
653: (Solo) Why Community Is the Most Undervalued Asset in E-Commerce Right Now
From The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan by Foundr Media
April 20, 2026 · 8 min · Episode 653
About this episode
Nathan Chan discusses the importance of community as a valuable asset in e-commerce and how it differs from influencer marketing.
Most e-commerce founders treat influencer marketing and community like two separate strategies — two separate budgets, two separate teams. But that split is exactly why so many brands hit a ceiling they can't explain. Here's the problem: influencer marketing is a reach play. Every time you want that reach, you pay for it again. Community works differently — when customers feel genuinely connected to your brand, they come back without you paying to reach them. In this episode, I break down what Fate The Label did over eight years that turned their community into a business asset so valuable that Bondi Sands, Fount, and other major brands paid to be in the room with them — and what it means for how you should be thinking about your brand right now. Here's what you'll take away: Why community is an asset that compounds — not a feel-good strategy that's hard to attribute to revenue How Fate The Label's "Fate Estate" festival event in Byron Bay was eight years of deliberate community-building made visible The real economics: why a customer embedded in your community has dramatically higher LTV than one who bought from a single influencer post Why treating influencer and community as…
People in this episode
Host: Nathan Chan
Topics covered
- community building
- e-commerce strategy
- influencer marketing
- customer loyalty
- brand engagement
Keywords
- community
- e-commerce
- influencer marketing
- customer lifetime value
- brand strategy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Fate The Label, Bondi Sands, Fount
Places: Byron Bay
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