652: IM8 Founder: What It REALLY Takes to Build a $200M Supplement Brand

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing

4.9 • 664 Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Danny Yeung went from selling baseball cards at age 12 to scaling Ubuy-Ibuy to nearly a million a month in revenue in just six months before Groupon acquired it in 2010. Then during Covid, he launched a PCR testing operation that processed 28 million tests and generated over $800 million in revenue across three years. He listed the company on the Nasdaq at a billion-dollar valuation—then watched it crash to $40 million within 18 months. Instead of giving up, he bet the entire company's future on launching IM8, a consumer supplement brand co-founded with David Beckham that scaled from zero to nearly $10 million a month in just over a year. In this interview, the co-founder of IM8 breaks down how he processed 40,000 PCR tests daily with a 2,000-person operation running 24/7, why he pivoted from Covid testing to launching a premium supplement brand, and the brutal $500,000 lesson he learned trying to unlock ad spend too quickly on Meta without the right infrastructure in place. What you'll learn in this interview: • How Danny scaled Ubuy-Ibuy to nearly $1M/month in 6 months before Groupon acquired it • Why he processed 28 million Covid tests generating $800M+ in revenue over 3 years • How he ran a 24/7 operation with 2,000+ people processing 40,000 tests daily • Why he listed on the Nasdaq at $1B valuation then crashed to $40M in 18 months • How he bet the company's future on launching IM8 with David Beckham • Why product obsession is the baseline—you can't even play without a great product • How IM8 scaled from zero to $10M/month in just over a year • The $500,000 mistake: trying to unlock ad spend too fast on Meta • Why consolidating multiple Meta accounts into one unlocked massive scale • How they now spend $200K/day on Meta while maintaining profitability • Why their average order value is over $200—one of the highest in supplements • How they signed athletes like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Fernando Alonso organically • Why NSF certification for sport was critical for credibility with elite athletes • His philosophy: you can't have a backup option—burn the boats and go all in If you're scaling a DTC brand, trying to unlock paid advertising at scale, or navigating a massive pivot after a business collapse, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about product obsession, risk-taking, and building brands that elite athletes actively seek out. 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. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠ 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 DANNY YEUNG Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dannyyeung22 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/dyeung22/ Website → https://im8health.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.
0:45.1	All right. Now let's jump back into the show.
0:48.7	Okay, guys, I have a crazy interview for you today. You've probably seen their ads. I'm 8. They are
0:56.2	absolutely everywhere. Danny Young, he's the co-founder of IM8. He is going to detail everything
1:01.7	that these guys are doing, spending two to three million dollars a month on ads, how he scaled
1:06.8	this business from zero to nine figures in just over a year, one of the fastest growing
1:12.4	D to C brands online. We go through landing pages, why they have 50 different landing pages,
1:18.0	what their split testing process looks like, how they scale spend, how they lost 400 to 500K
1:23.7	in three days. This interview is crazy. If you have a D to C brand right now, you are spending money on paid ads.
1:31.8	You need to watch this.
1:36.0	Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship.
1:43.8	Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
1:49.7	Danny Young, from selling baseball cards at age 12 to scaling you-buye-buye-buye to nearly a million
2:00.3	a month in revenue in just six months before Groupon acquired
2:05.2	it in 2010. What do you believe about business that most founders get wrong? I wouldn't say
2:12.4	most founders get wrong. Yeah, I believe there's always multiple ways to create multiple ways to, you know, create value and create a company.
2:19.3	It's just been one, you know, that's been always obsessed with product and understanding is this
2:25.1	something that really can solve a problem, right? So a lot of times people are unrealistic with their
2:30.6	idea, thoughts about the product, but number one, always starts with a product.
	...

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