Episode
You’re Only One Funnel Away: The Backstory Behind ClickFunnels - #Success - Ep. 137
- Podcast
- The Russell Brunson Show
- Published
- Jul 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3465
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-russell-brunson-show-743397/episodes/you-re-only-one-funnel-away-the-backstory-behind-clickfunnels-success-ep-137/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-russell-brunson-show-743397/you-re-only-one-funnel-away-the-backstory-behind-clickfunnels-success-ep-137.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
When I was a kid, I mailed 38 hand-stapled sales letters to names I picked at random out of the phone book, absolutely certain I was about to get rich. Zero people responded. That was my very first funnel — and it flopped like almost every one that came after it. I’ve failed at more funnels than anyone I know. And that’s exactly why I eventually found the one that changed everything. This is one of the final episodes of The Russell Brunson Show — I’m sunsetting it (along with most of my other channels) to launch something brand new called Bootstrap Secrets. So to close this chapter, I’m taking you all the way back to the beginning with my original “One Funnel Away” presentation: the full origin story, from late-night infomercials to the funnel that literally saved Christmas, to the one that became ClickFunnels. These are the stories that built ClickFunnels into a billion-dollar empire — the ups and the downs — and this is just the beginning of the story. I actually shared part two recently, but before revealing it I figured a good recap was in order, especially as you get aligned for everything Funnel Hacking Live has in store for you this year. Key Highlights: ◼️The 38-stamp disaster and the infomercial that ruined me for a normal life — how Don Lapre’s “$30 turned into $30,000” classified-ad pitch lit the fuse when I was a kid ◼️The funnel that saved Christmas — broke and one payroll from bankruptcy, hanging Christmas lights in the freezing cold, I blended two ideas into a free-CD offer that pulled 800 buyers and $55K in two weeks ◼️The lesson that turned it into a real business — “until you have continuity, you don’t have a business” — and how ~800 people at $37 a month finally gave me one ◼️Why you’re always “one funnel away” — the up-and-down wave every entreprene…