How I Built This with Guy Raz
Guy Raz interviews the world’s best-known entrepreneurs to learn how they built their iconic brands. In each episode, founders reveal deep, intimate moments of doubt and failure, and share insights on their eventual success. How I Built This is a master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership and how to navigate challenges of all kinds. New episodes release on Mondays and Thursdays.
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Recent Episodes
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Cameron Healy built Kettle Chips into a $300 million brand by taking an unconventional path—launching in the UK before establishing dominance in the US. Starting from a communal Sikh lifestyle in 1970s Oregon, Cameron pivoted from distributing natural foods to making handmade potato chips after visiting Hawaii's Maui Chip Company. Despite early disasters including rancid oil and rejected shipments, the brand exploded in the UK where it gained cult status before becoming a household name in America. Cameron also co-founded Kona Brewing Company, juggling both businesses while logging thousands of miles between Oregon, Hawaii, and London.
- From Commune to Commerce: Building a Natural Foods Distribution Business
- The Hawaiian Spark: Discovering Kettle-Cooked Chips
Advice Line with Alexa Hirschfeld of Paperless Post
Feb 26, 2026Summary Preview
In this Advice Line episode, Guy Raz and Alexa Hirschfeld (co-founder of Paperless Post) counsel three entrepreneurs on scaling challenges. They discuss strategic branding decisions for a cancer support card company expanding into pet sympathy cards, production scaling for a handmade garland business, and repositioning a tatami yoga mat brand. The conversation emphasizes maintaining authenticity while growing, focusing on core strengths, and effectively communicating product value to customers.
- Building Brand Architecture: When Collaborations Outgrow Their Partners
- The Partnership Branding Dilemma: Umbrella Strategy
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Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square, shares the story of how a lost $2,000 glass sale led to revolutionizing credit card payments for small businesses. Partnering with former intern Jack Dorsey, McKelvey built Square from scratch in 2008-2009, creating both hardware and software that challenged banking monopolies and regulatory barriers. The company survived Amazon's attempt to crush it in 2014 and grew into a multi-billion dollar business by fundamentally changing how small merchants accept payments.
- Early Life and the Impact of Personal Tragedy
- The Genesis of Square: A Lost Sale and a Big Idea
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This episode of How I Built This Advice Line features Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, co-founders of Chomps, the grass-fed meat stick brand. They field questions from three food entrepreneurs navigating critical growth decisions: Yaddy from Yaddy's Artisanal Empanadas considering expansion strategies, Zachary from Noble Pies seeking retail distribution, and Josh from Achigan Brand deciding when to go full-time. The conversation explores themes of strategic expansion, managing retail relationships, production scaling, and knowing when to take the entrepreneurial leap.
- The Protein Market Wave and Business Resilience
- Yaddy's Empanadas: Choosing Between Campus Expansion and Distribution
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John Osher, a serial entrepreneur, shares his remarkable journey from selling earrings and spinning lollipops to creating the revolutionary Spin Brush electric toothbrush. After selling previous businesses to Gerber and Hasbro, John developed a $5 electric toothbrush that disrupted the industry and sold to Procter & Gamble for $475 million just two years after launch. His story demonstrates how diverse experiences, creative problem-solving, and strategic thinking can lead to extraordinary success.
- Early Entrepreneurial Spirit and the Earring Business
- Spiritual Journey and Learning Practical Skills
Advice Line with Julia Hartz of Eventbrite
Feb 12, 2026Summary Preview
Guy Raz hosts The Advice Line with Julia Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, helping three entrepreneurs navigate business challenges. They advise a pottery YouTuber balancing content creation with e-commerce, a print magazine founder seeking to grow subscribers, and a baker promoting culturally-inspired dessert kits that require intentional time investment.
- Introduction and Julia Hartz's Eventbrite Acquisition
- Pottery to the People: Balancing YouTube Content and E-Commerce
Netflix: Reed Hastings. “We’re Not a Family.” The Provocative Idea That Helped Build a Streaming Giant
Feb 09, 2026Summary Preview
Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, shares the remarkable story of how a DVD-by-mail service transformed into a global streaming giant. From nearly merging with Blockbuster in 2000 to pioneering original content and building a distinctive high-performance culture, Hastings reveals the pivotal decisions, near-death experiences, and lessons learned over 25 years of leading one of the most transformative companies in entertainment history.
