Podcast appearances and mentions of Stuart Draper

MY NEWSLETTER - https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), as I interview Stuart Draper about how to get your first customer and scale from $0 to $2M in 4 years.I had a freaking treat talking to Stu Draper today. He's an incredible startup founder who just had an eight figure exit from his EdTech company, Stukent, which helped over a million people learn digital marketing. His companies have been on the Inc 5000 list ten times, and he knows exactly how to get your first customer when you're starting from zero.We chat about his journey starting his first digital marketing agency, getfoundfirst.com, during the 2008 recession and why he prioritized being a family man by building a professional baseball field and indoor-outdoor pool over buying a Lamborghini.Stu shares actionable insights on how entrepreneurs can secure their crucial first customer (hint: it might involve working for free) and explains why starting a service-based business is often the best low-risk way for first-time founders to learn entrepreneurship and get in the game.We dive deep into why catching the early wave of AI automation agencies today is just like catching the digital marketing wave 15 years ago—and why AI agency opportunities mirror what made so many digital marketing agency founders millionaires by age 32.Finally, he tells us why focusing on sales and marketing—not mastering your P&L or balance sheet—is the most important part of building a successful business, and how he scaled to eight figures without being a financial expert by hiring a great CFO.Enjoy the conversation!__________________________QUESTIONS THIS EPISODE ANSWERS:What is the most important first step in getting from zero to your first customer?Why is starting an AI automation agency today similar to starting a digital marketing agency in 2008?What is the lowest-risk path for a new entrepreneur to get in the game?How did Stuart Draper use a free customer strategy to land his first paying client?When scaling a business from bootstrap to exit, why should startup founders focus on sales and marketing instead of the P&L?How do you create mission vision values that turn customers into believers?What's the best way to get your first customer when you have no LLC, no website, and no business email?How did Stu scale to an eight figure business without being a financial expert?Why are service-based businesses the best first business for entrepreneurs?What are the biggest business opportunities in 2025 for first-time founders?__________________________Love it or hate it, I'd love your feedback.Please fill out this brief survey with your opinion or email me at nik@cofounders.com with your thoughts.__________________________MY NEWSLETTER: https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribeSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/5avyu98yApple: https://tinyurl.com/bdxbr284YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/nikonomicsYT__________________________This week we covered:00:00 The Journey of Growth and Learning02:59 Navigating the Digital Marketing Landscape05:47 Getting Your First Customer09:06 The Power of Vision and Shared Language11:58 Innovating in Education Technology14:52 The Importance of Sales and Revenue18:11 Lessons from Entrepreneurship21:01 Opportunities in AI and Service-Based Businesses23:55 Final Thoughts and Future Opportunities

Podcast: Startups With StuEpisode: Building Wealth Without Sacrificing FamilyPub date: 2025-03-04Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization From turning down multi-million dollar Wall Street recruitment bonuses to building a billion-dollar wealth management firm, Chad Willardson's entrepreneurial journey is anything but conventional. In this captivating episode of Startups with Stu, Chad reveals how he walked away from a $1.4M salary at Merrill Lynch to start Pacific Capital, taking a 70% pay cut to pursue his vision of serving entrepreneurs differently. He shares the fascinating story of surprising his wife with a private jet purchase (and her unexpected reaction), and explains why he turns down high-profile clients like NBA players to stay true to his entrepreneurial niche. Chad breaks down why he believes the "hustle culture" is a lie, revealing how he built a thriving business while maintaining an 8 AM-3 PM workday for his team and prioritizing family life. Drawing from his experience managing $1.45 billion in assets, Chad offers counter-intuitive wisdom about wealth building, arguing that diversification isn't always the answer. This episode is packed with invaluable insights for entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses while building meaningful lives. The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Stuart Draper, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Stuart Draper founded Stukent, an innovative ed-tech company that provides simulated internships for business students. Stukent started by focusing on high-quality digital marketing education for colleges and universities using up-to-date digital textbooks and content. They then added a simulation system for students to practice their digital marketing skills. Stukent grew steadily with less than $1M in outside funding, which helped them bridge the long and seasonal buying cycles of big schools. The team grew to over 100 employees and nearly $10 million in revenue serving marketing professors and their students.  In 2021, they engaged with Vista Point Advisors, an M&A advisor firm, to shop the company to prospective buyers and investors, eventually getting a majority investment from Tritium Partners. Stuart describes the M&A process, what worked well, and how he transitioned out of the company after two years of continued growth.  Podcast Sponsor – Cypress Growth Capital This week's podcast is sponsored by my friends at Cypress Growth Capital. For 15 years, Cypress has provided non-dilutive growth funding to bootstrapped SaaS founders, including many successful founders I've interviewed here on this podcast. Quote from Stuart Draper, founder of Stukent “When we officially sold a major part of our company to investors, we had a brief celebration. My CFO and I called each other and screamed as loud as we could on the phone in a fun moment. We got there, we did this. My family also took a big trip and I got a break. “But then it was back to work. I was still the CEO and I still run this thing and I've got new investors that also need returns. I'm going to go deliver for these guys. They gave me a big payday, so I'm going to make sure they have a win too. “After the second board meeting with our investors, I realized this is way harder than I thought. After eight board meetings and doubling the business again, I wasn't enjoying this as much anymore. The board meetings were hard for me. Prepping for them was super stressful. “So we found a new CEO for Stukent, and he's doing great. Now I get to sit back in my chair at the board meeting, listen in, share my advice and opinions and come back in three months.” Links Stuart Draper on LinkedIn Stukent on LinkedIn Stukent website Tritium Partners website The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. 

