591: From $0 to $3.4 BILLION Selling Socks | Bombas (Best of Foundr)

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

David Heath and Randy Goldberg turned Bombas from a scrappy Indiegogo campaign into the most successful Shark Tank investment of all time—now valued at $3.4 billion. In this interview, the Bombas co-founders share how a simple insight about homelessness sparked a mission-driven sock company, how they bootstrapped their way to product-market fit, and the strategies that allowed them to scale profitably in one of the most competitive eras of eCommerce. From bootstrapping and fundraising to Shark Tank, celebrity endorsements, and building a brand people love, this episode is a masterclass in combining profit with purpose. What you’ll learn from this interview: • How Bombas grew from a $140K Indiegogo campaign to a $3.4B business • The one-for-one donation model and why it worked when others doubted it • Bootstrapping tactics that fueled growth before raising outside capital • The Shark Tank experience and why it was a turning point for the brand • How Bombas navigated rising customer acquisition costs and scaled profitably • The mindset shifts needed to build a mission-driven business at scale • Why focus, authenticity, and constraints can be the biggest drivers of innovation By the end of this interview, you’ll walk away with a playbook for building a business that blends purpose with profit—so you can grow faster, stay focused, and create a brand that stands the test of time. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH BOMBAS Website → https://bombas.com/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bombas/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/bombas/ David's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtheath/ Randy's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/randysgoldberg/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast

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 Omnisend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now
0:46.2	let's jump back into the show. Welcome back to the founder podcast. What if I told you
0:52.0	Shark Tank's most successful investment is now worth $3.4 billion?
0:56.6	Well, today's guest, David Heath and Randy Goldberg, are the co-founders of Bombers,
1:00.8	the sock company that turned comfort and purpose into a global movement.
1:05.0	In this episode, you'll hear how a simple insight about homelessness sparked their mission,
1:10.1	the scrappy steps they took to bootstrap
1:12.7	from an indigo crowdfunding campaign to a multi-billion dollar brand and their playbook for scaling
1:19.1	a d-de-c business profitably in an era where customer acquisition is more expensive than ever.
1:25.4	So if you've wondered how to blend profit with purpose and scale
1:28.9	without losing focus, this is an absolute masterclass you do not want to miss.
1:34.2	Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through
1:39.9	entrepreneurship. Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
1:47.7	First question I ask everyone that comes on is, how did you guys get your job,
1:52.9	aka how did you find yourself doing the work you're doing today? Does feel like a job sometimes.
1:58.1	It's funny to say that, you know? Yeah, I don't ever really think of this as our job, right? Well, sometimes I feel like I work for every, a different person every week at the company. Or it's like, God, this week it really feels like I work for Kate or something like that, you know? Yeah. I think I think our stories are shockingly somewhat similar.
2:18.9	You know, my story is that, you know, I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.
2:23.2	My dad's an entrepreneur, first generation immigrant.
2:26.3	I watched him build a business in the basement of our house into, you know, a multi-million
	...

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