How I Built This with Guy Raz
Episodes
Dhar Mann Studios: Dhar Mann
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Five years before he became a massively successful content creator, Dhar Mann was nearly broke and living in a studio apartment. It’s the kind of st...
Advice Line with Fawn Weaver of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former guest Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Whiskey, joins Guy for an “Advice Line” edition of HIBT Lab. Three early-stage entrepreneurs ca...
YouTube Creator and Cookbook Author: Rosanna Pansino
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With over 14.5 million subscribers, Rosanna Pansino has one of the most popular baking channels on YouTube But she never would have imagined her ...
Healing through food with Danielle Walker of Against All Grain (2022)
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up, Danielle Walker’s family often convened for big meals prepared by her Italian grandmother, Grandma Marge. Back then, Danielle enjoyed a ...
CrunchLabs: Mark Rober
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As one of the most successful creators on YouTube, Mark Rober doesn’t see what he does as a business. Instead, it’s a way to celebrate scienc...
AI is smarter than you think with Shane Legg of Google DeepMind
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Shane Legg has anticipated the arrival of “artificial general intelligence” or AGI. In other words: an artificial agent that can...
Mythical: Rhett and Link
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Best friends Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal started out as “comedians for Christ,” and grew their partnership into one of the most successful YouT...
Less competition, more creation with Renée Mauborgne
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Best-selling author and economics professor Renée Mauborgne thinks that too many entrepreneurs focus on the wrong things—consumed with making their...
Whole30: Melissa Urban
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Whole30 began as a dietary experiment: For 30 days, Melissa Urban went without grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol and added sugar. She was trying to addr...
“Beaming” people anywhere in the world with David Nussbaum of Proto
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The popular science fiction idea of beaming someone instantly to another location was part of David Nussbaum’s inspiration to design a “holoportat...
MGA Entertainment: Isaac Larian
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Isaac Larian moved from Iran to Los Angeles at age 17 with just a few hundred dollars, and went on to build one of the biggest toy companies in the wo...
Achieving greater things with Adam Grant
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Growth is not about the genius you possess—it’s about the character you develop.” That’s what organizational psychologist and podcast ...
Weee!: Larry Liu
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you told 19-year-old Larry Liu that his hobby re-selling used electronics “for fun” would someday help him build a multi-billion-dollar company...
AI that can be your second brain with Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri of Humane
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imran Chaudhri and his wife Bethany Bongiorno are responsible for bringing some of the most widely-used screened products to market—like the iPhone,...
Primal Kitchen: Mark Sisson
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Sisson made a big bet on mayonnaise, and won: four years after launching his Paleo-friendly condiment company Primal Kitchen, he sold it for $200...
Supercharging Lithium-Ion Batteries with Gene Berdichevsky of Sila Nanotechnologies
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gene Berdichevsky and his team have been working for over a decade to solve a major problem: Lithium-ion batteries are not getting any better. They po...
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey: Fawn Weaver (2021)
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, Fawn Weaver became fixated on a New York Times article telling the little-known story of Nearest Green, a formerly enslaved man who taught Ja...
The peril (and promise) of AI with Tristan Harris: Part 2
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could no longer trust the things you see and hear?Because the signature on a check, the documents or videos presented in court, the footag...
Poshmark: Manish Chandra
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When the iPhone 4 was released in 2010, Manish Chandra was dazzled by its picture quality, and saw an opportunity for a new type of mobile marketplace...
The peril (and promise) of AI with Tristan Harris: Part 1
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Tristan Harris co-founded the Center for Humane Technology in 2018, he was trying to educate tech leaders and policymakers about the harms of soc...
Sonos: John MacFarlane
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2002, John MacFarlane and his co-founders began tinkering on what was then an ambitious idea: create a new way to enjoy music throughout the home, ...
Powering cars with solar energy with Steve Fambro of Aptera Motors (2023)
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a new car coming to market that will probably make its owners search out the sunniest spots in the parking lot… Aptera Motors is designing...
Magic Spoon & Exo: Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz founded Magic Spoon to create a sugary breakfast cereal without the sugar. If that sounds daunting, consider their first bu...
Building a decarbonization army with Shashank Samala of Heirloom
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cutting emissions alone will not be enough. To avoid the worst effects of global climate change, Heirloom CEO and co-founder Shashank Samala believes ...
Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2012, Ariel Kaye saw a tantalizing opportunity, but wasn’t sure she was the one to seize it. She’d never started a brand and didn’t think of ...
3D printing a housing revolution with Jason Ballard of ICON
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, then we’re going to get what we’ve got—and what we got ain’t working.”ICON Co-founder/CEO and p...
Drunk Elephant: Tiffany Masterson
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tiffany Masterson was a stay-at-home mom in her 40s when she launched her skin care brand, Drunk Elephant, in 2013. Six years later, she sold it for $...
Brewing creativity with Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Jim Koch created Samuel Adams Boston Lager in 1984, American craft beer was still in its infancy. But forty years and thousands of new craft brew...
Liquid Death: Mike Cessario
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Cessario came up with the idea for a viral water brand by asking himself “What is the dumbest possible idea we could have?” His answer was Li...
Doing the bees’ work with Thai Sade of BloomX
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Thai Sade is the co-founder and CEO of BloomX, a company that has developed crop-pollinating technology to replicate natural pollinators like bees and...
Primary: Christina Carbonell and Galyn Bernard
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The apparel industry - be it high fashion or everyday wear - is a crowded and noisy market to crack. Just think about the sheer number of athletic sho...
Designing shoes for women's feet with Wes and Allyson Felix of Saysh (2023)
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Allyson Felix is the most decorated American track and field athlete of all time. She’s also a mother. Those two identities came into conflict in 20...
Calendly: Tope Awotona (2020)
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After emigrating from Nigeria to the US to attend college, Tope Awotona worked as a door-to-door salesman and eventually set out to become a tech entr...
Sharing the 2023 HIBT Lab Highlight Reel
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A special look back at some of our favorite How I Built This Lab episodes of 2023. Hear how Pinky Cole built the vegan fast food chain Slutty Vegan af...
Aviator Nation: Paige Mycoskie
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2006, Paige Mycoskie walked into one of the most exclusive boutiques in LA, wearing her handmade clothes and hoping to get a meeting with the buyer...
Charging up the electric vehicle market with RJ Scaringe of Rivian
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rivian’s all-electric vehicles have been in high demand thanks to their unique look and handy features. But soon after hitting the market, a series ...
KiwiCo: Sandra Oh Lin
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
KiwiCo founder Sandra Oh Lin took an after-school pastime and turned it into a multi-million-dollar business. After quitting a high-powered job in tec...
Shooting for the moon with Steve Altemus of Intuitive Machines
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our modern way of life requires more resources than ever before — resources that are becoming increasingly scarce and environmentally taxing to extr...
reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis von Ahn (2020)
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000, Luis von Ahn was starting his PhD in computer science when he attended a talk and happened to learn about one of Yahoo's biggest problems: au...
Framing the future of eyecare with Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa of Warby Parker
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warby Parker co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa broke their scrappy startup into the eyewear industry in 2010—putting legacy manufacturers on n...
Wondery: Hernan Lopez
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Hernan Lopez founded Wondery in 2016, podcasts were just starting to go mainstream. Five years later, his team had scored a number of hit shows a...
Full body preventive health care with Andrew Lacy of Prenuvo
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Lacy is the co-founder and CEO of Prenuvo, a company offering full body scans that have the potential to detect disease early and before sympto...
Briogeo Hair Care: Nancy Twine (2020)
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, a tragic personal event changed the trajectory of Nancy Twine's life. Suddenly, her promising job at Goldman Sachs no longer seemed fulfillin...
The surprise that's saving food with Lucie Basch of Too Good To Go (2023)
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Collaboration is the new competition: that was French entrepreneur Lucie Basch’s philosophy when she approached a group of Danish founders who happe...
CAVA: Ted Xenohristos and Brett Schulman
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Ted Xenohristos and two childhood friends opened their first sit-down Greek restaurant in 2006, they had no idea it would eventually grow into CA...
The future of driving is autonomous with Dmitri Dolgov of Waymo
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Waymo Co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov is convinced that his company’s vehicles are better at driving than any human. Dmitri has spent thousands of hours riding...
Everlane: Michael Preysman
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Michael Preysman founded Everlane, he knew nothing about fashion–he just wanted to see if he could build an online platform that would generate...
Literally unearthing a climate solution with Cody Finke of Brimstone
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to carbon emissions, there’s a major culprit you might not have heard about: cement. The production of cement emits almost as much car...