Stuart Draper is the founder and CEO of Stukent — a digital courseware provider that helps educators and students across the world. Stukent has the world's first internet marketing simulation and the world's best digital marketing simulation. In this episode we talk about "sticking to it" and many other topics that help lead to success as an entrepreneur! Enjoy :) Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://parkerkane.co/ Use the promo code "PARKER" to get started on Libsyn for FREE! https://libsyn.com Like this podcast? Please leave an UPBEAT review here — include your Instagram handle in the review and/or tag me so I can reach out and thank you! Please follow, review, and share with a friend! Thanks for listening!

Thanks to Stuart and Brian (a repeat guest on the NGPF Podcast) for sharing details about their respective entrepreneurial journeys and their Mimic Personal Finance platform. Enjoy!   

In this session Stuart Draper, CEO and Founder of Stukent, talks about his experiences as an entrepreneur. Stuart has been a part of several ventures including a digital marketing agency and a non-profit organization. In this session, he'll give insights on how you can start down your path of entrepreneurship while still being in college. Watch the original video recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsjB-1xkyu4&feature=youtu.be

Stuart Draper is the founder and CEO of Stukent - a digital courseware provider that helps educators and students across the world. Stukent has the world's first internet marketing simulation and the world's best digital marketing simulation. In this episode we talk about "sticking to it" and many other topics that help lead to success as an entrepreneur! Here's how to contact Stu! https://www.linkedin.com/in/draperstu/ & https://www.stukent.com/ Thanks for listening! 

Renae interviews Stuart Draper of Stukent. Stuart shares how he took his own experience in education and used that to make it better for those that follow. Stuart explains how he took the business from conception to the successful business it is now. 

Stuart Draper lost his job in 2008 and began his entrepreneurial journey through Google Ads. In 2011 he began teaching at BYU and saw the opportunity to teach digital marketing and launched his business Stukent around this idea. Their mission is to help educators help students help the world through providing digital courseware to institutions all over the world. Tune in to listen to the details and Stuart talk about his business journey. Interested in a course? Click here!  

Stuart Draper lost his job in 2008 and began his entrepreneurial journey through Google Ads. In 2011 he began teaching at BYU and saw the opportunity to teach digital marketing and launched his business Stukent around this idea. Their mission is to help educators help students help the world through providing digital courseware to institutions all over the world. Tune in to listen to the details and Stuart talk about his business journey. Interested in a course? Click here!  

Stuart Draper once worked as a plumber for his brother-in-law. Now he’s the founder of a $4 Million business providing a digital marketing curriculum to university professors and their students. Makes total sense, right? Well, maybe not. But it makes for a great tale.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Strategic Investment   Today’s episode discusses how to prepare and demonstrate to investors that your business is a worthy investment. Stuart Draper shares his journey of turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones as well as how to prepare for the conversation with potential investors.   TOPICS DISCUSSED TODAY Learning from adversity Getting funding for your business Surrounding yourself with good people Hiring the right people Remembering that talent is replaceable, don’t feel bad if someone quits Preparing for the conversation with an investor Working backwards from that huge vision and making it happen, one step at a time STU SAID:   “I decided I needed to go fix things and be the change for education so Stukent was born.”   “You may be onto something but you’ve got to do a lot of research to prove it.”   “Would you quit everything else you have and go for this?  Do you believe in this that much?” “When you raise funding as an entrepreneur, [investors] are betting maybe 10% on your idea, maybe another 10% on your traction that you already have and they’re betting 80% on [you as] the jockey.”     “If they can’t believe that you’re the [person who] can go execute then they won’t move forward.”   “It’s not about the idea, it’s about the execution.”   “Everytime you get to a roadblock you’ve got to go find a way;  jump over it, go over it, go around it, blast through it--whatever it takes!” BIOGRAPHY   Stuart Draper is the co-author of Digital Marketing Essentials, the bestselling text in higher education of its kind. He has experience doing internet marketing for companies that range from mom and pop shops to Fortune 500 companies. He successfully bootstrapped GetFoundFirst.com (acquired December 2015), and is now working on Stukent.com, a digital courseware company that provides the world's #1 digital marketing simulation, the world's first social media marketing simulation, and a variety of other texts, videos and projects. Stuart's work has taken him all over the globe. He has been to Romania, Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, Germany, and India to speak to audiences ranging from ten to north of 1500 people about entrepreneurship and digital marketing. (Source: Stuart Draper Linkedin)   FINAL THOUGHTS ON A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT Think a hundred times bigger than you’re thinking!   There’s so much more opportunity in this world than you're giving yourself credit for and it’s yours for the taking. CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA   Twitter: @Stu_Draper Linkedin: Stuart Draper Website: Stukent.com

Stuart Draper is a bit of a living legend in the digital marketing world.  He is the Founder and CEO of Stukent, a "courseware" company that helps college professors teach internet marketing.  His first company, Get Found First, was one of the first digital marketing agencies in Idaho and is a national powerhouse in an ever-growing industry. In this episode we talk about dealing with the risk of starting a new business, how starting in a small town can actually become a benefit, and what to focus on most in the early days of a start-up.