596: (Solo) The Most Unexpected Lessons I Learned From Scooter Braun

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0:39Just head to omnisend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now let's jump back into the show. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode. Nathan here is the founder to founder solo episode. These are quick reflections where I share things that I'm learning as I'm building founder. I've been building founder for the past 10 years. These are bite-sized episodes, five to 10 minutes. As always, if you are enjoying them, please do let me know. Shoot me an Instagram DM. Now, I always get asked, what are some of my favorite interviews that I've done over the years? And most people would expect me to say like Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, or Barbara Corcoran, but one that always stood out to me, and maybe not one that you'd expect, is with Scooter Braun.

1:24Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Founder Podcast with Nathan Chan.

1:37I never forget jumping on the call with him and he said, man, I'm a fan. I've seen your ads. And I was like, oh wow, that's crazy. And I know for some of you, he's a controversial character. So the reason that this interview resonated so much is behind all that, he just speaks to the really important things to me as a founder and as a person that we all go through and not enough founders speak about. Things like growth, things like failure, humility, and really building something that matters. And what I loved and appreciated so much about what I learned from Scooter, which I'll tell the work.

2:18Like he told me that he went to this thing called the Hoffman Institute. And I've done a lot of work on myself deeply that not a lot of people know about. And I don't really share it that publicly. I did a lot of work on myself before I started Founder to know who I am, really get to know what I wanted out of life. So the first lesson that I have for you that I learnt from Scooter is he's had massive highs, but his resilience in the face of scrutiny is crazy. He launched Justin Bieber's career. He represented Ariana Grande, Cy, J Balvin, but he also had very public lows. So what struck me in our conversation wasn't how he defended himself, but how much he talked about self-reflection and evolving as a person.

3:07I never forget you know he said to me Nathan I've recently become famous with somebody called Jeff Bezos and I asked him a question it's something I want to share with your audience and he said you are one of the richest people in the world you have everything you could ever dream of what do you want and Jeff Bezos said I just want to evolve and I just thought that was so interesting like the a way that he's able to self-reflect and tell stories. And he really talked about losing himself through that hustle, constantly fearing it could all disappear, and how those blind spots that he created in his life was something that subconsciously fueled him.

3:49So instead of hiding, as I said, he went to the Hoffman Institute, he leaned into therapy, he did deep work, and he really rebuilt his foundation and identity and how he views himself. And this is something that I've been through with founder as well, right? One thing that's tricky for me is the most successful thing I've ever done is building founder. And you can sometimes tie up your whole identity to that. And unless you actually step back and realize, hey, you know, subconsciously, why am I doing these certain things? You realize that sometimes you're operating from a place of fear. Sometimes you're operating from a place of ego.

4:27and I've done a lot of self-work to try and identify and really try and open up my subconscious to realize why I do certain things and is it coming from a place of strength or is it coming from a place of fear and I think the takeaway is you look at someone like him and it looks like he's got it all worked out you look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and it's easy to judge these people based on headlines. But as founders, the lows are low and the highs are high and we all experience it and it's really a rite of passage. And it's not that other founders haven't told me this, but I just feel like the way that he described it and articulated it was just really raw and really real.

5:11And it really hit home for me, this resilience that he has and this candor that he shared around how he's been resilient and in the face of scrutiny. The next lesson that I wanted to share with you that I learned from Scooter was he openly said he focused so heavily on protecting tomorrow that he wasn't present today. And he's carrying this weight of his business, his roster, this constant pressure and needing to succeed, but not actually really enjoying any of it. And that's something that I can relate to. That honesty was, it was so raw, right? Because as founders, we often think if I just hit this milestone, then I'll feel enough.

5:51If I just hit this target, then everything will be amazing. And that's the trick that we tell ourselves. And Scooter is like proof that if you're not grounded in who you are, no amount of external success will fill that gap. And I've interviewed some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation. And it is a common thing that I find that true success isn't just what you build. It's who you become along the way. And it's crazy, the journeys, the stories these people share. And that's really where the reward is. And you look back on these times, like I've had friends and I've listened to founders and I've met founders that have sold their companies.

6:32And they always look back on those times as the fondest memories. and we tend to kind of shadow how it actually felt at the time and we forget that. But during that time, it's tough. And if you're going through something tough right now, just know it's probably going to be one of your best stories. It's probably going to be something that you look back on fondly. And it is so important to just focus on how incredible life is right now. And the next lesson I wanted to share was just around building a family, not just an empire. and I loved his mindset shift around that. I saw this in the big moments like producing the One Love Manchester concert and after that tragedy struck and I saw it when, you know, the smaller quieter moments like being vulnerable with his artists, telling him you're not alone, I've been through it too.

7:22And the real takeaway here is as founders, our companies aren't just machines for growth, they're communities, they're cultures and families and the stronger those bonds are, the stronger the business because that's what business is all about. It's about building relationships. It's about building connections. It's about building community. So how can you further serve your community? How can you further serve your people, no matter how small when you're building your business? I also loved how Scooter shared how he no longer thinks about his talent or hard work. He talked about fate, about Justin or Ariana or Sai just being placed in his life at the right time.

8:00And when I asked, you know, what he'd tell his younger self, he'd say, you're good enough. You don't have to prove anything. And that humility after everything he's achieved was just like so refreshing, so powerful. And when I went through deep burnout after COVID and I didn't even want to work anymore, I realized that you can have all the success in the world. But if you don't have your mental health, success doesn't mean anything. All the money in the world, all these different things, all the accolades, all the notoriety, all this kind of stuff, all the achievements, it doesn't mean anything.

8:32And what's most important is having your friends and family and loved ones around you and just spending as much time with them as possible and being able to change their lives. So my final message to you is the reason that Scooter Braun was one of my favorite interviews was not because of the fame, not because of the artists he managed, but because he showed the raw, the messy, and the real human side of entrepreneurship. And he reminded me, and hopefully he reminds you, that building something great isn't just about building an empire. It's about resilience. It's about self-reflection. And most importantly, humility and family and choosing growth over ego.

9:14Because at the end of the day, life is too short to not do work you don't enjoy. and sometimes you find yourself doing it, but then you get lost in all of it. So I hope that this is a real lesson for you and this interview has stuck with you because this isn't one that I expected. So I hope you guys enjoyed this little episode and I hope this challenges your thinking in some way, shape or form. And as always, if you are enjoying these episodes, please shoot me a DM, Nathan Chan on Instagram or an email. I'd love to hear from you. All right, I'll speak to you soon. Thank you.