INTERVIEW | Make Money Building a Billion-Dollar Business: Lessons from Three Founders
Building a billion-dollar company requires more than a great idea—it takes customer obsession, disciplined investing, and smart scaling. In this special compilation episode, Travis Chappell brings together insights from three remarkable entrepreneurs: Tomer London, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Gusto; Jim Lebenthal, Chief Market Strategist at Cerity Partners; and Richard Harpin, founder of HomeServe. Together, they share practical lessons on creating products customers love, investing for the long term, and scaling businesses without losing control.
On this episode we talk about:
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Why solving real customer problems is the foundation of billion-dollar companies.
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The importance of product development and customer feedback in building lasting businesses.
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Why long-term investing consistently outperforms trying to time the market.
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How entrepreneurs should think about fundraising, ownership, and scaling.
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The systems, metrics, and business models that helped HomeServe grow into a multi-billion-dollar company.
Top 3 Takeaways
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The best businesses begin with a deep understanding of customer pain points and an unwavering commitment to building products that genuinely solve them.
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Whether investing or building a company, patience and long-term thinking outperform chasing short-term wins.
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Prove your business model before scaling aggressively. Grow sustainably, maintain ownership whenever possible, and let strong unit economics guide expansion.
Notable Quotes
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"Consumers get amazing technology. Small businesses deserve great technology too."
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"The best days in the market almost always happen right after the worst days."
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"Keep it small, prove the model, get to profitability, and then, if you need money to scale, that's when you should bring in an investor."
Connect with the Guests:
Tomer London
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomerlondon/
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Other:
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Gusto: https://gusto.com/
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Jim Lebenthal
- Book: How to Ride the Subway: Getting Around on Wall Street and Life
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Other:
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Cerity Partners: https://ceritypartners.com/
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Richard Harpin
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richard_harpin/
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