Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:08 — 17.5MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Eric Kuhn, CEO and founder of FoundersCard that provides ongoing access to benefits, discounts, private networking events and amenities that meet the needs of clients around the world joins Enterprise Radio.
Listen to interview with host Eric Dye & guest Eric Kuhn discuss the following:
- What were the growing pains of going from zero members to fifteen thousand?
- How were able to bring on big partner names like Hermin Miller, American, Jet Blue, Dell and others?
- What kind of companies are on your radar for new benefits/discounts for your members?
- What are the most popular benefits that members use?
- How do you deal with the challenges of membership dues increasing?
- How will FoundersCard continue to evolve and stay relevant?
- Why does FoundersCard have an application process?
- It is interesting that members of key companies like Moo, TaskRabbit, Wine Library and others offer benefits/discounts to FoundersCard members. Â How did you make the connection and then make it happen?
- Why did you move from NYC to Austin, TX?
- What cities are most popular for FoundersCard networking events?
Duration: 19:08
In 1998, Eric Kuhn started a company called VarsityBooks.com. The idea was to revolutionize the old-fashioned textbook industry by bringing it online. They raised over $40 million in venture capital, hired over 200 employees and went public – all in less than two years. Then, as quickly as that happened, it all changed even faster. Weeks after our IPO, the market crashed and within months, they were de-listed. But, they refused to give up. They completely changed the business model away from a consumer-facing dot com that required significant marketing costs and deep discounts to becoming an outsourced solutions provider for schools and colleges. Schools and colleges that did not want to operate their own bookstores could use our service to run their bookstores on our online platform. This approach allowed them to virtually eliminate marketing expenses and the heavy acquisition costs that doomed so many early dot coms. They built the business back up and in about two years got re-listed on the NASDAQ and eventually sold the company several years later.
Throughout his experience, which had more than its fair share of challenges to which any entrepreneur can uniquely relate, it always seemed strange to me that it was the top executives at large companies and investment banks that enjoyed incredible access and privileges and not the entrepreneurs. Kuhn remembers thinking that it should be the entrepreneurs, the true value-creators that most deserves these benefits.
“As I thought of my next venture, I realized that I really wanted to create an amazing community around networking and benefits specifically for entrepreneurs.” Kuhn says.
Links: www.founderscard.com
[box_blue]Note: If you would like to listen to a podcast right away you can hear a sample by clicking on the “play” button on our podcasts page. If you would like to play your podcast later or take it on the road, you will first need to subscribe to and download the podcast using the subscription software on your computer, such as itunes. Then you will have to transfer the podcast file to your portable media device. We recommend the following subscription software for the best user experience:
