Host: Nathan Chan
Nathan Chan interviews founders and operators about starting and growing businesses, with discussions of products, marketing, funding and leadership. Published by Foundr Media. Historical episodes reflect practices and conditions at the time of recording.
Read structured takeaways and actionable insights from The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Scott explains how a failed hat store gave her the skills and clues for a jewelry business. The interview covers getting through the 2008 recession, creating direct customer relationships, building an interactive retail experience and keeping an established company agile. Nathan Chan interviews Kendra Scott. The video upload and official Foundr In Retrospect audio episode #545 are dated January 3, 2025; the conversation was previously released as #425 on September 7, 2022 and discusses the Born to Shine launch. Business figures in the title and interview are historical publisher or guest claims, not independently audited current valuations. Notes use available auto-captions through the closing interview and promotion, without invented chapter times. Retail plans, financing, pandemic responses and customer programs reflect the earlier conversation, not current policy or financial advice. A brief chemotherapy reference explains the hat-store origin, not medical guidance.
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
VandeBoom describes ActiveCampaign’s shift from eight on-premise products to one cloud platform. The interview covers customer-first service, protecting strategic flexibility, raising capital after gaining momentum and keeping team growth sustainable. TL;DR Customer-first means making real tradeoffs, not simply declaring that customers matter. Pricing, revenue, staffing and funding numbers are historical guest reports (2020), not current. Details come from machine-generated captions and the guest's own claims; business figures are not independently checked. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=_f8c-sh9ETc
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Li discusses founding July luggage after working on furniture brand Brosa. The conversation connects product development, supplier terms, customer service, physical retail and local market knowledge to building a direct-to-consumer brand. Nathan Chan interviews July and Brosa co-founder Richard Li. These notes cover selected themes from the public caption transcript, not a timestamped account of every passage. The official Foundr RSS feed dates original audio episode #287 February 4, 2020; the YouTube upload is February 8, 2020. Revenue, lifetime value and cost comparisons are historical guest statements, not audited findings. Retail plans, marketing channels, warranties, trial offers and manufacturing terms describe the period of the interview, not current July policy. The video also promotes Foundr courses; these notes are not an endorsement or current offer. Quotes reproduce caption wording, while names in prose follow verified metadata.
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Ward explains how Quad Lock grew from early product experiments into an ecosystem of phone mounts. He discusses direct customer relationships, testing new use cases before building new products and deciding when more SKUs create value rather than complexity. Nathan Chan interviews Quad Lock co-founder Rob Ward. These notes cover selected product and distribution passages from the available public captions, which cut during the final advice segment, not the complete 52:53 video. The official Foundr RSS feed dates original audio episode #286 January 28, 2020; YouTube upload is February 3, 2020. Practices, device models, marketing channels and scale reflect the period of this interview, not current company policy. Business figures are Ward's statements, not audited findings. Quotes reproduce exact caption text; names in the notes follow verified video metadata rather than caption spelling errors.
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Airwallex’s co-founder describes turning an import-business payment problem into a global financial infrastructure company. The interview covers the cost of building before revenue, changing the initial route to market and using strategic investors and strong early hires to accelerate progress. TL;DR For an infrastructure business, the right relationships and technical foundation can matter as much as early revenue. Exchange rates, fees, valuation and product capabilities are historical interview claims from 2019, not current Airwallex facts. Details come from machine-generated captions and the guest's own claims; business figures are not independently checked. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=d_VdMIO3o_c
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
McKeown explains Gleam’s origin, how hands-on outreach earned its first customers and how integrations and useful content supported growth. The interview also covers the cost of freemium, giveaway incentives and keeping an email list valuable after the first opt-in. TL;DR A list is useful only when the right people want the offer and the continuing relationship. Recorded about 2018-2019; platform API permissions, lead-generation practices and privacy rules are historical discussion, not current compliance guidance. The 2 billion in the title is not independently verified. Details come from machine-generated captions and the guest's own claims; business figures are not independently checked. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=tLUHLqVSKrQ
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
The Refinery29 co-founders discuss moving from print into digital media and preserving a clear voice as the company grows. Their joint interview covers early experimentation, audience feedback, the tension between metrics and creative judgment, and hiring people who care about the work. Nathan Chan interviews Christene Barberich and Piera Gelardi. These notes use the public auto-captions through the closing questions and Foundr promotion, not invented timestamped chapters. The video was uploaded April 29, 2019; matching Foundr audio episode #253 was released June 4, 2019 in the official RSS feed. The displayed date follows this earlier video publication. Roles, audience numbers, company structure and platform practices reflect this historical interview, not the current company. Brief references to the women's movement, MeToo and wellness/sex editorial categories explain the publication's mission; the discussion is about running a media business, not political, medical or sexual advice. Quotes retain exact caption wording; names in prose are checked against publisher profiles.
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
The Quad Lock co-founders discuss crowdfunding, protecting a brand from copycats and building the operational capacity for a global physical-product business. Their joint interview emphasizes customer-specific marketing, continual improvement and realistic supplier planning. TL;DR A product, marketing and fulfillment system must work together before growth can become dependable. Quotes are attributed jointly to the two founders because captions do not label speakers. Scale, tools and policies are historical. Details come from machine-generated captions and the guest's own claims; business figures are not independently checked. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=O2ScNJQ-EIA
