576: (Solo) This One Trademark Mistake Nearly Killed My Business - Here's What I Learnt

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I got sued just a few months into starting Foundr—and it nearly crushed everything I was building. In this short episode, I’m sharing the full story behind how I was forced to change the name of my business, the legal mistakes I made, and the surprising reasons it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. If you’re launching a brand or picking a name right now, this lesson could save you years of pain. Here’s what you’ll take away: • The #1 mistake I made when choosing the original name for Foundr • How to know if your brand name could get you in trouble • The simple steps to protect your brand before it’s too late This is a brand new solo series I’m testing, and I’d love your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. Foundr Community Offers Want 1-on-1 mentorship to launch or scale your brand faster? Apply for eCommerce coaching: → Starting your ecom biz? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already selling and want to scale? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want all-access to step-by-step training from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders? Start your Foundr+ $1 trial today → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Omnisend | Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. Connect With Nathan Chan Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Foundr for More Business Growth Strategies YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.
0:24.0	Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.
0:32.6	And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code founder 50.
0:39.3	Just head to Omnysend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now
0:46.2	let's jump back into the show.
0:49.0	Hey guys, Nathan Chan here. Welcome to a new series in the founder podcast. It's a founder to founder
0:56.4	episode. These are around 10 minute episodes where I share valuable lessons that I've learned on
1:01.6	my journey in hope to help you guys on yours. Now, this is a new series that we're testing.
1:08.0	Would love your feedback. Just shoot me a message on Instagram atathan chan or at founder would love to hear from you and your feedback so today i
1:16.7	want to share one of the most terrifying moments in my business was one of the hardest days weeks
1:22.3	months where i was sued for trademark infringement for my business and I had to change the name.
1:28.9	Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through
1:34.5	entrepreneurship. Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
1:42.4	So a few months into launching founder, it wasn't called founder.
1:46.4	It was called Key to Success magazine.
1:48.7	And I never forget, I got this FedEx package in the mail serving me, saying I was to
1:54.3	appear in Dallas, Texas.
1:56.3	I can't remember exactly when it was, but it was a few months from when I received the package. And I also
2:01.4	got an email around that time as well from a lawyer saying, hey, if you didn't know, you're being
2:06.9	sued. We need to act fast. I was mentored by the judge. You need representation. And I was like,
2:12.6	oh my God, is this sophisticated spam? What the hell is going on? And I remember feeling just so terrified, so worried,
2:21.0	you know, this is my first business guys. I was like, what, like I'm going to go bankrupt.
	...

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