Brandon Dawson: 97% of Startups Fail! How to Beat the Odds and Scale to 9 Figures | Entrepreneurship | E364

Young and Profiting with Hala Taha

YAP Media Network | Hala Taha

Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Business

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 August 2025

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A few years after being voted 'least likely to succeed' in high school, Brandon Dawson defied expectations by scaling his first company from zero to $75 million. Since then, he has built and sold multiple nine-figure businesses. As the co-founder of Cardone Ventures, he helps entrepreneurs build wealth, scale effectively, and lead with purpose. In this episode, Brandon reveals why 97% of businesses fail and shares how to beat the odds and achieve business growth. He also discusses his core leadership principles and the key traits of a great business partner. In this episode, Hala and Brandon will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (02:21) His Early Life and Entrepreneurship Journey (09:27) Bootstrapping a Startup vs. VC Funding (19:10) Why Entrepreneurs Should Prioritize Cash Reserves (26:14) Scale vs. Scaling: Redefining Business Growth (36:48) Why 92% of Businesses Fail to Scale Past $3M (40:25) The ‘Law of the Lid’ in Leadership (45:47) Actionable Steps to Improving Leadership Skills (55:46) Building 9-Figure Businesses with Grant Cardone (01:03:01) The Key Traits to Look for in Business Partners Brandon Dawson is an entrepreneur, scaling expert, and co-founder of Cardone Ventures. As CEO of Sonus Corporation, he grew it to over 1,400 locations and raised $58 million. He later founded Audigy Group, scaling it from $500,000 to $35 million before selling it for $151 million. With over 30 years of experience, Brandon helps businesses scale using data-driven strategies, navigate breakpoints, and avoid common pitfalls. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/PROFITING OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first 6 months at OpenPhone.com/profiting Airbnb - Find a co-host at airbnb.com/host Mercury - Streamline your banking and finances in one place. Learn more at ⁠⁠mercury.com/profiting⁠⁠ Policy Genius - Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to policygenius.com/profiting Framer - Launch your site for free at Framer.com, and use code PROFITING Resources Mentioned: Brandon's Website: bdawson.com Brandon's Book, Nine-Figure Mindset: bit.ly/9FigureMindset Brandon’s Podcast, Building Billions: bit.ly/BuildingBillions-Apple The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell: bit.ly/21-Laws Good to Great (6 book series) by Jim Collins: bit.ly/GTG-Series Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki: bit.ly/CashQuadrant Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone: bit.ly/Sell-Be-Sold Start The Work by Natalie Dawson: bit.ly/StartTheWork Three Feet from Gold by Sharon L. Lechter: bit.ly/3-Feet-Gold Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap YouTube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services: yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Podcast, Business, Business Podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal Development, Starting a Business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Psychology, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing, Negotiation, Money, Finance, Side Hustle, Startup, Mental Health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health, Growth Mindset, Passive income, Online Business, Solopreneur, Founder, Networking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Yeah, bam, as you may know, I'm a total fashionista. I love clothing. It is my favorite way to
0:08.7	express myself. I love putting together outfits. It is one of my favorite hobbies, fashion. I just love it.
0:14.5	And when it comes to buying my clothes, there's really only one place I shop for the last three or four
0:19.9	years. I literally have bought all of my clothes from Revolve, one place I shop for the last three or four years, I literally have
0:21.3	bought all of my clothes from Revolve, whether it's buying a gown for a wedding, work clothes,
0:26.6	going out, dancing clothes, bikinis for vacations, vacation outfits, all of my clothes are from
0:32.6	Revolve. And Revolve is so amazing because they've got so many brands. They've got 1,200 different brands
0:38.2	from really established labels to up and coming brands. And I just love discovering these new brands,
0:44.7	trying these clothes. It's always so high quality. Their shipping is just so fast. They've got
0:49.6	overnight shipping, two-day shipping. It's one of the best high-quality stores that I know of that
0:53.9	actually provide quick shipping. So if you need something in a pinch, Revolve is night shipping, two-day shipping, it's one of the best high-quality stores that I know of that actually
0:54.2	provide quick shipping. So if you need something in a pinch, Revolve is definitely your go-to.
0:59.9	Whether it's a weekend away or a big night out or a style refresh, your dream wardrobe is just
1:05.0	one click away. Head to Revolve.com slash profiting and shop my edit to take 15% off your first order with code profiting.
1:12.5	That's fast two-day shipping, easy returns. It's literally the only place you need to shop from.
1:17.1	It's the only place that I shop from. That's revolve.com slash profiting to shop my favorites and get
1:22.1	15% off your first order with code profiting. This offer ends November 9th, so happy shopping and get to it.
1:30.2	97% of businesses fail out of 34 million, and most of them stay at 3 million or less.
1:36.8	If the business is going to grow and scale, the person in charge of the business must grow and
1:42.1	scale.
1:43.2	Brandon Dawson is the co-founder and CEO of Cardone Ventures with Grant Cardone,
1:48.9	and he's a serial entrepreneur who's built not one but multiple companies into nine-figure successes.
	...

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