Founder's Story

Elon Musk borrowed $20 million to bet it all on Tesla, Founder's Story finds

5 takeaways: why Robert Herjavec says being great at money is the opposite skill from being a great founder, the Shark Tank taping he and Mark Cuban…

2 hrs ago • Scuttlebutt

Good American CEO: a $1M first day set the brand up to fail and cost it its culture

11 lessons: why rivals poached her staff with $150K raises, how swim and shoes flopped, and why she calls personal branding the biggest waste of time…

Nov 3 • Scuttlebutt

Skims co-founder: $1M in sales on day one set Good American up to fail

7 lessons: Why expanding into swim and shoes backfired, why she calls personal brand the biggest waste of a founder's time, and a negotiating rule from…

Nov 1 • Scuttlebutt

Franzy CEO: the richest people in franchising "don't come on podcasts"

6 takeaways: the Midas rollup built almost entirely on seller financing, why banks like a 78% survival rate over 50%, and the 60% broker commission he…

Oct 27 • Scuttlebutt

Arizona Land Consulting CEO: a $40M data center site sold for about $140M

10 lessons: why she buys land where nobody is looking yet, why 40% of data center projects get shut down, and how a pre-sold budget cut the risk in her…

Oct 8 • Scuttlebutt

"Robots can't do this": Dreamliner Luxury Coaches founder on AI and the tour bus business

19 insights: Buying 12 coaches while live music was shut down, why he buys from founders instead of at auction, and why free cash flow matters more than…

Oct 6 • Scuttlebutt

Odyssey's CEO: over $30M invested and the brand built with zero marketing

14 lessons: The pivots that turned a mushroom coffee into an energy drink, the Justin Bieber app nobody would install, and why he waited years before…

Sep 22 • Scuttlebutt

Cliff Nonnenmacher: a business that needs its owner is a job, and nobody buys a job

18 takeaways: Why he says 85% of listed small businesses never sell, the weight-loss drug that ended the gym pitch, and the four sectors he is buying…

Sep 2 • Scuttlebutt

Christopher Mackin: why he quit 20 years of wealth advising, what a silent retreat in India told him to write, and the childhood scene…

The former advisor on money as a continually expanding resource, the fear ladder he walks people down until it ends at death, and why inheritors can…

Aug 29 • Scuttlebutt

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