E152: Thrasio Bought It, Ben Bought It Back: A Founder Who Lived It Tells All

More than the incredible (true) story of one founder’s journey to turn around the company he created, this is a public coaching session on what it takes to win as a 6–7 figure brand.

Sean Frank and Matt Bertulli sit down with Ben Leonard, founder of Beast Gear, a strength and conditioning brand he built from scratch in Scotland, sold to Thrasio in 2019, and bought back after watching it decline for years.

Together, they dig into what went wrong, what Ben is doing to resurrect it, and why he’s launching a new product at the same time. The conversation covers the rise and fall of the Amazon aggregator model and the brutal math of earn-outs when a buyer stops investing in your brand. Ben walks through how Beast Gear went from $6 million in revenue to barely $500k after Thrasio killed the website, email marketing, and social media.

The hosts also guide Ben through their turnaround playbook, from TikTok Shop and founder-led content to reclaiming damaged Amazon listings.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Love Like an “Exasperated Parent”
00:02:44 What Ben Really Thinks of Thrasio
00:09:09 The Earn Out Became a Pray Out
00:16:16 Pennies on the Dollar Buyback
00:25:33 Turning Around a Gutted Brand
00:33:16 TikTok Shop Is the Comeback Play
00:40:01 A Baby Carrier for Gorpcore Dads
00:50:08 Kickstarter and Going International

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