- Early Life and Career: From Peace Corps to Pure Software
- The Birth of Netflix: DVDs, E-commerce, and Early Struggles
Advice Line with Jon Stein of Betterment
Feb 05, 2026Summary Preview
Guy Raz hosts The Advice Line with John Stein, founder and chair of Betterment, offering guidance to three entrepreneurs navigating critical business decisions. The episode features founders grappling with growth challenges: Dan from Heretic Yerba faces channel prioritization for his caffeinated yerba mate products, Mike from MTS Woodworking confronts space constraints limiting his custom furniture business, and Maggie from Floofball seeks direction on scaling her soccer-themed dog accessories. John brings his experience pioneering robo-advisory services and building Betterment to nearly $60 billion in assets, providing perspective on sequencing growth, avoiding premature debt, and finding scalable channels. The conversations reveal the universal tension between maintaining quality and achieving scale, with actionable advice on pricing strategy, customer acquisition, and strategic focus.
- Introduction and John Stein's Journey from Betterment to New Venture
- Heretic Yerba: Channel Strategy for Caffeinated Tea Alternative
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Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoux, two elite athletes from the French Alps, founded Hoka after recognizing that runners needed better downhill protection. Drawing on their decades of experience at Salomon, where they pioneered ski innovations, they created an oversized, ultra-cushioned running shoe with a distinctive rocker design. Despite initial skepticism about their 'clown shoes,' the brand exploded from $3 million in 2012 to over $2 billion today, revolutionizing running footwear and making trail running more accessible and enjoyable for millions.
- From Salomon Intern to CEO: Learning Innovation Culture
- The Ultra Marathon Crisis: When Legs Shut Down at Mile 70
Advice Line with Serial Entrepreneur Mark Cuban
Jan 29, 2026Summary Preview
Mark Cuban joins Guy Raz to advise three entrepreneurs on strategic growth decisions. The episode covers a premium peanut butter brand considering big box retail expansion, a youth-safe skincare company navigating dual customer segments, and a handcrafted luxury razor maker rebuilding after pandemic setbacks. Cuban emphasizes profitability over sales growth, warns against rushing expansion, and advocates for operational efficiency and AI-powered learning for entrepreneurs.
- The Philosophy of Profitability Over Growth
- One Trick Pony: Premium Peanut Butter and the Retail Expansion Dilemma
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Kurt Listug and Bob Taylor co-founded Taylor Guitars in 1974, buying a tiny San Diego guitar shop for $3,700. Over decades of slow, grinding growth, they built one of the world's most respected acoustic guitar brands through innovation in guitar design, particularly creating slimmer necks that appealed to electric guitar players. Their partnership survived disco, financial struggles, paying themselves $15 per week, and intense competition from established brands like Martin and Gibson. By focusing on playability, sound quality, and smart marketing while maintaining manufacturing in California and Mexico, Taylor Guitars grew into a nine-figure business with over 700 guitars produced daily. In 2022, they transitioned to an ESOP structure, ensuring their legacy continues through employee ownership.
- Origins: From Guitar Repair Shop to Ownership
- Early Innovation: The Thinner Neck Revolution
Advice Line with Monica Nassif of Mrs. Meyers
Jan 22, 2026Summary Preview
Guy Raz and Mrs. Meyers founder Monica Nassif provide strategic advice to three entrepreneurs navigating growth challenges. They counsel a wig company founder dealing with medical hair loss, a unique stuffed animal creator experiencing viral success, and a specialized chandelier cleaning service exploring expansion. The conversation emphasizes authenticity in branding, disciplined growth strategies, operational excellence, and the importance of focusing resources rather than spreading too thin.
- Building an Authentic Brand Voice
- Insilia Hair: From Personal Crisis to Innovative Wigs
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Joan Barnes transformed a simple playgroup at a Jewish community center into Gymboree, a national franchise empire that peaked with a $1.8 billion acquisition. But behind the public success story was a struggle with an unsustainable business model, intense pressure, and personal challenges including an eating disorder that forced her to step away. The episode explores the tension between entrepreneurial drive and personal wellbeing, showing how unchecked ambition can erode everything around you.
- From Isolation to Innovation: Starting the First Playgroup
- The Name Crisis and Rapid Expansion
Advice Line with Neil Blumenthal of Warby Parker
Jan 15, 2026Summary Preview
On this episode of The Advice Line, Guy Raz is joined by Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, to advise three entrepreneurs on scaling their businesses. The callers include Kimber Crandall of Pearl Pop (gummy toothpaste), Brian DeMint of Salt and Light Wellness (light therapy centers), and Tanner McCraney of Cowboy Country Club (lifestyle golf brand). Neil shares insights on maintaining a successful 15-year co-CEO partnership, integrating AI into products, prioritizing marketing messages, vetting franchisees, and building entrepreneurial teams.
