611: From Homeless to Multi-Billionaire - His Success Habits | John Paul DeJoria

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

John Paul DeJoria went from being homeless twice to building two global billion-dollar brands, Paul Mitchell and Patrón Tequila, using nothing but resilience, sales mastery, and a refusal to quit. This interview breaks down how he launched Paul Mitchell with just $700 while living in his car, created the ultra-premium tequila category from scratch, and built companies that now operate in 130 countries. For any entrepreneur, ecommerce founder, or business builder searching for lessons in persistence, sales, brand building, and navigating adversity, this conversation is a masterclass in turning nothing into something extraordinary. What you’ll learn: • How John Paul DeJoria survived homelessness and built Paul Mitchell from a $700 investment • How he mastered door-to-door sales and used it as the foundation for building lasting companies • His “reorder business” philosophy and how it drove global distribution and long-term growth • The exact strategy behind creating Patrón’s ultra-premium tequila category • How he convinced suppliers, salons, and distributors to take a chance on an unknown brand • Why kindness, culture, and loyalty became the backbone of his leadership philosophy • How he scaled without email or a computer and why thinking time is his greatest advantage • The mindset tools he uses for stress, pressure, rejection, and forgiveness • How he evaluates people, partners, and investments with clarity and intuition • His approach to philanthropy, legacy, and why success means nothing unless it’s shared By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how an entrepreneur with no resources created two iconic global brands, built teams that stay for decades, and turned rejection into momentum—giving you the mindset, grit, and practical strategies to scale your own business with absolute conviction. 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 JOHN PAUL DEJORIA LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-paul-dejoria-35b2a460/ Patron → https://www.patrontequila.com/ JPSM → https://www.paulmitchell.com/ 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. What if being homeless twice and launching a company with just
0:52.1	$700 while living in your car became the foundation
0:55.2	for not building one, but two multi-billion dollar brands.
0:58.9	Well, today's guest, John Paul DeGio, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and Petron
1:03.9	Tequila, a living legend who proves that rock bottom can be a launch pad for extraordinary,
1:09.9	serious amounts of success. And after spending three
1:12.5	and a half years selling encyclopedias door to door, J.P. learned the art of embracing
1:17.5	rejection and becoming virtually rejection proof. So in his business partners, $500,000
1:23.1	investment fell through in 1980. J.P. survived on $2.50 a day while sleeping in his car and somehow
1:29.1	built a hair care empire now in 130 countries. Then he did again with Petron, launching a $37.95
1:35.8	tequila when compared to sold for $5, getting rejected by every distributor and creating the
1:41.1	ultra-primium tequila category from scratch. And in this conversation,
1:45.4	you're going to discover how JP convinced suppliers to take a chance on an unknown brand,
1:50.1	the reorder business philosophy that built two category-divining brands and why managing billions
1:55.5	without an email or a computer and spending time thinking instead of reacting might be the ultimate competitive
2:01.9	advantage in this hyper-connected world. This is an absolute masterclass in resilience,
2:07.3	rejection-proofing and building legacy brands from a founder who's turned nothing into everything
2:12.7	twice.
	...

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