Episode 194: Nate Checketts – CEO Of Rhone: Leaving Comfort To Make An Impact

Nate Checketts is Co-Founder and CEO of Rhone.  He created the business while working a full time job in New York City.  He would work on the business while making the one hour commute to and from work everyday.  They have since grown 250% year over year and have been named the “hottest active wear brand around.”  During the course of this conversation we discussed why Nate started Rhone and his determination to grow it to be a Billion Dollar Business.

Rhone reported $7.8 million in funding last year from a deep-pocketed group of investors that included former NBA Commissioner David Stern, former NBA player Shane Battier and former NFL Network executive Steve Bornstein among others.

Episode 194: Nate Checketts – CEO Of Rhone: Leaving Comfort To Make An Impact

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The Learning Leader Show

“If you want to have a good life, you need to have a good years. If you want good years, you need to have good months.  If you want to have good months, you need to have good weeks.  If you want to have good weeks, you need to have good days. If you want to have good days, you need to have solid routines.”

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence:
    • It’s easy to say someone “got lucky” but that is almost never the case
    • Routine – The best have a routine for long term success. Need good years, need good months, need good weeks, need good days.  You must plan for that success.  Create routines
  • Advice from Jack Dorsey:
    • How to stay focused?
      • Focus on one thing at a time
      • Set specific days for certain meetings and do not deviate.  Take ownership of your calendar and schedule
  • Nate’s Routine
    • Wake up at 5 am
    • Spritual time, meditation
    • Write in The 5 Minute Journal
    • Exercise, Yoga, Running
    • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – At his desk by 7:30
  • “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” – Ben Franklin
  • “Be the dentist of your own calendar”
  • The story of getting Rhone started in 2011
    • Nobody was doing premium menswear
    • Feb. 2013 incorporated
    • Spent an hour each way on the train commuting to his job working on Rhone
  • “Why does it feel like taboo to talk about inspiring men?  It shouldn’t”
  • Describing the fund raising process
    • “Raising capital is much more art than science”
    • “The biggest key for us was photography.  People needed to see it”
  • Why Shane Battier is a Rhone guy
  • After raising $8M, how do you decide where to spend that money?
  • Speaking about the success of his Dad, Dave Checketts (CEO of Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks)
    • How to instill a work ethic in your children?
    • What it was like growing up with ultra successful parents and how that impacted him
    • How Nate and his wife parent their children
    • How the quote “He was born on third base and convinced he hit a triple” has motivated Nate
    • How he made money creating a sports camp in his backyard growing up
  • “You can’t teach effort”
  • Books to read:
  • Learning Leader = “I love the idea of being an eternal student.”

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” – Benjamin Franklin

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer – Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence – The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

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Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

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