that makes someone a great entrepreneur. Key Takeaways How Takeuchi launched GoCardless in 2011 as his first business, and how he developed the idea Evolving the initial business idea from something that sought to solve the problem of collecting payments informally, to a global fintech empire The importance of having a complimentary co-founder, and how Takeuchi first began planning with his co-founders Why Takeuchi decided to leverage existing services in order to streamline launch Demo day, and overcoming getting 64 “no’s” before they got a “yes” The importance of focus on a singular product, especially in a global powerhouse like finances and payment How Takeuchi approached scaling, planning, and proactive growth in a high-demand industry The challenges faced by an international business and scaling How Takeuchi tackles imposter syndrome, and how he continues to focus on learnings The importance he places on his team and the people Takeuchi surrounds himself with What you need to ignore if you want to hire the best of the best for your business Why you should never underestimate the length of the journey ahead of you, and why you need to be ready for the challenge of being an entrepreneur

Building partnerships and mailing lists as an entrepreneur can be one of the trickiest and most elusive parts of the game. Targetting the right people, understanding brand identity - it’s all a delicate ecosystem to navigate. The good news is, when it comes to mailing lists and partnerships, we have all the answers you need from the mastermind and guru himself: Colin Darretta. Co-founder of a number of successful companies including WellPath, a health and wellness plan) and DojoMojo, a software company that helps you build partnerships, Darretta has all the answers. Not only has Darretta got decades of experience under his belt, but he also has the distinct honor of managing to build a 1million person email list in 1 year, and is the master of monetizing mailing lists.

For Sarah Leary, entrepreneurship has always been in her blood. Growing up in a household of small-business owners including her grandmother who was also an entrepreneur, she knew she would eventually be one, too. She remembers that even when she was working for Microsoft as part of the founding team for Microsoft Office, she knew that being a business owner was her future.From her development, launch, and successful scaling of Nextdoor into the world’s largest private social network for neighborhoods, Leary has experience in every aspect of entrepreneurialism. Her advice for budding entrepreneurs comes from years of experience in both scaling a business, building a community, and growing brands. In this interview with Nathan Chan, Leary reveals the absolute essentials every new entrepreneur needs to tick off when they want to start something new. As a venture partner at Unusual Ventures, Leary has advice straight from the frontline of what she wants to see in a pitch. Key Takeaways How Leary grew up in a household of business owners and entrepreneurs and why that means she always knew she would be one too Finding herself in the early start-up culture of Silicon Valley in the 90s Her first business and how she faced failure, the decision to pivot, and a whole new frontier The beginning of Nextdoor, and it’s growth internationally over the past decade Joining Unusual Ventures, and why she wants to dedicate her time to helping others build companies from the ground up Why founders need to be comfortable validating their ideas and assumptions The two essential questions entrepreneurs need to ask themselves before starting How Leary developed Nextdoor through a combination of brainstorming, customer research, and why you need to consider customer painkillers Why every entrepreneur needs to learn to do extraordinary work for a narrow band of people, and then expand How Leary fuelled the Nextdoor community, and why networks need leaders Why Leary believes authenticity is the most important part of community strategy, and why you need to start with it Why Leary stepped down from Nextdoor, and how the team of Unusual Ventures is rolling up their sleeves to help new entrepreneurs  Leary’s reveals the secret to pitching ideas correctly, and what Unusual Ventures looks for in a new business idea  

When Alli Webb founded Drybar in 2010, it started as one small salon in Brentwood, California that was designed to do one thing and do it well: blowouts. Today, her brand has grown to over150 stores in 33 states, a hair care product line that she sold for over $250 million, her own podcast Raising The Bar, and a NY Times best-selling book Good Hair For All. Best of all, Webb is Foundr magazine’s cover girl for issue 95 (check it out, it’s a good one!)Guess you could say that Alli Webb is an entrepreneurial genius. This week’s interview gives you an insight into Webb’s journey from working as a receptionist in a hair salon during high school to the decision to chase her passion for hairstyling. That decision to pursue her passion is what has led Webb to a $100m empire. Find out how she took the leap, and what advice she has for those looking to pursue their passion, too. Key Takeaways Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, and how that shaped Alli Webb’s idea of business Realised she had a passion for hair and styling, and worked as a receptionist in a hair salon where she became mesmorised by the craft Her journey through “a hot-minute” in college, to working in fashion in New York Starting her own business styling client’s hair at home, and growing her business How she started “Drybar” and what makes her brand unique Franchising Drybar, and learning to operate her business on a global scale How Webb developed her own product line, and how she sold it for $250m to beauty powerhouse, Helen of Troy. How Webb continues to raise the bar, launching her own podcast: Raising The Bar, and authoring NY Times Best Seller Good Hair For All Webb’s advice for all budding entrepreneurs, especially women in business, and why they need to follow their passion and what they love doing.