In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Brandon Gardere, the COO and co‑founder of Surfboard, a geolocation video‑sharing app. Brandon shares a personal story about overcoming rough experiences by maintaining a positive mindset, emphasizing the importance of never quitting. He highlights the need for agility and adaptability in startups, urging businesses to think quickly and adjust to rapid changes. His core business advice is to "never be satisfied," encouraging continuous improvement, networking, and striving to be the best in one’s field. Reflecting on his younger self, he advises starting early with networking and leveraging platforms like LinkedIn. When asked about happiness, Brandon defines it as doing what he loves—solving difficult problems with his team—and continuous learning and personal growth. He recommends the book Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie, noting the power of storytelling, purpose‑driven branding, and turning customers into evangelists. His favorite quote is from Bill Gates: "It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure," underscoring humility and learning from mistakes. The episode concludes with Brandon’s contact details: LinkedIn (Brandon Gardere) and Instagram (@brandongardere).
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Brandon Gardere with us. He's the COO and co-founder of Surfboard. So welcome to the show, Brandon.
Thank you for having me, Tyler. I appreciate it.
Of course, thanks for hopping on, man. Uh, we'll dive into the first question. So the first question I have for you, Brandon, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Good question. So initially growing up, you know, I had some rough experiences, Tyler, and I won't go into detail or anything like that, but the biggest lesson I took from all of those was always be positive. You know, I can never stop, never quit, and I've only grown from those experiences and ended up here on the other side where I am today because of my positive mindset that I kept.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Okay, so Surfboard, the company I've co-founded, is a geolocation video sharing app. And being in startups, you know, a lot can happen in a very small amount of time. So, you know, for any business, it's— I would say to be agile, be adaptable, and be able to think quickly on your feet and adapt quickly to change.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Okay, I say never be satisfied. And you know, as harsh as that may sound, it's to keep going and keep pushing, try to keep improving. You know, it's definitely okay to be proud of yourself and achievements you've accomplished, but at the same time, keep going, you know, keep winning more awards, keep talking to more successful people and entrepreneurs, do whatever you can to be the absolute best in your industry, in your office, and so on, and just always keep going.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Oh wow, the ultimate question. I have to say start early. You know, I recently really got involved with reading and I'm reading a lot this year, but I wish I would have gotten involved in startups and businesses and connecting, networking a lot earlier. That's what I would tell my younger self is to, you know, get on the books and get on LinkedIn earlier.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
That's a tough one. Yeah. You know, happiness is relative. It means something to— it means something different to everyone. And from my perspective, it's doing what I love and improving myself every day. I love solving difficult problems, and I get to do that every day with my amazing team. And I'm happy when I get to solve problems, talk to successful people, learn, read, and just— I'm happy when I see progress in myself. That's when I'm happy. So I'd say the key to happiness is always learning and growing and making yourself happy.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh, okay, very cool. So that's funny you'd ask me that. I just mentioned I've been reading a lot this year. I actually set a goal to read 100 books this year. So halfway through the year, I'm on track. Very good. But, thank you, thank you. I would say it's called Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. He's the founder of TOMS. And the number one thing I learned from that is the power of storytelling, building your business around a worthy cause, and creating evangelists out of customers. And he gave a quick example in the book where, you know, he met this lady in the airport who was wearing TOMS, and he casually walked up to her and said, oh hey, those are cool shoes, what are those? And she talked his ear off for 5 to 10 minutes about how she loved the founder, loved the company, loved the shoes, and she didn't even know, you know, he was the one that created this entire company. So building a story that powerful where everyday people can absolutely love and cherish it is something I really took to heart from that book.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
It's gonna have to be from one of my idols, Bill Gates. The quote is, "It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. And it means a lot because despite, you know, his large success he's had and continues to have in the philanthropic world and software, you know, he takes a great deal of pride in being humble and learning from his mistakes, which is very admirable.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Fantastic. So active on LinkedIn, Brandon Gardere. And then on Instagram, it is @brandongardere. You can find me there, follow me, reach out to me on LinkedIn, and love to talk to you guys.
Perfect, brother. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it.
I appreciate it, Tyler. Thank you, sir.
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