EIL 21: Building a 7-Figure Magazine from Scratch with Nathan Chan

Excellent International Leadership

Are you ready to have your minds blown off as we learn how to become successful entrepreneurs?

If you are, then make sure to listen to this episode, for we are to feature Nathan Chan, a publisher and the editor of Foundr Magazine, a digital magazine for young entrepreneurs which he launched in March 2013 from his bedroom. In a short period of time, it became a top ten ranked business and investing magazine on the App Store.

As publisher of Foundr, Nathan was a runner up for the Publisher of the Year for 2015 in the Digital Magazine Awards. He has had the pleasure of interviewing some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs around the world, namely Sir Richard Branson, Ariana Huffington, Tim Ferriss, Barbara Corcoran, Tony Robbins, and Seth Gordon, and many more.

And in this episode, Nathan talks about how he managed to scale Foundr which started out as a passion project, all while sharing valuable tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur in the age of the internet.

Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

Be inspired: Know the story behind Foundr’s success and get crucial pointers on how to scale your business with the help of the internet Learn where to get access to interviews and other valuable materials featuring some of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world Get insights on how to become successful in your business and as an entrepreneur

“I think whatever you do, you just have to want it bad enough, almost to the point it's an obsession. Not to the point that you don't have a life – obviously, you still spend a lot of time with your friends and family and have a social life and spend time not working on weekends, and stuff like that. But I think if you want to build a successful business, you just have to want it so extremely badly and you just have to be prepared to work your ass off, really. There's no other shortcuts there.”

– Nathan Chan

Topics Covered:

01:38 – “It started as a passion project”: What gave Nathan the idea of creating a digital magazine for young entrepreneurs

03:13 – “Knowing the kind of content that our audience loves and producing it at scale”: What Nathan thinks made his idea successful where others would not be

05:11 – “It's more than just having a magazine, it's having social proof and credibility”: How Foundr was able to interview hard to reach prestigious entrepreneurs

09:37 – “The next piece of the puzzle is to create more product, and create more product specifically that our audience is asking for”: What Nathan aims as Foundr’s next steps

15:05 – Foundr’s current manpower

15:38 – “It’s just a way of giving back”: What speaking gigs bring to Nathan and Foundr in terms of learning and leveraging

19:14 – “Be prepared to work your ass off”: Nathan’s essential tip for entrepreneurs to succeed

19:14 – Connect with Nathan Chan

Key Takeaways:

“And being an entrepreneur now, it's like the new cool. It's cool to be an entrepreneur. And the Internet has changed the game.” – Nathan Chan

“I think it's more than just having a magazine, it's having social proof and credibility... And to get even Richard Branson, it was partly because we had a magazine, but also it's also about finding the right people, and finding people when they're looking for press.” – Nathan Chan

“I don't want to make the brand about me, to be honest, Katrina. Yes, I'm the leader. Yes, we've got a great story, but Foundr is essentially much bigger than me now, and I just want to build an amazing brand that helps tens of millions of people, hundreds of millions of people.” – Nathan Chan

People / Resources Mentioned:

Foundr: https://foundr.com/

Connect with Nathan Chan:

Website: https://foundr.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/

Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/ Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/