EO hits 100K subscribers: lessons from building a global founder interview channel

Executive overview

Growing a global entrepreneurship channel from two people with no budget requires aggressive outreach and a willingness to fail publicly. Cold emails and LinkedIn messages — sent repeatedly even without replies — unlocked access to Silicon Valley unicorn founders.

Surrounding yourself with optimistic people and embracing failure as data are the two non-negotiable inputs for building anything meaningful.

How EO found its first founders

• Korean entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley provided early introductions
• Sent cold emails and LinkedIn messages repeatedly, even without replies
• Sandbird CEO Jong Kim advised proactive follow-up — culturally different from Korean norms, but essential in the US

Advice for first-time founders

• Start small; build confidence through small wins, then snowball
• Talk to people, fail fast, learn, repeat
• Avoid people who say negative things — distance is a strategy, not avoidance
• Startup is a lifestyle, not a shortcut to wealth
• Meaningful failure matters more than avoiding failure

On finding a unicorn-scale idea

• No formula exists for finding a billion-dollar idea
• Start by identifying a genuinely big problem
• Best path for aspiring founders: join an early-stage startup to learn how business thinking actually works

Key personal insight on failure

• Fear of failure faded after interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs
• Every great outcome emerged from countless prior failures
• Embracing failure unlocks growth that success alone cannot provide

EO's next chapter

• New office in Palo Alto to expand into the US market
• Upcoming visits to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore
• Hosting Entrepreneurs Night in Jakarta on June 6th — networking event for founders, investors, and startup professionals
• Goal: 1 million subscribers, built sustainably