- Neil Blumenthal's Co-CEO Partnership and AI Innovation at Warby Parker
- Pearl Pop: Creating Marketing Moments for Gummy Toothpaste
La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti. A Brotherhood Built on Coffee (2020)
Jan 12, 2026Summary Preview
Todd Carmichael and JP Bertie share the story of founding La Colombe Coffee Roasters, one of America's pioneering third-wave coffee companies. Starting as baristas in Seattle in the 1980s, they moved to Philadelphia in 1994 to build a specialty coffee business focused on sourcing directly from farms and serving high-end restaurants. After nearly losing the company to a private equity firm that wanted to rapidly expand cafes, they pivoted to innovative products like draft lattes, eventually growing into a billion-dollar company. Their journey spans from hiding from fire inspectors while roasting coffee illegally, to revolutionizing ready-to-drink coffee beverages.
- Todd's Difficult Childhood and Early Drive
- Meeting JP and Dreaming of Coffee
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This Advice Line episode features Jack Conte, co-founder of Patreon, helping three entrepreneurs solve their business challenges. The callers include Zach Parsons from Honeymoon Coffee Company exploring a couples-focused coffee subscription, Rowena Shara from Eat to Explore wanting to expand her cultural cooking kits to adults, and Melissa Spitz from Adventures in Handwriting seeking to scale her online handwriting program into schools. Jack emphasizes the importance of speed of iteration, authentic community building, and finding product-market fit while Guy offers practical marketing strategies for each business.
- Introduction and Jack Conte's Community Building Philosophy
- Honeymoon Coffee Company: Creating a Relationship-Focused Subscription
Dollar Shave Club: Michael Dubin, From Zero to a Billion Dollar Exit in Five Years (December 2018)
Jan 05, 2026Summary Preview
Michael Dubin shares how he built Dollar Shave Club from a chance encounter at a party into a billion-dollar company in just five years. The story reveals how eight years of improv comedy training and video marketing experience converged to create one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns in modern history, ultimately disrupting Gillette's monopoly on the razor market and leading to a 2016 acquisition by Unilever.
- From NBC Page to Marketing Professional
- The Fateful Party and Warehouse Discovery
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This episode of How I Built This Lab's Advice Line features three entrepreneurs seeking guidance on growing their businesses. Randy Hetrick (TRX founder) advises a spice packet company on sampling strategies, Todd Graves (Raising Cane's founder) helps a puzzle brand consolidate their social media presence, and Mei Xu (Chesapeake Bay Candle founder) suggests AI-driven innovations for interactive Hindu culture dolls. The common thread is strategic focus and leveraging product experiences over paid advertising.
- Moji Masala: Scaling Through Sampling Over Paid Ads
- Leveraging Micro-Influencers for Food Marketing
SkinnyDipped: Breezy and Val Griffith. The Flourishing Snack Company That Almost Failed
Dec 29, 2025Summary Preview
Val and Breezy Griffith, a mother-daughter team, share the story of building Skinny Dipped, a chocolate-covered almond snack brand that reached over $100 million in annual sales. Starting in 2013 with just $25,000, they spent years perfecting a thin chocolate coating technique, hustling through farmers markets and demos, and eventually landing in 1,800 Target stores. Despite rapid growth and appearing on Forbes lists, they nearly went bankrupt in 2022 due to razor-thin margins before making dramatic cuts and achieving profitability in 2024. Their journey highlights the importance of persistence, financial discipline, and the power of family partnerships in building a consumer brand.
- The Origin Story: From Personal Tragedy to Business Partnership
- The Technical Challenge: Perfecting the Thin Chocolate Coating
Advice Line with Todd Graves of Raising Cane's
Dec 25, 2025Summary Preview
Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane's, joins Guy Raz to advise entrepreneurs on scaling their businesses. The episode features three callers seeking guidance on expansion strategies, financing challenges, and deciding whether to add brick-and-mortar locations. Todd shares insights from growing Cane's to over 1,000 locations while maintaining exceptional quality standards, emphasizing the importance of staying focused on core strengths rather than chasing diversification.
- Introduction to Todd Graves and Raising Cane's Success
- The Power of Consistency and Staying Focused