Founders · new episode 22 Oct 2026
How I Built This
Hosted by Guy Raz
Founders telling the story of their company from the start, raising money included.
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Investors named as guests in the most episode titles on How I Built This.
Every episode 879 · page 1 of 30
- 879Advice Line with Seth Berkowitz of Insomnia Cookies22 Oct 2026 · 44 minSeth Berkowitz▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Kahindo from New York is looking to reboot her African-rooted fashion brand after losing a few key retailers. Then Tara from San Diego considers avenues to educate consumers about the benefits of her wool sauna hats. And Carol from Houston wonders whether to market her collegiate purses and…
- 878Sweet Loren’s: Loren Castle. How A Recipe Makeover Built a National Cookie Brand19 Oct 2026 · 1h 9m▶
About this episode
Loren Castle started baking cookies after surviving cancer in her early twenties. Five years later, Sweet Loren’s refrigerated cookie dough was generating just $350,000 a year. But instead of giving up, she listened to customers, and reinvented the dough without gluten, dairy, eggs or nuts. That transformation turned…
- 877Advice Line with Tara Bosch of SmartSweets15 Oct 2026 · 48 minTara BoschLos Angeles▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Lindzi from Chicago wants to expand her gourmet marshmallow brand into retail without cannibalizing her high-margin DTC sales. Then, Vivi from Hawaii considers how to best tell her sustainable swimwear brand’s story to a digital audience. And Aly from Los Angeles wonders whether a subscription model…
- 876Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League (2023)12 Oct 2026 · 1h 21mGuy Raz▶
About this episode
In the early 1990’s, Tim League spent $50,000 in savings to lease an abandoned movie theater on the wrong side of the tracks, a shaky experiment that eventually grew into a thriving national chain. As Tim and his wife Karrie built theaters in Austin and beyond, they made a name for themselves by offering dinner with…
- 875Advice Line with Nick Green of Thrive Market8 Oct 2026 · 45 minNick Green▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Mercedes in Utah tries to find harmony between quality and speed as she scales her concert attire brand for musicians. Then Danny in Colorado grapples with the tradeoffs of growing his sustainable and functional coffee brand. And Riya in Illinois wonders how to build awareness for her app that aids…
- 87410 Years of How I Built This: A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention5 Oct 2026 · 1h 16mGuy RazKatrina LakeSara Blakely▶
About this episode
Stories about starting a business are almost always full of drama. They’re about ambition, loss, triumph, catastrophe, resilience. And they’re also full of life lessons – which is why Guy Raz launched How I Built This 10 years ago: He wanted to host a free master class in entrepreneurship, one conversation at a time.…
- 873Advice Line with Scott Tannen of Boll & Branch and Jamie Siminoff of Ring (2025)1 Oct 2026 · 47 minScott Tannen▶
About this episode
CEO and co-founder of Boll & Branch, Scott Tannen joins Ring founder Jamie Siminoff and Guy on the Advice Line to answer questions from three early-stage entrepreneurs. Plus, Jamie and Guy talk about how creating repeat customers often comes from creating social good. First, we hear from Melita in Toronto who's…
- 872Seventh Generation: Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender. A Partnership that Flourished, until it Failed. (2021)28 Sept 2026 · 1h 35m▶
About this episode
With its eco-friendly paper towels, diapers, and cleansers, Seventh Generation was one of the first, and most successful, green household brands to hit the market. But in the early 1990s, its two founders had a bitter falling out. Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender have barely spoken since that time, but they both agreed…
- 871Advice Line with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack24 Sept 2026 · 44 minDanny Meyer▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Janell from Kentucky wonders how to build a sense of hospitality into her canned bourbon cocktail brand. Jade from South Carolina considers the upsides and risks of shipping her smoked salmon directly to customers. And Bar from Colorado considers strategies for bringing his protein-packed cous cous to…
- 870Banza: Brian Rudolph. The Chickpea Pasta That Nearly Turned to Mush21 Sept 2026 · 1h 2m▶
About this episode
