01 October 2026
712: The Near-Death Experience That Built a $400M Year Business
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
About
Matt Pohlson was clinically dead for four and a half minutes. His heart had stopped, the doctor had already called it, and 40 ICU staff had gathered at the window like a silent choir when his mother refused to let them stop fighting.
He came back - and the clarity from that experience reshaped his entire company. Omaze, the platform he co-founded to raise money for charity by giving everyday people the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences, has sent people to be mentored by Michelle Obama, ride a tank with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and win a Lamborghini handed over by the Pope. After Matt's near-death experience, he made the hard decision to kill the parts of the business he loved most - and grew revenue over 500% while increasing headcount just 10%.
In this interview, Matt breaks down the counterintuitive focus decision that unlocked Omaze's explosive growth, the controversial charity philosophy of chasing dollars over percentages, and what flatlining taught him about fear, decisions, and building a company that scales optimism.
What you'll learn in this interview:
The near-death experience that reset how he leads - and why he calls death his best friend and travel companion
Why he killed the celebrity-experience model he loved - cutting from 300 campaigns a year to 50 - and went all in on "Omaze Owned"
How a Daniel Craig campaign meant to raise $300K pulled $2.1 million - and the test that revealed the car mattered more than the celebrity
How revenue grew over 500% on just a 10% headcount increase - and the focus principle behind it
The controversial charity philosophy: why chasing dollars to the charity, not percentages, is what the nonprofit space actually needs
The exact economics of both models - 60% to charity on celebrity campaigns, guaranteed 15% on prize campaigns - and who carries the risk
How to actually partner with A-list talent: running the real numbers before giving away 5-10% of your company for star power
Why the biggest decisions don't get better the more people you ask - and his "when you don't know what to do, do nothing" rule
Virtues over values: why what your team does matters more than what they believe - and how he rebuilt culture at eight people
Why nothing is ever as bad as the fear of it - and how replacing fear with love changed how he operates
If you're building a mission-driven business, wrestling with whether to focus or diversify, or trying to lead through the kind of pressure that breaks most founders, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about fear, focus, and building something that genuinely scales good in the world.
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 → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr
SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS
Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6
months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero
GET UP TO $10K IN MATCHED AD CREDITS ON APPLOVIN Scale your DTC brand beyond Meta and Google with up to $10,000 in matched ad credits, plus $1,000 free to test AppLovin. Start here → https://applovin.com/foundr
WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS?
Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER
Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+
Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial
PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application
→ Already have a store? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application
CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/
CONNECT WITH MATT POHLSON
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mattpohlson/
Website → https://www.omaze.com/
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → https://www.foundr.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/
Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast
He came back - and the clarity from that experience reshaped his entire company. Omaze, the platform he co-founded to raise money for charity by giving everyday people the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences, has sent people to be mentored by Michelle Obama, ride a tank with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and win a Lamborghini handed over by the Pope. After Matt's near-death experience, he made the hard decision to kill the parts of the business he loved most - and grew revenue over 500% while increasing headcount just 10%.
In this interview, Matt breaks down the counterintuitive focus decision that unlocked Omaze's explosive growth, the controversial charity philosophy of chasing dollars over percentages, and what flatlining taught him about fear, decisions, and building a company that scales optimism.
What you'll learn in this interview:
The near-death experience that reset how he leads - and why he calls death his best friend and travel companion
Why he killed the celebrity-experience model he loved - cutting from 300 campaigns a year to 50 - and went all in on "Omaze Owned"
How a Daniel Craig campaign meant to raise $300K pulled $2.1 million - and the test that revealed the car mattered more than the celebrity
How revenue grew over 500% on just a 10% headcount increase - and the focus principle behind it
The controversial charity philosophy: why chasing dollars to the charity, not percentages, is what the nonprofit space actually needs
The exact economics of both models - 60% to charity on celebrity campaigns, guaranteed 15% on prize campaigns - and who carries the risk
How to actually partner with A-list talent: running the real numbers before giving away 5-10% of your company for star power
Why the biggest decisions don't get better the more people you ask - and his "when you don't know what to do, do nothing" rule
Virtues over values: why what your team does matters more than what they believe - and how he rebuilt culture at eight people
Why nothing is ever as bad as the fear of it - and how replacing fear with love changed how he operates
If you're building a mission-driven business, wrestling with whether to focus or diversify, or trying to lead through the kind of pressure that breaks most founders, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about fear, focus, and building something that genuinely scales good in the world.
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 → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr
SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS
Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6
months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero
GET UP TO $10K IN MATCHED AD CREDITS ON APPLOVIN Scale your DTC brand beyond Meta and Google with up to $10,000 in matched ad credits, plus $1,000 free to test AppLovin. Start here → https://applovin.com/foundr
WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS?
Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER
Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+
Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial
PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application
→ Already have a store? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application
CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/
CONNECT WITH MATT POHLSON
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mattpohlson/
Website → https://www.omaze.com/
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → https://www.foundr.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/
Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast