Alltroo co-founders Kyle Rudolph and Jon Walburg share how they transformed their pro-athlete star power into a fundraising platform that allows their community the ability to donate to a variety of organization and win high-value prizes. In this episode of Build Mode, they reveal how they leveraged their networks to disrupt the charitable giving industry, from raising half a million dollars for the NFL in their first year to learning hard lessons about scaling too fast. They discuss the pivot from $10,000 golf tournaments to $10 sweepstakes entries, building trust with both celebrities and fans, and why your network is your greatest competitive advantage.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:58 Meet the Founders: From NFL to Tech Startup
03:53 The $10,000 Golf Tournament That Sparked Everything
06:14 Navigating the Nonprofit-Tech Startup Hybrid Model
11:44 Leveraging Star Power: The NFL Partnership Win
15:34 Getting Athletes to Say Yes: The Trust Factor
19:06 When Identity Crisis Hits: Scaling Too Fast
27:59 The Mistake of Outsourcing Your Vision
30:00 Founder Market Fit: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
32:52 Key Takeaways: Building Thought Leadership Without Celebrity Status

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New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.