Episode #23 - Chris Meade

#15MinuteFounder

Chris Meade built Crossnet from a $14,000 investment and a rented U-Haul into a multimillion-dollar brand. In just 18 months, the company crossed $1 million in revenue. By 2020, it was doing $10 million a year. But behind the Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition was a far less glamorous story: a seasonal business, unpredictable cash flow, and an entrepreneur who emptied his 401(k) just to keep the company alive through its first 90 days.

In this episode of 15 Minute Founder, Chris pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build and survive a physical product business. He breaks down the financial realities of scaling a physical product company, and explains why he’s shifting away from inventory-driven businesses toward Founders Club and PLOTS Studio, where recurring value, community, and cash flow take center stage.

Highlights from the chat

Q: Let’s say Crossnet doesn’t exist and you’re starting today and you have $10K. What does the first two-week road map look like?

If I had to start over with just $10,000, I’d think very differently than I did at 22. I wouldn’t just chase the next big idea, I’d look for something that generates repeat sales, gives me a healthy return on capital, and puts cash back in my pocket as quickly as possible.

In the first two weeks, I’d write down as many ideas as I could, decide whether I wanted to build solo or with a partner, and look for a whitespace opportunity where I could create a real advantage.

To answer your question: is $10,000 enough? It’s definitely tough. But we started Crossnet with about $14,000, so I know it’s possible.

Q: If we go back in time, what would you actually do with that $14,000 when you started?

The very first thing we did was get on Alibaba and start reaching out to manufacturers. Honestly, we thought the moment we shared our idea, someone would copy it overnight.

Eventually, we found a manufacturer we trusted and asked if they could build Crossnet. Their first quote was $100,000. And between the three of us, we had around $12,000 in the bank. We’d never even seen six figures.

Thankfully, they were willing to work with us. It took almost every dollar we had, and we even liquidated our 401(k)s to make it happen. There was no backup plan and we went all in on ourselves.

Q: You emptied your bank accounts and even liquidated your 401(k)s. Was that decision scary, and how long did it take you to go all in?

I don’t remember spending months debating it. Once we had conviction, we moved fast.

I quit my job, we packed a U-Haul, left Connecticut for Miami, and bet everything on making Crossnet work.

To keep ourselves grounded, we had something we called the ‘Doomsday Board.’ It tracked exactly how much cash each of us had left. At one point, I had less than $1,000 in my account.

I’d take freelance work on Upwork just to buy us a little more time. We’d stretch every dollar as far as it could go, knowing we were racing against the clock.

It wasn’t until 18 months later that all those bets finally paid off and the business started generating millions in sales.

Q. Before we get into scaling, you mentioned you had two co-founders. Who were they, and how did the three of you end up building Crossnet together?

It was me, my brother, and one of our childhood friends. Having that level of trust from day one made it a lot easier to navigate the uncertainty and challenges of building a business together. And of course, surviving those early days was the hardest part.

Q. You quit your jobs, packed up a U-Haul, moved to Miami, and bet everything on one idea. What gave the three of you the conviction to take that leap when most people would’ve played it safe?

I grew up watching someone I was really close to talk about their biggest regrets. Every few days, it was the same story: ‘I wish I’d done this. It’s too late now.’ Hearing that stuck with me.

I never wanted to reach the end of my life, or look my future kids in the eye, and have to admit that I never believed in myself. How could I expect them to chase their dreams if I wasn’t willing to chase mine?

So when Crossnet came along, I didn’t think it was the greatest idea ever. But it was a good idea, and it was worth taking a shot.

I also grew up in a small farming town where most people spent their entire lives in the same place. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, many of my friends are still there and they’re genuinely happy. But I always felt like I wanted to see what else was possible.

The idea of moving to Miami, living by the beach, and building a company felt like a completely different world. I figured the worst-case scenario was that it didn’t work out. I had a college degree. I could always get another job.

What I couldn’t live with was the regret of never trying.

Q: You mentioned scaling from beach hustling to actual sales. What tipped that first big wave, going from just you three to real velocity?

It was a combination of influencer, organic, and just being persistent. I’d go to the beach every single day with the product and harass somebody to come play. Because it’s so visual, people would stop, stare, ask questions.

Two weeks later, I’d start getting sales from New York, from the West Village, and I’m like, “that’s the guy I played with on the beach.”