Brian Rudolph started making chickpea pasta in his Detroit apartment because wheat made him feel sick. A decade later, Banza was in more than 25,000 stores, and today, it’s one of the most popular pasta brands in the country. Success was not automatic: The business barely got off the ground because the cooked pasta…
- 869Advice Line with Michelle Wahler of Beyond Yoga17 Sept 2026 · 43 min▶
About this episode
Today's callers: Carrie from Paris wants to turn interest into bookings for her boutique study-abroad programs for adults. Then, Grace from Nashville considers how to re-build relationships with interior designers she may have let down early on in her furniture upholstery business. And Angel from Indiana explores how…
- 868Thrive Causemetics: Karissa Bodnar. How a Beauty Business Made Millions for a Mission14 Sept 2026 · 52 min▶
About this episode
Karissa Bodnar had a dream job at L'Oréal when a close friend died from cancer at age 24. It shook her up and made her reassess what she really wanted to do with her life. The answer? Build her own beauty business with a mission of “giving back.” The problem? Nobody seemed to want to carry her products. She pitched…
- 867Advice Line with Kip Tindell of The Container Store10 Sept 2026 · 44 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Juliette in France wonders how to raise awareness of her “magical” cooling device, without a costly ad campaign. Then David in North Carolina looks to grow the wholesale channel of his engraved gifts business in light of thinning retail margins. And Kaitlin in California wants to leverage the virality…
- 866Bogg Bag: Kim Vaccarella. The $100 Million Business She Almost Abandoned7 Sept 2026 · 1h 27m▶
About this episode
Kim’s inspiration to launch a business came from an unlikely source: Her son’s Crocs. She thought the durable, washable material would make a great beach bag. So she designed one. But after investing her savings, inlcuding some of her kids’ college fund, Kim was crushed when her first major shipment of Bogg bags was…
- 865Advice Line with Ben Goodwin of Olipop3 Sept 2026 · 51 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Darin from North Carolina seeks guidance on consumer education as his ghee-based snack brand grows into major retailers. Then Sarah from Massachusetts explores scaling pathways for her ‘never-frozen’ gluten-free baked goods. And John from Ohio considers whether online sales can turn around his local…
- 864Late July Snacks: Nicole Bernard Dawes. Crackers and Cookies were Failing… Tortilla Chips Saved Them31 Aug 2026 · 1h 24m▶
About this episode
Nicole Bernard Dawes spent much of her childhood hanging out in her dad’s potato chip factory on Cape Cod. She liked his kettle-cooked chips a lot more than the flavorless snacks in her mom’s health food store. But when she started her own business, she wanted the best of both worlds: a snack made with natural,…
- 863Advice Line with Daymond John of FUBU27 Aug 2026 · 45 minDaymond John▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Cristopher from Chicago wants to expand his family’s salsa brand from farmers markets into retail. Next, Darcy in Australia considers adapting his protein bar brand’s messaging to reach beyond his core enthusiasts. Finally, Seema in Canada seeks strategies to increase B2B sales for her ethical kitchen…
- 862YETI: Roy and Ryan Seiders. How Two Brothers Turned a $400 Cooler Into a $2 Billion Brand24 Aug 2026 · 1h 29m▶
About this episode
Roy and Ryan were avid outdoorsmen who wanted a cooler that wouldn’t break. So they built one themselves. The result was YETI: a high-end cooler that early retailers thought nobody would buy. But serious outdoorsmen did, and eventually YETI escaped its niche, becoming a status symbol at tailgates, beaches, and soccer…
- 861Advice Line with Carlton Calvin of Razor20 Aug 2026 · 45 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Shawn from Saskatchewan weighs whether brand-building or licensing is best for his card-based party game. Then Shirin in Texas wants to differentiate her graphic stationery in a crowded Etsy marketplace. And Mark from New Jersey works through refocusing his line of craft spirits. Plus, Carlton’s…
- 860Bobbie: Laura Modi. How a Baby Formula Startup Took Market Share From Two Industry Giants17 Aug 2026 · 1h 24m▶
About this episode
Laura Modi set out to build a better infant formula. What followed was years of setbacks: a crippling dispute with the FDA, a frustrating search for a manufacturer, and the constant fear that the company would run out of money before it reached customers. But today, Bobbie generates over $100 million a year and has…
