How I Built This with Guy Raz
About this creator
How I Built This with Guy Raz shares founder stories, company-building lessons, and practical insights from entrepreneurs behind iconic businesses.
Why they're in the library
Included for practical lessons from founder stories, company-building decisions, and candid reflections from entrepreneurs behind iconic businesses.
Showing 222 digests for How I Built This with Guy Raz.
Taylor Guitars: How two teenagers built a global acoustic guitar brand
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 26, 2026
Case studies
10
Business models
7
Product-market fit
6
- Paid themselves $15 a week for years before breaking $1M
- One-guitar-at-a-time flow insight transformed the entire business
- ESOP converted employees into owners after 50 years of growth
Founder interviews
Podcast
How I Built This Advice Line: Monica Nassif on brand, focus, and scaling
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 22, 2026
Founder interviews
9
Niche selection
7
Branding
6
- Visible authenticity beats polished marketing for early-stage consumer brands.
- Viral traction means nothing if your supply chain breaks under demand.
- Focus on one market, one channel, one path — scatter kills momentum.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Gymboree's rise, collapse, and the personal cost of not stopping
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 19, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Pivoting
8
Bootstrapping
6
- A franchise model that looked like success was always structurally broken
- The same refusal to quit that saved the business destroyed her health and family
- Pivot to retail clothing saved the company — Gap Kids launched the same season
Founder interviews
Podcast
Neil Blumenthal on launching new categories, franchising, and delegation
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 15, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Branding
7
Hiring & recruitment
6
- Find your tribe of true believers and let them amplify
- Franchise vetting: a short application eliminates 70% of time-wasters
- First 10 hires must be entrepreneurial — big-company people expect systems that don't exist
Founder interviews
Podcast
La Colombe Coffee Roasters: how two baristas pioneered third-wave coffee in the US
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 12, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Business models
6
MVP & prototyping
5
- Walked uninvited into the US's top restaurant and won their first account
- Private equity lasted 52 days before a buyout funded by Hamdi Ulukaya
- Treating coffee as a culinary spice, not a commodity, unlocked chef clients
Founder interviews
Podcast
Jack Conte of Patreon on building community and finding product-market fit
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 8, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Niche selection
7
Community building
7
- Speed of iteration beats strategy for finding product-market fit.
- Two-thirds of Patreon revenue goes to the creative middle class.
- Shift from consensus to internal conviction as a leader — sooner.
Founder interviews
Podcast
How Michael Dubin built Dollar Shave Club from razors to a billion-dollar exit
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 5, 2026
Founder interviews
10
Branding
7
Business models
6
- A $700 warehouse gamble on unwanted razors launched a billion-dollar brand.
- Improv comedy training became the secret weapon behind a viral launch video.
- Gillette held 70% market share — DSC took it on with storytelling, not tech.
Influencer & partnerships
Podcast
How founders can use AI and influencers to grow niche consumer brands
How I Built This with Guy Raz
January 1, 2026
Influencer & partnerships
9
AI tools & automation
8
Vision & mission
6
- Micro-influencers beat paid ads for early-stage consumer brands.
- Multiple brand accounts fragment reach — one voice wins on social.
- AI can make physical toys interactive and subscription-driven.
SkinnyDipped: how a mother-daughter team built a $100M snack brand
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 29, 2025
Case studies
10
Unit economics
7
MVP & prototyping
5
- Growing fast with teen-level gross margins almost killed the brand.
- A chance bar encounter with Rohan Oza unlocked the seed round.
- 40,000 pounds of rancid almonds nearly wiped out their Target launch.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Raising Cane's Todd Graves on focus, franchising, and funding
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 25, 2025
Founder interviews
10
Niche selection
8
Bootstrapping
7
- Why Raising Cane's 30-year unchanged menu beats constant innovation
- Franchise vs. company-owned: the 85 vs. 95 quality gap that matters
- How to raise growth capital without giving up equity or control
How Exploding Kittens grew from a $10k Kickstarter to a global games company
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 22, 2025
Origin stories
10
Branding
7
Business models
6
- A $10k Kickstarter raised $8.7m by gamifying the crowd, not the money.
- Two flops before a second hit — and why product quality alone isn't enough.
- From Xbox and Halo to card games: why face-to-face beats the screen.
How to grow a niche business: expansion, focus, and early fundraising
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 18, 2025
Niche selection
9
Fundraising & VC
7
Pitching investors
5
- Your revenue split already tells you where to grow next.
- Dominate your niche before branching out — Tempur-Pedic learned this the hard way.
- VCs want data; your first capital is in your network.
How Indiegogo survived 93 rejections to pioneer crowdfunding
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 15, 2025
Origin stories
10
Bootstrapping
7
Vision & mission
6
- 93 investor nos before a yes — and they nearly shut down twice.
- Open platform beats curation: the crowd decides, not gatekeepers.
- Founders leaving too early cost Indiegogo an entire industry.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Bootstrapping vs. investment and channel strategy: founder advice from Ring and Boll & Branch
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 11, 2025
Founder interviews
9
Pivoting
8
Bootstrapping
7
- Taking the first investor dollar changes your business, no matter the amount.
- UV clothing's real competitor is sunscreen — sell it in that aisle.
- Colorful binoculars need social integration, not just outdoor-channel distribution.
Sal Khan: building a free global education platform from family tutoring
How I Built This with Guy Raz
December 8, 2025
Origin stories
10
Vision & mission
7
Fundraising & VC
6
- Nonprofit structure was the strategic choice that kept Khan Academy trustworthy
- Bill Gates and Google each donated $2M after a single Aspen mention
- Free SAT prep partnership funds Khan Academy without charging students