With $50K Left and a 40% Failure Rate, How FightCamp Rebuilt After the COVID Boom and Bust
5/8/202627 min
In this episode of Right About Now, Ryan Alford speaks with Khalil Zahar, CEO of FightCamp, about the realities of building a startup from the ground up. Khalil shares the challenges of launching a hardware-based business, including manufacturing risks, financial pressure, and the critical “valley of death” stage that many startups never survive. They also discuss the importance of growth, team dynamics, and maintaining momentum through both high-growth periods and difficult downturns. This episode offers practical insights and hard-earned lessons for entrepreneurs navigating the realities of building and scaling a business. 🔑 Topics Covered Startup challenges in hardware businesses Growth and revenue as key drivers Leadership and team management Navigating setbacks and failure Building long-term resilience 🤝 Connect Ryan Alford 👉 https://www.rightaboutnow.com 👉 https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanalford Khalil Zahar 👉 https://www.fightcamp.com 👉 https://www.instagram.com/fightcamp 👉 https://www.instagram.com/khalilzahar
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKhalil Zahar· Guest0:00
For us, because of the nature of what we wanted to build, we had to make electronics in Asia. Whenever you have a business that has physical goods in it, it took me a long time to figure out how harder it is to actually build a business like that because it just requires a lot of money to transform that money into physical things that have to be made and shipped from anywhere that you're gonna make them.
Ryan Alford0:19
[ on-hold music] Most business advice is wrong, built on opinions echoed by people who've never done it. But the truth, it's simpler and harder. You don't win by following the playbook, you win by rewriting it. Seven hundred episodes deep with the people who actually built something real. No theory, no fluff, no shortcuts. This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford.
Ryan Alford· Host0:50
[rock music] A lot of people talk about startups like it's strategy and growth and nothing else, but really it's survival of the fittest. Today's guest has lived just that, building a company through all of it, the highs, the lows, raising capital, and somehow coming out on the other side. Khalil Zahar is the founder and chief operating officer of FightCamp. He's been punched in the face more than once, but he is here right about now. What's up, Khalil? Welcome to Right About Now. What's up?
Khalil Zahar· Guest1:20
What's up, Ryan? How are you?
Ryan Alford· Host1:22
I'm great, man. I know you've had success, but it probably didn't come exactly the way you thought. It never does. Everybody thinks it's glamorous, or at least they used