- 859Advice Line with Bobbi Brown of Jones Road Beauty (September 2025)13 Aug 2026 · 51 min▶
About this episode
Today's callers: Bob in Chicago looks to promote his cabbage-based muscle and joint rub beyond the walls of his orthopedic practice. Then Abby in Dallas wonders whether her popular social media livestreams are a sustainable way to market her trendy phone cases. And Henry in Charlotte wants to turn his mouth rinse for…
- 858MadeGood: Salma and Nima Fotovat Lost Their First Business.They Grew Their Next One Into a Snack Giant.10 Aug 2026 · 1h 9m▶
About this episode
What do you do when the family business you've spent decades building... gets bought out from under you? That’s what happened to Nima and Salma Fotovat. Devastated, the family rebuilt a new company from the ground up. This time they set out with a new idea: build an allergen-free, organic snack brand not just for…
- 857Advice Line: "Strategy Sessions"6 Aug 2026 · 48 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Tony in Michigan is considering bringing on partners to run different parts of his brew pub and theater business. Then Monica in London is exploring the best way to reach style-conscious parents with her line of children’s clothes. And Sandy in Colorado is seeking the ideal pricing strategy to bring…
- 856Serena & Lily: Serena Dugan and Lily Kanter. They Built a $20M Brand, Then One Investor Almost Destroyed It3 Aug 2026 · 1h 19mSerena▶
About this episode
Many founders think the hardest thing about business is finding customers. It's not. It's surviving success. When Lily Kanter and Serena Dugan launched a luxury baby linen business, they had no manufacturing experience, no inventory, and barely any capital. But after their first catalog landed just as a major…
- 855Advice Line with Chris Riccobono of UNTUCKit30 Jul 2026 · 47 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Adrian from California wants to grow his apparel company to complete with big-name athletic brands. Then, Preet from the Rockies looks for strategies to reach seniors and their children with his daily check-in app. And Derek from Virginia considers social media and professional partnerships to…
- 854Sweetwater: Chuck Surack. How a Customer Service Strategy Built a Billion Dollar Online Pro Audio and Music Company.27 Jul 2026 · 1h 16m▶
About this episode
Chuck Surack never planned to build one of America's largest online retailers. He just wanted to be a musician. So right after high school, he took his sax and drove off in his old VW van to play gigs around the country. It didn’t work out. But with the audio and mixing skills Chuck learned gigging, he decided to…
- 853Advice Line with Curt Richardson of OtterBox23 Jul 2026 · 43 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Andy from Sarasota weighs whether the path to scalability for his live game show business is through personality or product. Then, Marissa from Tampa wants to recapture sales for her fairy tale-inspired teas after taking a hiatus to focus on her family. And Vince from New Jersey wonders how to…
- 852Toast: Aman Narang. How a Long Wait for the Dinner Check Launched a $2 Billion Business.20 Jul 2026 · 55 minAman Narang▶
About this episode
After waiting too long to pay his restaurant bill, Aman Narang thought there had to be a better way. His first idea, a mobile payment app, flopped. But that failure revealed a much bigger opportunity. Restaurants were struggling with outdated software that many owners hated. Payment systems were expensive, unreliable,…
- 851Advice Line with Kenneth Cole16 Jul 2026 · 46 min▶
About this episode
Today’s callers: Matt from New York City unpacks the stigma working against his line of foot wellness products. Then Emefa in Toronto seeks a direct relationship with customers of her fashion brand in the wake of a key retailer going out of business. Finally, Levi in Rhode Island explores new audiences and product…
- 850Sun Bum: Tom Rinks. The Secrets of a Master Brand Builder (2023)13 Jul 2026 · 1h 19m▶
About this episode
Tom Rinks got his start in the commission-only "shark tank" of midwestern furniture sales. That’s where he learned what makes customers buy. Decades later, those instincts helped him grow a joke of a side hustle into a $400 million success. In 2009, he created the iconic branding for an obscure sun tan lotion, drawing…
Who the show talks about
Firms named in its episodes, and people named in descriptions: talked about, rather than on the show.
