Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ryan Duey was living in an RV with his float spas closed and no backup plan when he and Michael Garrett built their first cold plunge from a retrofitted $100 bathtub in a garage. They turned their Shopify store on with zero marketing - and got a sale. What followed was one of the most unlikely scaling stories in DTC history: $30 million to $80 million in a single year, $250 million in cumulative revenue, four sharks bidding on Shark Tank, and a category they essentially created from scratch—all bootstrapped, all assembled in-house in California.
In this interview, the co-founders of Plunge break down the real cost of scaling a high-ticket inventory business, why they lost an estimated $20 million in revenue from lead times alone, and the organic influencer strategy that built the brand before they ever ran a paid ad.
What you'll learn in this interview:
• How they got their first sale with zero marketing—and the Black Friday that showed them how big this could get
• The cash flow trap every inventory-heavy founder hits: why a great P&L and an empty bank account can exist at the same time
• How customer prepayments funded growth for years—and what forced the switch to holding inventory
• Why long lead times cost Plunge an estimated $20 million in lost sales
• From buying parts on Amazon to co-designing a custom chiller in China—the full supply chain evolution
• How a single Instagram comment to Aubrey Marcus started a chain of organic gifting to Huberman, Tony Hawk, and Rich Roll
• The Shark Tank deal that never closed—and why they still got the PR, the airing, and the exposure
• How they bought plunge.com from a New Orleans jazz band for $250K—and why the trademark was the bigger win
• Why nearly half of all orders close through a phone call or SMS, not a checkout button
• How they raised $1.3 million from their own customers in under two weeks via Wefunder
If you're building a high-ticket DTC brand, navigating the brutal cash flow realities of an inventory-heavy business, or trying to grow without burning cash on paid ads before you're ready, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about scaling, supply chain, and what it actually takes to build a category from a garage.
SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → your.omnisend.com/foundr
WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → foundr.com/operators
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 and 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → foundr.com/startdollartrial
PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
Starting from scratch? Apply here → foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application
Already have a store? Apply here → foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application
CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan
CONNECT WITH RYAN DUEY
Instagram → instagram.com/ryanaduey/?hl=en
Website → plunge.com
CONNECT WITH MICHAEL GARRETT
Instagram → instagram.com/michaelrgarrett
Website → plunge.com
0:00 $250M in Cold Plunges — Without a Dollar of Venture Capital
1:00 From Closed Float Spas to Building Plunges in a Garage
3:28 Float Spa vs. Inventory Business: The Cash Flow Shock Nobody Warned Them About
7:18 First Year Revenue and the Google Ads Guy Who'd Never Seen a ROAS Like It
9:54 Living in an RV With No Backup Plan — Why Plunge Had to Work
11:21 From Garage Assembly to a Custom-Designed Chiller: The Supply Chain Evolution
17:02 High Ticket DTC: How to Sell a $5K Product Online and Close Half by Phone
23:10 Buying plunge.com for $240K From a Jazz Band in New Orleans
29:51 Gifting Free Units to Huberman, Tony Hawk, and Aubrey Marcus — The Strategy Behind It
32:14 The Lead Time Trap: How Long Wait Times Cost Them $20M in Lost Sales
36:00 The Transition to Holding Inventory at $50M+ Revenue
40:14 Shark Tank: Four Sharks Bidding, a Deal With Robert Herjavec — and Why It Never Closed
45:00 The Contract Clause: "I Acknowledge I May Be Humiliated on Public Television"
49:27 LTV on a $5K Product: Accessories, Upgrades, and the Multi-Home Buyer
53:09 Brand Partnerships, Wearable Integrations, and the Google Deal Announced Live
55:43 Turning Customers Into Investors: The WeFunder Round That Raised $1.3M in Two Weeks
59:02 Final Thoughts and Wrap Up
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → foundr.com
Instagram → instagram.com/foundr
Facebook → facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/foundr
Podcast → foundr.com/podcast
Ryan Duey was living in an RV with his float spas closed and no backup plan when he and Michael Garrett built their first cold plunge from a retrofitted $100 bathtub in a garage. They turned their Shopify store on with zero marketing - and got a sale. What followed was one of the most unlikely scaling stories in DTC history: $30 million to $80 million in a single year, $250 million in cumulative revenue, four sharks bidding on Shark Tank, and a category they essentially created from scratch—all bootstrapped, all assembled in-house in California.
