Billy Thompson – Wild Business Growth Podcast #244: Pit Stain Punisher, Founder of Thompson Tee

Just because you can’t get funding doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start the business. That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Billy Thompson. Billy is the Founder and President of Thompson Tee. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 244: Billy Thompson – Pit Stain Punisher, Founder of Thompson Tee

Billy Thompson, the Founder and President of Thompson Tee, joins the show to share his journey from working in the mailroom at WME to creating the original sweat proof undershirt. Hear Billy’s personal history with sweat, how to stay in business for over 10 years, sell a product over a million times, conquer financial pressure, and the Seventh Degree of Kevin Bacon. This episode covers everything from Entourage to the Billowing Effect. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• How do you move up in the talent agency world
• What was the next big step after developing the shirt design
• Can I hire Billy as my hype man
• What’s the difference between visiting Las Vegas and living in Las Vegas
• How did Billy start selling private jets
• Some cold calling
• What is hyperhidrosis
• Where’s the Beef?

Connect with Billy at ThompsonTee.com and on Amazon and LinkedIn.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & WME
  • [0:32] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:42] Connect with Billy at ThompsonTee.com and on Amazon and LinkedIn
  • [1:49] Starting off hot-T
  • [2:17] Wild Business Growth Podcast episodes with Nancy Cartwright, Carlton Calvin, George Carter III, and Scott Hanson
  • [2:37] Can I hire Billy as my hype man
  • [3:15] How was his experience at William Morris Endeavor (WME)
  • [3:55] Sales
  • [4:08] Entourage
  • [4:33] Barry Diller
  • [4:58] Ivy League
  • [5:14] Jim Wiatt
  • [5:47] How did Billy start selling private jets (PJs)
  • [7:04] Mentor
  • [7:11] Revenue
  • [7:48] True story
  • [7:58] Global Express
  • [8:30] Santa Monica, Orange County
  • [8:58] Ooooh foreshadowing
  • [9:05] How do you move up in the talent agency world
  • [10:00] HR (Human Resources)
  • [10:16] Cold Calling
  • [11:13] CAA (Creative Artists Agency), ICM Partners (International Creative Management)
  • [12:42] Networking

• The Thompson Tee Story
  • [13:24] Not Thompson Tea
  • [13:40] What is Billy’s personal history with sweat
  • [15:01] Billie Eilish
  • [15:45] Degree Ads
  • [16:32] Internet
  • [16:40] Hyperhidrosis, International Hyperhidrosis Society (IHS)
  • [17:22] Shoutout, Dad & Duct Tape!
  • [17:31] MacGyver
  • [19:54] Private Equity (PE), CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
  • [20:04] Get to VITO (The Very Important Top Officer) by Anthony Parinello
  • [22:23] Shoutout, Randy Choi & Uncle Randy Branstetter!
  • [22:53] How did Billy find the material
  • [23:14] GORE-TEX
  • [24:21] Patent
  • [24:38] Billowing Effect
  • [26:03] What was the next big step after developing the shirt design
  • [26:43] UndershirtGuy.com, Sweat Management
  • [28:11] The Price Is Right aka “Come on dowwwwwwwn!”
  • [29:08] Outpour lolol
  • [30:01] How do you stay in business for 10 years
  • [33:30] Very Cool
  • [33:49] How do you sell a product over a million times
  • [34:01] The Tortoise and the Hare
  • [34:18] Big Box Retailers
  • [34:40] Quid Pro Quo
  • [35:13] EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
  • [36:23] PR (Public Relations)
  • [36:38] SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
  • [36:52] SBA (Small Business Administration)
  • [37:24] “1984” Apple Commercial, “Where’s the Beef?“
  • [38:04] Rite Aid, Target, Walmart
  • [38:40] eCommerce, Google Analytics
  • [39:11] Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)
  • [39:37] Nice one, Max
  • [40:16] Human Marketing
  • [40:37] So excited to speak at Podcast Movement 2023! It’s August 21-24 in Denver. Register and join the fun at PodcastMovement.com
  • [40:38] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity

• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [41:38] What’s the difference between visiting Las Vegas and living in Las Vegas
  • [42:08] What’s Billy’s favorite hobby
  • [42:54] RC Cars, ATVs (All-Terrain Vehicles)
  • [43:42] GatesNotes, The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
  • [44:07] Disney
  • [44:44] Michael Eisner
  • [46:03] Google, Margin, Tech (Technology)
  • [46:24] Pixar, Steve Jobs
  • [47:04] How do you conquer financial pressure
  • [47:16] The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley
  • [47:52] Dopamine
  • [48:12] Starbucks
  • [48:18] Pitney Bowes
  • [51:28] Kevin Bacon, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
  • [51:50] Kyra Sedgwick
  • [52:20] V
  • [52:35] Marc Singer, The Beastmaster
  • [54:39] Billy Thompson: The Seventh Degree of Kevin Bacon
  • [55:08] Connect with Billy at ThompsonTee.com and on Amazon and LinkedIn
  • [56:02] What are Billy’s Final Thoughts
  • [57:00] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [57:31] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [57:35] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [57:39] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [57:44] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Billy Thompson on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. Then hit the schvitz with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!