Priority Bicycles: Dave Weiner
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Priority Bicycles founder Dave Weiner quit his job as a software CEO to pursue a risky idea: building a new kind of bike. In 2014, he started sou...
When a robot cooks your lunch with Steve Ells of Chipotle and Kernel
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Ells changed the restaurant industry once when he founded Chipotle in 1993. His idea for fast, freshly prepared food became the model for today’...
Kona Ice: Tony Lamb
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kona Ice founder Tony Lamb had a knack for sales since he was a teenager - a skill that served him well when he decided to sell Hawaiian-style shaved ...
The art of letting go with Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn of Dang Foods
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does a brand live on after its founders leave the company – especially one that was inspired by their family and their culture? That’s the que...
Etsy: Rob Kalin
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Kalin founded Etsy for people like him: makers and hobbyists. In 2005, he was kicking around New York trying to find buyers for his hand-made furn...
Love’s next chapter with Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The past few years have challenged Whitney Wolfe Herd like never before. The Bumble CEO kept the company afloat as the pandemic halted in-person meetu...
Sir Kensington's: Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan were only college students when they created Sir Kensington’s, a $140-million-dollar condiment brand – with a b...
Leading through radical change with Julia Hartz of Eventbrite
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Back as the show’s first-ever ‘three-peat’ guest is Julia Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite. The events industry has been transformed by t...
Herschel Supply Co.: Jamie and Lyndon Cormack
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brothers Jamie and Lyndon Cormack founded Herschel Supply Co to sell modern bags with a timeless feel. While working in the sports and apparel industr...
Unlocking the renewable energy revolution with Ramya Swaminathan of Malta Inc.
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ramya Swaminathan is the CEO of Malta Inc, a company that spun out of Google’s moonshot factory in 2018 to work on an energy storage solution using ...
Freshpet: Scott Morris
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Freshpet co-founder Scott Morris helped transform pet food by sidestepping traditional kibble and cans, and making slice-and-serve meals that almost l...
A biometric smart gun with Kai Kloepfer of Biofire
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Biofire founder and CEO Kai Kloepfer believes there’s at least one way to decrease gun deaths in America. Early next year, his company will begin sh...
Vuori: Joe Kudla
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vuori founder Joe Kudla built a 4-billion-dollar company on a risky idea: that men actually cared about the clothes they worked out in. When Joe launc...
When your dinner is printed with Eshchar Ben-Shitrit of Redefine Meat
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Redefine Meat co-founder and CEO Eshchar Ben-Shitrit long had aspirations to lead a company, though he never imagined taking the risk to start his own...
Yasso: Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington are childhood friends, and co-founders of Yasso; they defied the advice of experts by creating a recipe for frozen Gr...
A climate-resilient ancient grain with Pierre Thiam of Yolélé (2022)
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pierre Thiam is a renowned chef, restaurant owner, cookbook author, and co-founder of Yolélé – a company working to introduce the world to fonio, ...
ARRAY: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay (2021)
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By her early thirties, Ava DuVernay was already a successful entrepreneur, having founded her own film publicity agency in Los Angeles. But after year...
Reclaiming food waste with Jasmine Crowe-Houston of Goodr (2022)
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of Americans don’t have enough to eat — a startling fact considering 40% of the food produced in the U.S. gets thrown away. And a lot of ...
Jack Black Skin Care: Curran and Jeff Dandurand
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1998, Curran Dandurand and a colleague from Mary Kay Cosmetics came up with an unorthodox idea: a premium skincare brand for men. Despite the preva...
Threading the future of circular fashion with Peter Majeranowski of Circ
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over one hundred billion garments will be produced this year, but they don’t have to be. Peter Majeranowski says we have all the clothes we nee...
Air Lease Corporation: Steven Udvar-Hazy
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before Steven Udvar-Hazy was out of high school, he started working as an airline consultant. You could do that sort of thing back in the 1960’s, if...
When your headphones listen to you with Ramses Alcaide of Neurable
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our brain activity can reveal a lot about our physical and mental health. And thanks to Ramses Alcaide and his team at Neurable, we’ll soon be able ...
Supergoop!: Holly Thaggard (2020)
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2005, the trajectory of Holly Thaggard's life completely changed when a good friend of hers was diagnosed with skin cancer. Holly realized that mos...
