Travis Makes Money

609: Tom Austin | Lessons from the Rise and Fall of And1

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If you’re not getting knocked down, then you’re not trying hard enough. Tom Austin is a seasoned entrepreneur and currently partner in several technology start-ups. He is the CEO of Confidently, a personal, pocket-sized, confidence coach developed by a team of PhDs with decades of experience coaching elite performers.


Part of Tom’s track record was becoming Co-Founder of AND 1, a well-known, global basketball apparel brand. He was instrumental in evolving the AND 1 business strategy and brand for nearly a decade and built AND 1's footwear department from basically zero sales to just north of $200,000,000 annually! These days he is currently writing screenplays, advising start-ups, and consulting.


Let’s dive right in and learn Tom’s top lessons from the rise and fall of And1.


Things you will learn in this episode: 


[00:01 - 08:54] Opening Segment 

  • I introduce today’s guest, Tom Austin 
  • Bio 
  • Be sure to check out guestio.com and start booking
  • Tom gives some background on his story 
  • Growing up in New England 
  • Parents 
  • Growing up with a love for sports 
  • A push towards education
  • Always wanted to play in the NBA 
  • College experience 


    • [08:55 - 33:19] Lessons from the Rise and Fall of And1

    • Tom talks about what he learned in his time in And1
    • Teamwork - The importance of team alignment
    • Competition - You will experience setbacks - learn from them 
    • The value of practice and breaking things down
    • How Tom defines success
    • Am I and my family healthy and happy?
    • What am I doing that is a net positive? 
    • The And1 timeline and experience 
    • Tom talks about his transition into finance and entrepreneurship
    • Networking within sports and athletics 
    • Going into a business partnership 
    • Pivoting into the And1 business model 
    • The beginning stages of And1
    • Expectation vs. reality 
    • Transitioning into basketball niche apparel 
    • Starting with t-shirts and pitching them to retailers
    • Landing a meaning with Footlocker 
    • Always willing to learn
    • When And1 started to catch on 
    • Going all in 
    • Getting a $600,000 order 
    • The start of the Street Ball line - playing to endorsements
    • Finding your flavor 
    • The fall of And1 and its lessons
    • Getting worn down on work 
    • The issues in HR, systems, and market changes 
    • Maintaining your infrastructure 
    •  A word from our sponsor


      • [33:20 - 40:09] Access to Your Own Person Performance Coach

      • Tom talks about his next steps after And1 ended 
      • Getting back into a centered state 
      • Going back to grad school
      • Getting into filmmaking
      • Tom shares about his newest business - Confidently 
      • Coaching from sports psychologists 
      • Giving people their own personal performance coach 
      • Lessons people can learn from accessing the app 
      • Getting excited about the team and the domain area
      • Seeing everything come together


        • [40:10 - 50:34] Closing Segment

        • Where to learn more about Tom’s 
        • Links below 
        • Why people don’t build relationships
        • Depends on where you’re at 
        • Strong and weak ties 
        • The difficulties of finding a deeply trusted person
        • Questions to ask yourself 
        • Who you know or what you know?
        • It depends on where you’re at and what you do 
        • RaNDoM RoUnD
        • How to engage with Tom
        • Links below
        • Final words 


          • Tweetable Quotes: 

          “Having a team and being able to work and win together and having a common purpose, in what’s called alignment in the teamwork literature… All the teamwork related stuff is definitely number one.” - Tom Austin 


          “You’re gonna get knocked on your butt, things aren’t always gonna go your way. So you got to learn from each thing - look at each set back as a learning opportunity.” - Tom Austin


          “If I’m not getting knocked down, then I’m not trying hard enough.” - Tom Austin


          Connect with Tom on LinkedIn. Go check out https://getconfidently.com/ and get your own pocket coach. 


          Did you love the value that we are putting out in the show? LEAVE A REVIEW and tell us what you think about the episode so we can continue putting out great content just for you! Share this episode and help someone who wants to connect with world-class people. 


          Jump on over to travischappell.com/makemypodcast and let my team make you your very own show!


          If you want to learn how to build YOUR network, check out my website a travischappell.com. You can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Be sure to join The Lounge to become part of the community that’s setting up REAL relationships that add value and create investments.



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