Founder's Story
Breaking the Mold: Reimagining Entrepreneurship with Igor Vainshtein, Creator of the Entrepreneurpoly Board Game | S2 Ep. 179
Fri, 28 Feb 2025
Igor Vainshtein returns to share his journey from early entrepreneurial struggles to major successes. From overcoming near-bankruptcy to executing a strategic exit, Igor offers deep insights on building resilient businesses and pivoting to new ventures with purpose. Igor Vainshtein – Best-selling author, inventor of the Entrepreneurpoly Board Game, founder of 24/7 Golf (sold to GOLFTEC), and creator of GolfTrak.App.1. The Strategic ExitExit Story:Sold his company to a public company (GOLFTEC) in a deal that shared both risk and reward.Discussed how a strategic acquisition can leverage a company’s value chain over traditional EBITDA metrics.Learnings:The reality of most exits involves a transition period—not just a simple “get the check and move on” scenario.Emphasis on working closely with partners to grow both parties' success.2. Overcoming Personal BarriersImposter Syndrome:The exit helped break down long-held self-doubt, enabling Igor to finally launch his board game and publish his book.Lessons Learned:Personal growth often follows facing and overcoming significant business and personal challenges.3. Building on ExperienceFrom Board Games to Books:Igor revisited his old projects, like the Entrepreneurpoly Board Game, updating them to reflect his current insights.Introduced his upcoming book, Agile Manifestation, as a follow-up to his first book, Practical Manifestation.Book Focus:Combines principles from agile methodology with personal development.Provides a practical, step-by-step guide to achieving your dreams by focusing on the inputs rather than just the outcomes.4. Entrepreneurship & the Power of InputsMindset Shift:Transitioned from an obsession with end results (e.g., becoming a billionaire by a certain age) to a focus on the daily habits and inputs that build sustainable success.Key Takeaway:Embracing the process and the daily grind is crucial; success is built step by step, much like the game of golf.5. The Role of Golf as a ConnectorNetworking & Relationships:Golf has played a pivotal role in forging important business relationships.Shared personal anecdotes of meeting industry leaders and influential figures over a round of golf.6. Advice for EntrepreneursKeep Pushing Forward:Persistence is essential—even when the odds are against you.Focus on what you can control (the inputs) and let the outcomes follow.Embrace Failure:Failure is part of the journey and a necessary stepping stone toward ultimate success.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Chapter 1: Who is Igor Vainshtein and what are his accomplishments?
Hey everyone, welcome back to Founders Story. Today we have a special guest who has been on this show, it might've been three years ago now, but Igor Vonstein. Igor, I wanna say it was like three years ago when we first met, maybe even four at this point, I'm not sure, but you are a best-selling author, inventor of an entrepreneurship board game, which is behind you.
You're the founder of 24-7 Golf, which you sold to Golf Tech. I want to find out all about that. And I know you have the Golf Track app. You've got a book coming out, a TEDx. I mean, you've got a lot of things going on in your world. And you and I haven't spoken in a while. So why don't we just kick it off with you have this exit now to Golf Tech. And then what? So let's start with there.
And then let's move forward to the game. Everything else you got going on.
Chapter 2: How did Igor Vainshtein execute a strategic exit with GolfTech?
Yeah. No, great. Great to see you again. It's been, it's been over three years. Cause I remember it was in LA at this conference, right? This, it was Bitcoin and all of that. Right. And that's where I met Matt and we've stayed friends. So thanks for that connection. You know, he's become a good friend as well. But yeah, a lot of love. Wow. A lot has changed since, since that day. So yeah,
Yeah, that was before the exit. So I think what happened was, you know, I was, and I can't quite place exactly when that was on that journey. But when I first moved to the US, obviously, I was trying to scale the business.
And, you know, halfway through that first year of, you know, my, and I call it my world expansion, the domination plan, you know, the evil plan, like halfway through that, I nearly went bankrupt again.
Chapter 3: What challenges did Igor face during his entrepreneurial journey?
um i had this i remember this july 21 or something like i had like no revenue for the month and i'm like oh my god i'm screwed and i'm just like i just got you know you have nothing else to do right and just keep fighting and fighting and i turned it around six months later i sold the company to a public company, golf sticks owned by a Japanese listed company called GDO.
Amazing company, both amazing companies. They acquired Skytrek, which has been a really huge name in the golf business. And so then, because I was kind of pitching them to be like a reseller for my products. Do you remember I brought the golf simulator to that conference? We put it out the room at the back. So I was pitching for them to sell that thing, those products to their customers.
And then they kind of called me and said, hey, instead of selling it online, you know, your stuff. I would just make it our stuff and buy you. And, you know, went through the whole thing and, and then came to a great deal, which, you know, left a lot of risk on the table. We shared the risk and the upside.