Every day that would happen, and it started compounding. It wasn’t Chris, Greg, and Mike doing it anymore. It was every customer we’d met becoming a node selling for us in their own city.

Q: You built a real culture and community around Crossnet. Was that intentional from the start?

Yeah, and honestly it led to a lot of mistakes along the way too. The goal was to build the next great backyard sport, then get it on ESPN, which we did.

But really it was about slowing things down: telling customers how to actually play the game, how to set it up, when and where to play. That messaging is why we have a million players in 53 countries today.

It’s the same with Plotty Studio and Founders Club: set the customer up for success, and that’s when things actually start to work.

Q: When did you personally learn to slow down?

Once things started breaking left and right. It’s fun to go 100 miles an hour, and that’s how scale happens. But every day something new breaks, and it’s on us as operators to slow down and build the process.

A perfect example: we did a sponsorship together where the date wasn’t relayed properly, and it caused a mess. Bad look on me, bad look on the company. We fulfilled eventually, but that’s not what we sell.

Getting in our own way by not having processes in place, that’s on us.

Q: 2020 hits, COVID happens, and you go from $2M to almost $10M in sales. What did that inflection point look like?

We had no idea what we were doing. Walmart, exporting to every retailer in the world. But we also knew customer lifetime value was dying.

Our biggest mistake was being a one-trick pony for too long. We should’ve been building products for fall and winter instead of staying locked into a summer-only business.

Q: That scaling period also meant overhiring. Looking back, why did that happen and what would you tell yourself?

Two things. One: if someone tells you they can’t take on more, it’s probably them not using their resources wisely; work harder, everyone can.

Two: I didn’t have a network or community. There was no playbook. Reading Zuckerberg or Bezos doesn’t relate to a $4M made-up sporting goods company.

I was too scared to ask for help, and by the time I finally did, it was six months too late. That’s part of why Founders Club exists now, solving the problem I didn’t have a solution for.

Q: You mentioned an exit that didn’t pan out. What happened?

Two buyers were neck and neck: one offer was literally $1M more. I chased the money because I had no adviser telling me the higher bidder might be screwing me over.

We went through 120 days of diligence, over $100K in legal bills, and at the last minute they called and said take 30% of what we offered or leave it.

We didn’t accept the offer and just went back to running the company. It’s genuinely hard to sell a low-to-mid seven-figure company, there are only a handful of buyers where it’s the perfect fit, and it just hasn’t happened yet.

Q: You and Aaron run Founders Club together. How do your roles complement each other?

I handle sales, partnerships, and cash collection. He’s the face of the company and leads the sales team on applications and memberships.

The business thrives on organic content. We get 200–300 applications a week and spend almost nothing on paid. He’s comfortably the face on video; I’ve had a newsletter for three and a half years with 50-60K weekly readers.

I’m the keys, he’s the face. It’s really about checking your ego at the door, the more he thrives, the better Founders Club does, and the better I do too.

Q: How does the Founders Club business model actually work?

It’s a community business with a membership fee to join, an admissions team that vets every applicant, 250 calls a week, and we only accept about 5% of applicants.

It’s cash positive: we pay commissions on closes, reinvest the rest into the community, plus sponsorships with partners for our members.

There’s literally no money tied up in inventory, no Facebook spend, and no investors telling us what to do. It’s nice to wake up and actually make money!

Q: What’s the driving force for you today? Money, power, pleasure, or fame?

Money. These years, 29 through 35, are for stacking cash and compounding it wisely. Make two or three bad decisions with what you’ve saved and you’re back to square one, and that would be catastrophic.

This window is about setting yourself up so you’re not still working out of necessity at 50. That would be my definition of failure.

Q: Final billboard message for an entrepreneur?

Just get started. There’s never going to be a perfect time.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:20 – Redefining Return: Then vs. Now

01:13 – Going All In: The Doomsday Board Story

03:10 – The Fear of Regret That Sparked It All

04:40 – Hustling on Miami Beach

07:11 – “Crossnet Should’ve Never Worked”

08:44 – Building a Culture Around Customer Success

11:16 – Owning Mistakes: Reputation Over Speed

13:12 – Covid Surge: $2M to $10M Overnight

17:50 – Why They Over-Hired

20:09 – The Failed Exit That Cost $100K

22:03 – Stepping Back From Crossnet

28:52 – A Better Business Model

36:18 – The Book That Changed His Thinking

41:49 – Just Get Started