
653: (Solo) Why Community Is the Most Undervalued Asset in E-Commerce Right Now
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Fate's origin and Brit Saunders' background
Nathan Chan explains Brit Saunders' creator roots and how she launched Fate the Label from YouTube fame.
Most e-commerce founders treat influencer marketing and community like two separate strategies — two separate budgets, two separate teams. But that split is exactly why so many brands hit a ceiling they can't explain.
Here's the problem: influencer marketing is a reach play. Every time you want that reach, you pay for it again. Community works differently — when customers feel genuinely connected to your brand, they come back without you paying to reach them.
In this episode, I break down what Fate The Label did over eight years that turned their community into a business asset so valuable that Bondi Sands, Fount, and other major brands paid to be in the room with them — and what it means for how you should be thinking about your brand right now.
Here's what you'll take away:
- Why community is an asset that compounds — not a feel-good strategy that's hard to attribute to revenue
- How Fate The Label's "Fate Estate" festival event in Byron Bay was eight years of deliberate community-building made visible
- The real economics: why a customer embedded in your community has dramatically higher LTV than one who bought from a single influencer post
- Why treating influencer and community as separate budgets is the mistake holding most brands back
- How to start thinking beyond your next campaign — and what strong community makes possible
If you're running influencer campaigns but not building anything between them, this episode will show you exactly what you're leaving on the table — and how to start changing that.
If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it.
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