From Broke To A Million Dollar Company
- JM Ryerson
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
I recently sat down with Shawn Nelson, founder and CEO of LoveSac, for a conversation that went far deeper than business tactics. What unfolded was a raw look at pressure, faith, ego, and presence, told through the moments when quitting felt logical and survival required bold action.
Shawn started LoveSac in a college basement making giant foam sacks by hand. At one point, he was stuffing foam in an old warehouse, maxed out on credit cards, and still taking job interviews as a backup plan. Then a single phone call forced him to bet everything he had built. The next moves felt impossible, yet they kept LoveSac alive.
The moment when quitting felt reasonable
After years of side hustle struggle, Shawn was worn down. Vans broke. Equipment failed. The business consumed money faster than it created it. A trade show in Chicago felt like his last shot. People liked the product, but no one placed orders. He flew home convinced it was finally time to walk away and take a traditional job.
Then the Limited Corporation called.
They wanted twelve thousand units for the holidays. It was a million dollar order. Shawn had one major problem. He had no factory, no money, and no proven supply chain.
He flew to a fabric show, traced the fabric to a Chinese mill, and negotiated for three straight days using Mandarin he had learned years earlier on a mission. The mill required a sixty five thousand dollar deposit. Shawn called the buyer. They wired the deposit to his small credit union account. He immediately wired it overseas.
In that moment, he had spent their money and now had to build the business fast enough to deliver.
Building under pressure
The team built a stuffing factory using credit cards. They taught themselves how to shred foam at scale. On the first day, they planned to produce two hundred units and produced thirty.
Shipping costs rose. Foam prices spiked. Nine eleven happened. Retailers laughed at the company name. The business came close to folding more than once.
Then a mall that had previously rejected LoveSac offered a holiday pop up store. That first location was on pace to generate one million dollars in its first year. From there, more stores opened and the company kept pushing forward.
Lesson 1. Keep moving when doubt is louder than belief
One of the clearest lessons Shawn shared was how pressure creates focus. Economic pressure sharpened his attention in a way optimism never could. Credit cards, payroll, and investor expectations eliminated distractions and forced hard decisions.
Pressure will either sharpen you or break you. Shawn chose to let it sharpen him.
He emphasized creative boldness as a requirement, not an option. Flying overseas, negotiating in another language, and wiring money you technically do not have are extreme examples, but the principle applies everywhere.
He also spoke about preparing for failure and pivoting fast. The first production run missed badly. Instead of freezing, the team learned quickly and improved the process.
Lesson 2. Let go of ego so you can scale
Shawn was candid about ego. Founders need it to start. Confidence, decisiveness, and belief attract people and capital. But scaling requires humility in action.
Early on, he hired people who were stronger than him on paper, then micromanaged them. That approach quickly drives away top talent. The shift came when he learned to hire above his level and let people truly own their roles.
Hire people smarter than you and allow them to leadGive credit away internally so others feel ownershipAct as an advisor rather than a dictator. As Shawn put it simply, let them own it.
Lesson 3. Presence is a practice, not a personality trait
Confidence matters, but presence matters more. Presence shapes culture, relationships, and legacy.
Shawn works Black Friday every year, from morning until night. He does this to stay close to customers and employees. Selling directly on the floor renews his belief in the product and grounds him in what actually matters.
A simple morning routine that changed how he shows up
Shawn reduced his daily practice to two anchors. First is scripture or soul time. For him, that means reading scripture. For others, it might be meditation, prayer, or reflection that reinforces values.
Second is a two minute morning mantra. He reads short lines out loud that set the tone for the day. They remind him to be present with his kids, put his phone down, and act in alignment with who he wants to be.
The repetition matters. Over time, these habits reshape how you respond under pressure. Small actions like making eye contact with customers or saying yes when your kids ask you to play have outsized impact. As Shawn said during our conversation, everything else is dust.
How faith shows up in leadership
Shawn described faith as layered. Faith in God or a higher purpose that provides long term perspectiveFaith in the product and the team, renewed by staying close to customersFaith in himself, reinforced through daily routines and small wins. These layers work together to create resilience when uncertainty is constant.
Practical habits you can start today
Create a daily anchor with two minutes of a mantra and five minutes of reflectionSpend time on the front lines of your business or directly with customersGive credit away publicly and let others lead the winLive your values visibly, not just verbally.
Final Thought
Money helps, but it does not change who you are. What changes outcomes is how you show up each day. Practice presence. Embrace pressure when it sharpens focus. Hire better than you and then let people lead. Those choices keep you in the fight long enough to turn near collapse into defining success.
Shawn shared that his goal is not just to be pleasantly remembered, but to positively impact everyone he can.
If you commit to one small habit this week, whether it is eye contact, a spoken mantra, or handing credit to a teammate, you will be further along than you think.
Watch this full episode on YouTube.