{"podcast":{"title":"The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan","slug":"the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008","podcast_index_feed_id":974008,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/YAP2464511803","website_url":"http://www.foundr.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/a05eea46-5a0e-11ed-ad4d-7ba38e01bc89/image/ba743e807d05cc0b025845c0eaf7ee98.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Nathan Chan","episode_count":642,"summary":"Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan. About the show: For over a decade, The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan has been a leading entrepreneurship podcast for open-book conversations with, by, and for founders. Whether you're starting, building, or dreaming about your business, The Foundr Podcast is where you can access experienced founders who've been in your shoes to learn their proven methods, lessons from failure, and inspirational stories. Past guests include Emma Grede, Mark Cuban, Neil Patel, Kendra Scott, Alex Hormozi, Trinny Woodall, Tim Ferriss, Sophia Amoruso, Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins, Amy Porterfield, Ed Mylett, Michelle Zatlyn, Reid Hoffman, Scooter Braun, Dany Garcia, Marc Lore, Ariana Huffington, Pat Flynn, Lewis Howes, Jordan Harbinger, and many more. About the host: Nathan Chan is the CEO of Foundr and the creator of The Foundr Podcast. Chan literally started from knowing nothing. He was just an average guy working in a 9-5 job he utterly hated. He knew nothing about entrepreneurship, nothing about startups, nothing about marketing, and nothing abou…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T02:19:36.248441+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008"},"episode":{"title":"677: We Built a $250M Cold Plunge Brand - From a Garage | Plunge","slug":"677-we-built-a-250m-cold-plunge-brand-from-a-garage-plunge","published_at":"2026-06-25T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008/677-we-built-a-250m-cold-plunge-brand-from-a-garage-plunge","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/5DA136/traffic.megaphone.fm/FMPL6569626860.mp3","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/5DA136/traffic.megaphone.fm/FMPL6569626860.mp3","summary":"Ryan Duey was living in an RV with his float spas closed and no backup plan when he and Michael Garrett built their first cold plunge from a retrofitted $100 bathtub in a garage. They turned their Shopify store on with zero marketing—and got a sale. What followed was one of the most unlikely scaling stories in DTC history: $30 million to $80 million in a single year, $250 million in cumulative revenue, four sharks bidding on Shark Tank, and a category they essentially created from scratch—all bootstrapped, all assembled in-house in California. In this interview, the co-founders of Plunge break down the real cost of scaling a high-ticket inventory business, why they lost an estimated $20 million in revenue from lead times alone, and the organic influencer strategy that built the brand before they ever ran a paid ad. What you'll learn in this interview: • How they got their first sale with zero marketing—and the Black Friday that showed them how big this could get • The cash flow trap every inventory-heavy founder hits: why a great P&amp;L and an empty bank account can exist at the same time • How customer prepayments funded growth for years—and what forced the switch to holding inventory • Why long lead times cost Plunge an estimated $20 million in lost sales • From buying parts on Amazon to co-designing a custom chiller in China—the full supply chain evolution • How a single Instagram comment to Aubrey Marcus started a chain of organic gifting to Huberman, Tony Hawk, and Rich Roll • The Shark Tank deal that never closed—and why they still got the PR, the airing, and the exposure • How they bought plunge.com from a New Orleans jazz band for $250K—and why the trademark was the bigger win • Why nearly half of all orders close through a phone call or SMS, not a checkout bu…","meta_description":"Ryan Duey was living in an RV with his float spas closed and no backup plan when he and Michael Garrett built their first cold plunge from a retrofitted $…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3657,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008/episodes/677-we-built-a-250m-cold-plunge-brand-from-a-garage-plunge/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-foundr-podcast-with-nathan-chan-974008/677-we-built-a-250m-cold-plunge-brand-from-a-garage-plunge.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}