Founder Secrets with Taylor and Flaviu

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Join us as Dan Van Tran, CTO of Collectors, shares how a childhood spent reverse-engineering games on a TI-82 turned into a career leading one of the world’s most influential collectibles companies. What started with curiosity, constraint, and a $140 calculator he hoped his parents wouldn’t notice eventually shaped an engineering mindset that powered massive transformation.

In this episode, Dan opens up about building games on calculators, discovering software fundamentals through necessity, and later rebuilding the entire technical foundation of a legacy company handling millions of physical collectibles every month.

From AI and automation to leadership and trust-building, this is the inside story of scaling a global operation.

🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTS

EARLY ENGINEERING ORIGINS

How reverse-engineering TI-82 games taught Dan the fundamentals that shaped his entire career.

SCALING COLLECTORS

Transforming a 1986-era grading company into a modern tech platform processing over 1.5M items monthly.

LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE

How Dan earned trust, rebuilt teams, and introduced new technology into a legacy culture.

THE COLLECTIBLES BOOM

Why sports cards, video games, comics—and especially Pokémon—are exploding in value.

MENTORSHIP AND DECISION MAKING

How Dan evaluates career options, chooses the right opportunities, and mentors the next generation.

🌐 RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about Collectors: collectors.com

Connect with Dan Van Tran on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dantran

Podcast Website: foundersecretspod.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: /foundersecretspod

LinkedIn: /founder-secrets-podcast

🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyer

Spotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8

🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE

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