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.
Faherty Brand: how twin brothers built a $250M coastal fashion company
How I Built This with Guy Raz
October 13, 2025
Case studies
10
Business models
8
Bootstrapping
7
- 12 years of deliberate prep — fashion school, Ralph Lauren, finance — before launch
- Choosing wholesale over VC-fueled DTC saved the business from burning cash
- COVID flipped the model: resort stores boomed, enabling a 40-lease expansion sprint
Founder interviews
Podcast
Building a brand and scaling: lessons from Dollar Shave Club's founder
How I Built This with Guy Raz
October 9, 2025
Founder interviews
10
Content marketing
8
Hiring & recruitment
6
- Viral marketing waves are shorter now — sustained effort is essential.
- Replicating founder hospitality in employees requires equity, culture, and hiring for attitude.
- Niche manufacturers need capital, a scalable accessory line, and a bigger vision to attract investors.
Pressbox: How a boring laundry startup beat Procter & Gamble and sold to Tide
How I Built This with Guy Raz
October 6, 2025
Case studies
10
Business models
8
Unit economics
7
- Eliminating the storefront turned a 15% margin into 40%.
- Lockers beat Uber-for-X rivals with 26 transactions per hour vs. four.
- P&G tried to buy out their landlords; almost all refused.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Tony Xu of DoorDash advises founders on growth and fundraising
How I Built This with Guy Raz
October 2, 2025
Founder interviews
9
Fundraising & VC
8
Pivoting
7
- Expand product lines only when you have a dedicated leader end-to-end.
- Raise equity for growth investment; use debt for seasonal cash crunches.
- Founders already know the answers — trust instincts, write things down.
How Craig Newmark accidentally built Craigslist from an email list
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 29, 2025
Origin stories
10
Business models
7
Delegation
6
- An accidental email list became one of the internet's most profitable sites
- Giving up CEO control early was the smartest decision Craig ever made
- Fewer than 50 employees, hundreds of millions in revenue, zero investors
Founder advice: funding, retail, and focus for early-stage businesses
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 25, 2025
Niche selection
9
Case studies
7
Fundraising & VC
6
- Why entering a major retailer too early can end your brand
- Profitable founders make better decisions — and have more time
- Finding operator-investors beats chasing strategic capital
How Poppi went from farmers market vinegar drink to a $2B Pepsi acquisition
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 22, 2025
Case studies
10
Pivoting
7
Branding
6
- Calling a health drink 'soda' when soda was a dirty word.
- A viral TikTok story post drove $100K in overnight Amazon sales.
- Shark Tank investor forced a full rebrand — and was right.
Founder interviews
Podcast
Bobbi Brown on scaling without losing what makes you special
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 18, 2025
Founder interviews
9
Niche selection
8
Branding
7
- Starting over at 62: why Bobbi launched a second brand from scratch
- The trap of going viral — and why steady growth beats rocket ships
- Finding your tribe first is how niche products build lasting brands
Founder interviews
Podcast
Nextdoor: building a neighborhood network from scratch
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 15, 2025
Founder interviews
10
Niche selection
8
MVP & prototyping
6
- No major platform has won local — and why that's the opportunity
- Postcards and Sharpies: why unscalable tactics built real community
- Founder ousted, stock down 85%, now back to finish the job
How to educate customers, manage growth, and reach new markets
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 11, 2025
Case studies
9
Content marketing
7
Niche selection
6
- PR opens a category first — then your brand wins within it
- Mapping revenue, margin, and joy reveals what to cut
- Separate B2B and consumer websites to win different buyers
Carlton Calvin: how a toy-craze veteran built Razor into an enduring brand
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 8, 2025
Case studies
10
Pivoting
8
Product-market fit
7
- Selling a million scooters a month — then zero, overnight
- Why owning a brand beats riding someone else's craze
- From scorpion slammers to hoverboards: spotting trends before anyone else
Influencer & partnerships
Podcast
How to play to your strengths as a founder: three advice line conversations
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 4, 2025
Influencer & partnerships
9
Niche selection
8
Hiring & recruitment
7
- Most celebrity brand deals fail — equity and authentic fit matter more.
- Your origin story is your moat; don't bury it in an FAQ.
- Hire your first team from the customers who already believe in you.
AriZona Iced Tea: how a beer distributor outsmarted Snapple
How I Built This with Guy Raz
September 1, 2025
Case studies
10
Business models
7
Processes & SOPs
6
- A single Snapple truck sighting triggered a billion-dollar pivot
- Bigger can, same price — packaging beat marketing every time
- A 10-year partner dispute cost more than the buyout was worth
Long-term planning
Podcast
Tim Ferriss on the Advice Line: focus, pre-orders, and scaling smart
How I Built This with Guy Raz
August 28, 2025
Long-term planning
8
Processes & SOPs
7
Identity & self-belief
6
- Use lower-cost B2B channels to fund DTC experimentation, not both at once.
- Reframe pre-order as made-to-order — and run limited drops before fully switching.
- Identity diversification protects founders when one business hits a bad quarter.
How Mailchimp grew to $12 billion with no outside investment
How I Built This with Guy Raz
August 25, 2025
Case studies
10
Bootstrapping
8
Branding
7
- Rejected every VC pitch; cashflow alone funded growth to $800M revenue.
- Freemium launch in 2009 took users from hundreds of thousands to one million in a year.
- Serial podcast sponsorship made MailChimp a household name — grandmothers included.