Elevate with Robert Glazer Elevate Classics: Brad Pedersen's Vital Lessons for Entrepreneurs and Leaders
May 7, 2026
Brad Pedersen, serial entrepreneur behind Basic Fun, Pela and Lomi, and author of Startup Santa. He recounts rapid rises and hard failures, pivots from toys to sustainable products, and how reflection shaped stronger ventures. He discusses building mission-driven teams, firing fast to protect culture, and turning waste into soil with Lomi.
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Design Your Next Venture By Listing What You Won't Tolerate
- After failure, list what you don't want to repeat and design a business to avoid those pitfalls.
- Brad refused to be just a distributor, limited regional focus, or hold excessive inventory when reimagining his next venture.
Recession Launch, Rapid Scale, And A Painful Exit
- Brad launched Tech for Kids during the Great Recession using a high-interest $1M loan and intense execution while others paused.
- The company scaled, then merged with a US peer despite cultural mismatch and Brad was fired 90 days post-merge.
Courage Starts The Entrepreneurial Flywheel
- Courage is the cardinal virtue for founders because curiosity and creativity mean nothing without the courage to try.
- Brad describes a flywheel: courage → challenges → character → clarity → confidence → renewed curiosity.