So we, you know, we came to a deal where basically we could both share in the, in the growth of the business, which, you know, it's grown, I don't know, 10, 15 X to, you know, when I, when I sold it because of the name, the brand, the, the marketing power, the, the, the resources, the team, et cetera. So it's been a hell of a journey.
And that kind of triggered all these other things that happened after. And, you know, one of the main things psychologically that's happened after that is, you know, the kind of the veil of the imposter syndrome came down a bit.
and all these things i had in me for years before like the board game i actually wrote that or like invented the first version of that 2007 2008 they just sat on the shelf because i was like who who wants to know what i have to say when you know i'm some loser out the back you know Back in the room. And so that was an interesting transition.
And that first book, that one up there as well, you know, again, wrote that in 2007, never published it. Just had all this imposter syndrome stuff built up in me. And that exit kind of triggered this... outflow of stuff. And that's been really amazing ever since. So that's the exit. So I'm still there. I'm still helping grow the business, which is doing really well.
We had like a three to four year deal to kind of stay on and help. But I also have other things I'm doing. And yeah, just being a typical entrepreneur with attention span of a kitten.
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Chapter 4: How did overcoming imposter syndrome impact Igor's career?
Let's go to the exit real quick. We had a recent guest talking about their advice around the learnings that they had when they were exiting their business and the ups and downs of the process. You have a different spin than they have because you had more of a partnership and a longer stay on. And you're saying you are enjoying the risks together and the rewards as well.
Do you have any learnings of that process for others who might be looking at an exit and maybe a similar situation?
Absolutely. Yeah, it's interesting. It comes up a lot. Like there is, what I find is a lot of people have an idea of an exit where you basically, you get a check, you sell off into the sunset, they take over the, you know, they get the keys, it's like buying a house, right? You move out, they move in, that's it, right?
And what I found, and you know, my involvement with entrepreneurs organization has been a huge help in kind of figuring out how these things work. That's generally not how it works. That works in a small percentage of time, but most of the time, you know, there is some kind of handover period. And the great benefit of the type of exit I had, which is a strategic sale.
So I sold, actually, let me give you a story as an example of kind of how I wanted to sell and how I ended up selling. So I started the Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Melbourne at Swinburne University back some years ago. But the guy that ran it, the lecturer, the head of the school, he is big claim to fame. He sold this company to like Oracle for $12 million, right?
Back, I don't know, 25, 30 years ago. Interestingly enough, he was losing $2 million a year when he sold it for $12 million. And everyone's asking, How'd you do that? And his whole theory was, well, Oracle could take his company that was losing $2 million, inject it into all of their customers and make $100 million in the first year. And that's exactly what happened.
So they 10x their money in the first year, right? Because there was a strategic... It was a strategic play. And that's what I, you know, ultimately my dream was to do something similar. And that's kind of what happened where they saw what I had, which was a small business, but I had, you know, I had manufacturing, I had the value chain, right?
And so that value chain was valuable to all of their customers. And so when you combine those two, you go, well, their resources, their name, their brand, their customers. With my value chain, all of a sudden, it doesn't matter what your EBITDA is, right? What matters is how much can they make with your product selling to their customers.
And then you go, well, if they make this, can I, you know, if I sell it at say 20% of that value, that means as soon as they buy me, they 5X their money. And if at that number, that the one fifth of the value that I'm really happy because I have a great exit, Hey, all the power, right? And that's kind of what I went through where they were able to just push that and we shared a new success.
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Chapter 5: What role does golf play in business networking for Igor?
But that's fair because they're putting in the resources to grow that.
Does that make sense? Yeah, no, I love that. The strategic sale, finding a company, you work with the company with the thought in your back of your head that maybe I could exit to a company who is basically, you know, a vendor partner, however you want to define it. And then you might be able to get more for it because it's not based on, you know, an X times EBITDA.
And even if your company is losing money, then obviously you're like in a negative EBITDA. But this is this is great. I think that's amazing. So you got through that. You're now like, OK, what's next in my life? I don't want to become one of those lost entrepreneurs after they exit and then they don't know what they're doing. We all have ADHD.
You know, I love the we're looking for that shiny thing. But you got this. You look back in your history and you see this game and you pull that out. And you're like, okay, I'm going to launch this game. Then what?
Well, so Gabe was one of them. It actually kind of became, it's part of a bigger foundational kind of process that I'm going through. And I was very lucky to, again, golf is just such a great connector. If you remember, you know, at that conference in LA, we're walking out of the room and he saw my top with my bracelet. And he just literally walked up to me and said, I love golf.
And I said, me too. And, you know, that's how the friendship started. And what I love about that is golf is such a great connector. And so one of these other moments that I had was I met a great entrepreneur. You may have heard Kevin Harrington, right? The first shark on the shark tank, you know, what a name in the industry. And we met over golf, you know, and we've become friends.
