# Lady Gaga & Atom Factory: Troy Carter

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2017-05-01
- Length: 44m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter

## Summary

Troy Carter, founder of Atom Factory, recounts his journey from a failed rapper in West Philadelphia to managing global superstars like Lady Gaga and Eve, and finally becoming a prominent early-stage investor. He details how he managed Lady Gaga’s career by bootstrapping with shoestring budgets, leveraging early social media platforms like MySpace and YouTube, and creating viral content to build a global fanbase before radio acceptance. Carter also describes his previous financial ruin, where he lost a $2 million exit from his management company Irving Wonder, leading to foreclosure and personal crisis, which he overcame by betting everything on Lady Gaga’s potential. His success with Gaga allowed him to pivot to investing, founding Atom Factory to back tech startups like Uber, Spotify, and Warby Parker, applying his entertainment industry instincts to Silicon Valley.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=0) Introduction: Troy Carter and Atom Factory
- [2:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=173) Early Rap Career and Meeting Will Smith
- [6:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=377) Managing Eve and Building Irving Wonder
- [13:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=826) Selling Irving Wonder and Financial Ruin
- [23:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=1430) Discovering and Managing Lady Gaga
- [29:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=1792) Bootstrapping Gaga’s Career with Social Media
- [36:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=2172) Founding Atom Factory and Investing in Tech
- [40:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-01-lady-gaga-atom-factory-troy-carter#t=2452) Overcoming Financial PTSD and Reflection

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Lady Gaga (product)
- Eve (product)
- Atom Factory (company)
- Irving Wonder (company)
- Sanctuary Group (company)
- Uber (company)
- Spotify (company)
- Warby Parker (company)
- Lyft (company)
- Dropbox (company)
- Slack (company)
- Interscope (company)
- MySpace (other)
- YouTube (other)
- Facebook (other)
- Twitter (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Founder Feature: Gabriella Labi and Tonya Reznikovich of Gato Dates](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-04-03-founder-feature-gabriella-labi-and-tonya-reznikovich-of-gato-dates) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#035 - How a hardware startup’s product goes viral, with Christian Smith of TrackR, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-08-16-035-how-a-hardware-startups-product-goes-viral-with-christian-smith-of-trackr-us) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [Against All Odds: Overcoming Huge Setbacks to Sell 5 Million Worldwide](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-05-15-against-all-odds-overcoming-huge-setbacks-to-sell-5-million-worldwide) (It's Only a Prototype)
- [Founder Fundraising Journey: Victor Guardiola, Bawi](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-01-founder-fundraising-journey-victor-guardiola-bawi) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Solange Massa (CEO/Founder, Ecoatoms)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms) (Just Gonna Send It)

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