S2E296 How to Win in Your Underwear - an Interview with Tommy John Founder Tom Patterson
It's a Good Life
Brian Buffini
4.4 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2025
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
No matter what the market's doing, it's never a bad time for a good idea! In this episode, Tom Patterson shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey, from his small-town upbringing, to co-founding Tommy John during the 2008 recession and going on to achieve phenomenal success.
YOU WILL LEARN:
· The value of mentorship and personal growth.
· The benefit of identifying opportunity in challenging times.
· The importance of a courageous mindset when others are fearful.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
“Die With Zero,” by Bill Perkins
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:
“Perfection is the enemy of good enough.” – Tom Patterson
“I don't believe that people are self-made. I think there's people that make you along the way in different seasons or periods of your life.” – Tom Patterson
“Great companies find ways to win and to build momentum in tough times.” – Tom Patterson
“Be courageous when everybody's fearful.” – Tom Patterson
“Once you stop growing and learning, you start dying.” – Tom Patterson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to It's a Good Life, the podcast for entrepreneurs, where it's all about growing yourself and your business. |
| 0:09.6 | Here's your host, founder of America's largest business coaching company, Brian Bafini. |
| 0:17.0 | Well, top of the morning to you and welcome to It's a Good Life. And if you're an entrepreneur, |
| 0:23.1 | you're going to love today's show. Not only a great entrepreneur who built a great company, |
| 0:27.6 | but just a great dude. And I have a number of people in common with our guest. His name is Tom Patterson. |
| 0:34.9 | He's got a great family life. He's got a great perspective on life. |
| 0:38.7 | And he comes from a great place. He also started the Tommy John Company. And I know you've |
| 0:45.0 | heard of that. He and his wife, Aaron, started the company during the 2008 recession. So no |
| 0:50.2 | matter what the market's doing, it's never a bad time for a good idea. |
| 0:59.2 | And their goal was to bring a solution to men's ill-fitting undershirts, which I know all about. |
| 1:05.7 | And over the last 17 years, their business has grown from their apartment and doing their business right here in San Diego to sell over 30 million pairs of underwear with all kinds |
| 1:10.7 | of celebrity |
| 1:11.2 | spokespeople all over the place, 3,000 wholesale locations. Wow, Tom, that sounds great. |
| 1:18.0 | Congratulations on all your success and welcome to the program. Yeah, thanks so much and thanks |
| 1:22.4 | for having me. Okay, I'm fascinated to know the Tom Patterson origin story. Where did it all start? How'd you end up where you're at today? |
| 1:31.7 | Yeah, well, I would say it's not the typical path of an underwear founder, but I grew up in a small town of 3,000 people in Melbourne, South Dakota. You know, people, hard work in town. Val values are really simple, work hard, treat people well, |
| 1:46.8 | and show up every day and, you know, play a lot of sports. I was very active as a kid and had a great |
| 1:54.5 | childhood. But I think it kind of built this hunger to go out and do bigger things and bigger places. |
| 2:02.7 | And I just kind of always had an entrepreneurial bug from, I would say, in early age. How did that show up as a kid? |
| 2:07.2 | Man, you know, I think there's a debate. Are you born with it or made? I think I was certainly |
| 2:11.6 | born with it. I was always the curious kid and fit the prototype for getting into trouble, |
| 2:17.4 | really a nonconformist in most |
... |
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