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Chapter 6: How did Igor reinvent his board game and what inspired it?
And he's actually written the preface to my second book, But besides, which is coming out at the end of this month. But besides that, he told me the story of how he has built all these amazing businesses, you know, the late night shopping network that he basically invented, you know, the whole as seen on TV thing. But, you know, he told me the story of how he was having lunch with Richard Branson.
And Richard Branson says to him, everyone knows all these entrepreneurs you built up, but no one knows your name. And he said, go write some books, you know, get your brand out there. You never know what's going to happen. And so he followed that advice. And one day he got approached by the producer of this new show called the shop tank and the rest is history.
And so he was sharing the story of a dinner with me. And, and I'm like, you know what? I was kind of on the fence about the whole personal branding. And obviously, you know, I got to thank you for that as well, because you really, you know, encouraged me to do that back three years ago. And I kind of, you know, I started, but you know, it wasn't, I wasn't ready.
You know, I just, I had too many, too many demons. And, you know, so we did a little bit of work, but then I kind of, you know, went on a different direction. And now that conversation kind of put me back to that conversation you and I had. And I was like, you know what? I feel I'm ready for this. And so I looked at what I had and I already had this.
I had a book already written and I had a game already written. So the book I basically, I repackaged, you know, published that. The game I looked at, I'm like, you know what? It doesn't reflect who I am today. It doesn't reflect the lessons I've learned. And so I went and I found, as great entrepreneurs, we've got to find the right people around us.
I found this absolute genius in Bangkok, this young man, Jackie. He's got a name that no one can pronounce, so we just call him Jackie. You can see him on my website.
little profile of him but he he's he's side hustle is designing board games and he's so passionate about it right and he's a lecturer at university for game theory but but he's side hustle is this and so i hired him and we spent a year rebuilding the game redesigning it and then the main thing behind the game was you know i was inspired by robbie kiyosaki's cashflow 101 which i used to play 25 years ago um and it changed my life
And it allowed me to go on this journey of investing. And that's how I bought all these properties I had, which I lost. That's a different story. And I wanted to be that catalyst for the 580 million entrepreneurs that are out there in the world. I wanted to take all the lessons I learned, the people that I know, the books that I've read, and make it a visceral, gamified, low-risk experience.
How do you... go through the process of being punched in the face on a daily basis, being an entrepreneur without the risk, without losing the kind of money I've lost millions multiple times. And I dusted it off and I put it together and I put it out to the world. And one of the main things I'm doing with it is actually I'm donating it.
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Chapter 7: What advice does Igor Vainshtein have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
You know that, you know, one out of every 10 are successful or whatever, you know, whatever the rate is. So, you know, like, OK, the first year, 50 percent fail. Year two, 75 percent fail. You know, year by year five, it's like 90 percent. I'm making these numbers up.
But, you know, you get the idea, like, you know, up front, it's probably going to be a failure that you probably your chances are you're going to fail. But yet you continue doing it over and over again. What is that?
That's a great question. And I recently, I feel like I've really kind of cracked it, at least for me. And this is one of the messages I share in my keynotes about that exact concept which you just asked. Like, how do you keep going? Because that really applies not just to entrepreneurship.
It applies to whether you're in a relationship, whether you're in a career, whether you're just starting a career, whether you're at the top of the ladder and whatever it is, right? Yeah. This is what I learned about myself. As I told you, especially once I had the exit, I had this time and moment to really reflect on the last 25 years. This overnight success that took 25 years to make.
Because I started my first business when I was 17. And to me, the big shift came when I stopped focusing on the outcome. When I was 20, I wanted to be a billionaire by 30. When I was 30, I wanted to be a billionaire by 40. None of those things happened. I was so focused on the outcome.
As I got through the process, I got older, as I had kids, I had a family and I matured and kind of my risk profile changed. The thing that really changed in my outlook is my obsession with the inputs. So I talk about, you know, I was so obsessed with the outputs and it was however I could get to that output. But then the shift happened in me where I started focusing on the inputs.
I started building the habits. I wasn't doing this consciously. It's just in reflection. I saw that what I was doing and I could actually pick up on these cues where I got to a point in life where I love what I do so much that I can't imagine doing something else. And That is the key to that crazy that entrepreneurs have.
We get this passion, this love for what we do so much that we'd rather do that than anything else, even if it's going to fail, even if it's going to give us, you know, potential suffering. But there's always that one in a million chance that you're going to hit it out of the park. And that keeps us going. Again, like the golf, like you hit that one shot that always keeps you coming back.
Even if you had a horrible round, there'll be one shot that round that will just keep you coming back. And entrepreneurship is a little bit like that, but it's the focus on inputs. It's creating those, making those inputs your habits. When you go in day in, day out, and you're like, you know what? The outcomes will take care of themselves.
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