Founder Stories: Founder interviews
Showing 1017 articles for Founder Stories: Founder interviews.
Founder interviews
YouTube
What a $7B founder learned building Glean from scratch
EO
May 14, 2026
Founder interviews
10
AI strategy & adoption
7
Product-market fit
6
- Why giving your product away free for two years can be the right move
- Don't build foundational models — focus where others won't invest
- Conviction, not confidence, is what keeps a founder's idea alive
Founder interviews
YouTube
From four failed co-founder splits to a $66M solo startup
Solo Founders
May 13, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Pivoting
8
Prospecting & outreach
7
- Why $40K left and no co-founders forced the right idea to surface
- Filing 100 Delaware tax returns for free landed the first 10 customers
- AI tools have removed the last real excuse to wait for a co-founder
Founder interviews
YouTube
The real cost of avoiding hard conversations in leadership
EOS Worldwide
May 12, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Hiring & recruitment
8
Identity & self-belief
6
- Wrong team members wiped out half the profit margin — visibly.
- Losing your entire leadership team can be the best thing that happens.
- Founders confuse being nice with being kind — and pay for it.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Room & Board: how John Gabbert built a furniture giant without outside investment
How I Built This with Guy Raz
May 11, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Bootstrapping
7
Business models
6
- A family betrayal became the founding moment for Room & Board
- Owning the design — not the factory — unlocks manufacturer economics
- Refused every private equity approach; built on an 8% profit target
Founder interviews
Podcast
How Todd Graves built Raising Cane's into a billion-dollar single-item brand
Masters of Scale
May 7, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Business models
8
Culture building
7
- One menu item, one sauce — and why less beats more at scale
- Why private equity's 3-5 year exit horizon destroys restaurant culture
- Funded the first restaurant by fishing in Alaska for a summer
Founder interviews
Podcast
Phil Knight's path to building Nike from a crazy idea
Founders
May 7, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Business models
7
Bootstrapping
6
- Knight funded Nike by repeatedly emptying bank accounts and doubling orders
- Co-founder Bowerman's obsession with shoe weight shaped Nike's entire product philosophy
- Knight's deepest regret: building Nike cost him his children's childhoods
Founder interviews
Podcast
How to scale an events business, own a product category, and message a niche food brand
How I Built This with Guy Raz
May 7, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Business models
8
Branding
6
- BuzzFeed is rebuilding from a going-concern notice through AI apps and community
- Franchise vs. marketplace: the right model depends on how much brand control you need
- In viral-first businesses, year-one novelty fades — community and subscription extend the runway
Founder interviews
YouTube
From Tesla exec to 14 go-to-market pivots: building Plug in the used EV market
Solo Founders
May 6, 2026
Founder interviews
9
Pivoting
8
Fundraising & VC
6
- The one business model they ruled out became the hockey stick.
- 14 go-to-market attempts before finding the one that scaled.
- Why conventional wisdom is a self-manufactured constraint, not a fact.
Founder interviews
YouTube
How Razorpay built India's largest payments platform from scratch
Y Combinator
May 6, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Pivoting
8
Bootstrapping
7
- Regulation forced a year of zero revenue — and became their deepest moat.
- Early UPI bet landed Zomato, Swiggy overnight while rivals scrambled.
- AI compresses the build; only knowing what to build now matters.
Founder interviews
YouTube
How a lawyer built a firm that ran without him
EOS Worldwide
May 5, 2026
Founder interviews
9
Business operating systems
7
Delegation
6
- Good marketing creates chaos — then steals time from your family
- Triple bypass proved the firm didn't need him: succession validated
- Owner happiness first, clients third — the profession has it backwards
Founder interviews
Podcast
How Gregg Renfrew built, lost, and reclaimed Beauty Counter
How I Built This with Guy Raz
May 4, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Business models
7
Resilience & grit
6
- Why private equity ousted her six months after a $1B exit
- Direct sales wasn't the backup plan — it was the growth engine
- She bought her brand back in 48 hours with personal savings
Founder interviews
Podcast
Kyle Carpenter on resilience, service, and life after the Medal of Honor
The Daily Stoic
May 2, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Resilience & grit
9
Public speaking
5
- Progress in recovery required setting a marathon goal from a ventilator.
- Refusing help is selfish — it deprives the world of your contribution.
- Moral courage can equal physical bravery; pioneering under hostility proves it.
Founder interviews
YouTube
When your company outgrows its COO: the $100M to $1B gap
Cameron Herold
May 1, 2026
Founder interviews
9
Management
7
Delegation
6
- The COO who reaches $100M can't always scale to $1B
- Senior leaders typically survive only two revenue doubles
- The decision was right — the execution was not
Founder interviews
Podcast
How Poppi's founders built a $2 billion soda brand from scratch
Masters of Scale
April 30, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Social media
7
Pivoting
6
- A last-minute Super Bowl floater ad tripled brand awareness overnight
- TikTok virality and an Amazon affiliate hack fuelled early hypergrowth
- Selling 100% to Pepsi for $2B brought unexpected grief, not just relief
Founder interviews
Podcast
David Neeleman advises founders on growth, capital, and focus
How I Built This with Guy Raz
April 30, 2026
Founder interviews
9
Business models
7
Fundraising & VC
6
- Why raising $9M for a pro league may derail a great gym business
- Convert to nonprofit to unlock funding for a mission-driven company
- Expand SKUs only after repurchase rate, stockouts, and demand align