In this interview, the co-founders of Plunge break down the real cost of scaling a high-ticket inventory business, why they lost an estimated $20 million in revenue from lead times alone, and the organic influencer strategy that built the brand before they ever ran a paid ad.
What you'll learn in this interview:
• How they got their first sale with zero marketing—and the Black Friday that showed them how big this could get
• The cash flow trap every inventory-heavy founder hits: why a great P&L and an empty bank account can exist at the same time
• How customer prepayments funded growth for years—and what forced the switch to holding inventory
• Why long lead times cost Plunge an estimated $20 million in lost sales
• From buying parts on Amazon to co-designing a custom chiller in China—the full supply chain evolution
• How a single Instagram comment to Aubrey Marcus started a chain of organic gifting to Huberman, Tony Hawk, and Rich Roll
• The Shark Tank deal that never closed—and why they still got the PR, the airing, and the exposure
• How they bought plunge.com from a New Orleans jazz band for $250K—and why the trademark was the bigger win
• Why nearly half of all orders close through a phone call or SMS, not a checkout button
• How they raised $1.3 million from their own customers in under two weeks via Wefunder
If you're building a high-ticket DTC brand, navigating the brutal cash flow realities of an inventory-heavy business, or trying to grow without burning cash on paid ads before you're ready, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about scaling, supply chain, and what it actually takes to build a category from a garage.
SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50. Start here → your.omnisend.com/foundr
WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → foundr.com/operators
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 and 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → foundr.com/startdollartrial
PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
Starting from scratch? Apply here → foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application
Already have a store? Apply here → foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application
CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan
CONNECT WITH RYAN DUEY
Instagram → instagram.com/ryanaduey/?hl=en
Website → plunge.com
CONNECT WITH MICHAEL GARRETT
Instagram → instagram.com/michaelrgarrett
Website → plunge.com
0:00 $250M in Cold Plunges — Without a Dollar of Venture Capital
1:00 From Closed Float Spas to Building Plunges in a Garage
3:28 Float Spa vs. Inventory Business: The Cash Flow Shock Nobody Warned Them About
7:18 First Year Revenue and the Google Ads Guy Who'd Never Seen a ROAS Like It
9:54 Living in an RV With No Backup Plan — Why Plunge Had to Work
11:21 From Garage Assembly to a Custom-Designed Chiller: The Supply Chain Evolution
17:02 High Ticket DTC: How to Sell a $5K Product Online and Close Half by Phone
23:10 Buying plunge.com for $240K From a Jazz Band in New Orleans
29:51 Gifting Free Units to Huberman, Tony Hawk, and Aubrey Marcus — The Strategy Behind It
32:14 The Lead Time Trap: How Long Wait Times Cost Them $20M in Lost Sales
36:00 The Transition to Holding Inventory at $50M+ Revenue
40:14 Shark Tank: Four Sharks Bidding, a Deal With Robert Herjavec — and Why It Never Closed
45:00 The Contract Clause: "I Acknowledge I May Be Humiliated on Public Television"
49:27 LTV on a $5K Product: Accessories, Upgrades, and the Multi-Home Buyer
53:09 Brand Partnerships, Wearable Integrations, and the Google Deal Announced Live
55:43 Turning Customers Into Investors: The WeFunder Round That Raised $1.3M in Two Weeks
59:02 Final Thoughts and Wrap Up
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → foundr.com
Instagram → instagram.com/foundr
Facebook → facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/foundr
Podcast → foundr.com/podcast
