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.
PodSkip has analyzed 1 episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz, averaging 1.0 ads per episode (1% of runtime).
Sweet Loren’s: Loren Castle. How A Recipe Makeover Built a National Cookie Brand
Oct 19, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Tara Bosch of SmartSweets
Oct 15, 2026
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…
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League (2023)
Oct 12, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Nick Green of Thrive Market
Oct 08, 2026
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…
10 Years of How I Built This: A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention
Oct 05, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Scott Tannen of Boll & Branch and Jamie Siminoff of Ring (2025)
Oct 01, 2026
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…
Seventh Generation: Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender. A Partnership that Flourished—until it Failed. (2021)
Sep 28, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack
Sep 24, 2026
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…
Banza: Brian Rudolph. The Chickpea Pasta That Nearly Turned to Mush
Sep 21, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Michelle Wahler of Beyond Yoga
Sep 17, 2026
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…
Thrive Causemetics: Karissa Bodnar. How a Beauty Business Made Millions for a Mission
Sep 14, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Kip Tindell of The Container Store
Sep 10, 2026
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…
Bogg Bag: Kim Vaccarella. The $100 Million Business She Almost Abandoned
Sep 07, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Ben Goodwin of Olipop
Sep 03, 2026
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…
Late July Snacks: Nicole Bernard Dawes. Crackers and Cookies were Failing… Tortilla Chips Saved Them
Aug 31, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Daymond John of FUBU
Aug 27, 2026
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…
YETI: Roy and Ryan Seiders. How Two Brothers Turned a $400 Cooler Into a $2 Billion Brand
Aug 24, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Carlton Calvin of Razor
Aug 20, 2026
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…
Bobbie: Laura Modi. How a Baby Formula Startup Took Market Share From Two Industry Giants
Aug 17, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Bobbi Brown of Jones Road Beauty (September 2025)
Aug 13, 2026
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…
MadeGood: Salma and Nima Fotovat Lost Their First Business. They Grew Their Next One Into a Snack Giant.
Aug 10, 2026
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…
Advice Line: "Strategy Sessions"
Aug 06, 2026
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…
Serena & Lily: Serena Dugan and Lily Kanter. They Built a $20M Brand—Then One Investor Almost Destroyed It
Aug 03, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Chris Riccobono of UNTUCKit
Jul 30, 2026
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…
Sweetwater: Chuck Surack. How a Customer Service Strategy Built a Billion Dollar Online Pro Audio and Music Company.
Jul 27, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Curt Richardson of OtterBox
Jul 23, 2026
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…
Toast: Aman Narang. How a Long Wait for the Dinner Check Launched a $2 Billion Business.
Jul 20, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Kenneth Cole
Jul 16, 2026
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…
Sun Bum: Tom Rinks. The Secrets of a Master Brand Builder (2023)
Jul 13, 2026
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…
Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (2025)
Jul 09, 2026
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams founder Jeni Britton joins Guy on the Advice Line to answer questions from three early-stage entrepreneurs. Plus, how Jeni’s newest venture Floura is tackling one of…
