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#117: How Olympic Athlete Nick Symmonds Built a 7-Figure Side Business (Run Gum)

About the Episode:

In today’s episode, we’re talking to Nick Symmonds, the Olympic athlete turned entrepreneur and founder of Run Gum, a line of caffeine-infused chewing gum that’s now sold in over 15,000 stores worldwide.

Growing up in the small town of Boise, Idaho, Nick always had an affinity for the outdoors… he was an eagle scout that spent his weekends hiking, climbing, fishing and camping with friends & family—until one fateful day when he decided to try out for his high school’s track & field team (with hopes of impressing his crush that was a runner on the team).

It wasn’t long before Nick realized he had a natural ability, and quickly progressed to winning his high school state championships in 4 running events.

He went on to study biochemistry in college as a student-athlete, where he continued winning titles and championships throughout the next few years toward the end of college, he made a conscious decision to go full force into being the best athlete he could be.

That’s when Nick moved to Mexico for a summer, trained at 9,000ft elevation with a team of Kenyan runners, and came back to the US as the country’s #2 ranked runner in the 800 Meter event.

This led to an Olympic qualification where Nick would go on to participate in the 2008 & 2012 games, placing as high as fifth amongst the best runners in the world. It was after his last Olympic performance that Nick decided to retire from running, and launched Run Gum.

In Today’s Episode, We Talk About:

[02:35] Where Nick is originally from.
06:12 How he looks at the balance between discipline and motivation.
[07:55] His life in college.
[12:34] What training for Beijing Olympics was like for him.
[16:38] His life after athletics.
[20:21] How he found people to help with the formulation process.
[23:43] His very first customer.
23:58 All about the RunGum deal with CVS.
25:04 How he initiated conversations to close that deal.
29:08 His #1 piece of advice to anyone looking to build a product-based business.

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Connect with My Guest

Nick’s Website

Run Gum

Nick on Twitter and LinkedIn

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If you enjoyed this episode of The Side Hustle Project, I would love your support. Head over to the show on iTunes or in the Apple podcast app and give us a rating please! And as always you can catch every episode on the Apple podcast app, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for tuning in.

Hi I'm Ryan Robinson

Blogger, podcaster and recovering side project addict. Head of Content at Close. Join me here, on ryrob.com to learn how to start a blog, make money blogging and grow a profitable side business. Be sure to try my popular free keyword research tool & AI article writer tool, as well. Somehow, I also find time to write for publications like Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Next Web, Business Insider, and more. Let’s chat on Twitter and YouTube about our feelings (and blogging, of course).

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1 reply to “#117: How Olympic Athlete Nick Symmonds Built a 7-Figure Side Business (Run Gum)”

  1. I love the fact that the side hustle millionaire mindset runs ramp-id across America. Even with a college degree today, it’s tough making it to retirement. This is why like yourself, I too love the side hustle millionaire mind, because we can write our own ticket and quietly earn million online without everyone knowing.

    They key to staying as an “under the radar side hustle millionaire” is to dress like everyone else in public.

    When you have that luxury car, keep tints on it. And only let your ex-girlfriends see you when you’re out and about around town so they can admire it and you thank them silently for the motivation to prosper after breaking up with you. 🙂

    Reply