Electrifying aviation with Kyle Clark of BETA Technologies
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Not only is BETA Technologies completely changing the flying experience with its all-electric aircraft, it’s upending the logistics of shipping alto...
Kinko’s: Paul Orfalea
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kinko’s copy shops were once so ubiquitous that the name became a kind of shorthand for photocopying. Paul Orfalea started the first shop in 1970 in...
Making garbage useful with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Szaky runs a recycling company, but he’d rather live in a world where recycling was obsolete... Today, his company recycles everything from...
Solo Stove: Spencer and Jeff Jan
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over a nine-year period, Spencer and Jeff Jan grew Solo Stove from a DIY project into a 9-figure brand. Their original idea was modest: work a four-ho...
When our phones are just phones with Kai Tang and Joe Hollier of Light
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us are dependent on our smartphones. In fact, Americans spend an average of three hours a day on these devices — devices that only came into...
Orgain: Andrew Abraham
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A life-threatening diagnosis changed the course of Andrew Abraham’s career and led him to found some of the most popular nutritional drinks and powd...
Powering cars with solar energy with Steve Fambro of Aptera Motors
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a new car coming to market that will probably make its owners search out the sunniest spots in the parking lot...Aptera Motors is designing ...
The Tetris Company: Henk Rogers
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tetris is one of the most popular video games of all time, and Henk Rogers helped make it happen. He first discovered the game at a convention in 1988...
When AI is your personal tutor with Sal Khan of Khan Academy
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic changed education forever. But Sal Khan says an even bigger educational revolution is just around the corner …This week on How...
MOD Pizza & Seattle Coffee Company: Scott and Ally Svenson
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A relentless hunt for their favorite foods and drinks led Scott and Ally Svenson into launching not one but two multi-million dollar businesses. The f...
When trucks drive themselves with Chris Urmson of Aurora
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Urmson is one of the founding fathers of the autonomous vehicle industry. He participated in three DARPA self-driving vehicle challenges before ...
Grindr: Joel Simkhai
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the premise that a smartphone could vastly improve his love life, Joel Simkhai built one of the most popular dating apps in the world. In 200...
Delivering the future in drones with Keller Rinaudo Cliffton of Zipline
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton thinks we’re already experiencing the technology of tomorrow, just that it’s not evenly distributed...About a decade ago, ...
Mary's Gone Crackers: Mary Waldner
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While working as a psychologist in the Bay Area helping people with their problems, Mary Waldner discovered one of her own; at the age of 43, she was ...
When robots recycle with Matanya Horowitz of AMP Robotics
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Matanya Horowitz is not above dumpster diving in the name of innovation. His company, AMP Robotics, has developed robots to help waste management faci...
The Lip Bar (TLB): Melissa Butler (2020)
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While working long hours as a Wall Street analyst, Melissa Butler started making lipstick in her kitchen as a hobby. But it soon turned into an obsess...
Reimagining seafood production with Aryé Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck of Wildtype (2022)
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Aryé Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck met in 2011, they had no intention of starting a business. Aryé was a cardiologist, and Justin was a diplomat...
Dutch Bros. Coffee: Travis Boersma
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From a coffee cart parked uneasily in a grocery parking lot, Travis and Dane Boersma grew Dutch Bros into a sprawling chain of 700-plus beverage resta...
Reinvesting in our cities with renewable energy with Donnel Baird of BlocPower (2022)
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Donnel Baird was a child, his parents would regularly use the oven to heat their Brooklyn apartment -- a dangerous and energy-inefficient practic...
Spikeball: Chris Ruder
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Chris Ruder set out to revive a ball-and-net game from his childhood, he was pretty sure he would fail. He wasn’t really into sports and had ne...
Saving the f#$%ing rainforests with Shara Ticku of C16 Biosciences
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Palm oil is a wonder ingredient, used in almost everything from toothpaste and oat milk to biodiesel and laundry detergent. But to keep pace with risi...
Harry’s Razors: Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two college-era friends set out to change the face of shaving—and in the process, took on one of the biggest companies in the world. In 2011, Andy K...
Tapping the heat beneath your feet with Kathy Hannun of Dandelion Energy
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of American households rely on oil for heat. Growing up in New Hampshire, Kathy Hannun was familiar with this decades-old and environmentally...
Tory Burch: Tory Burch
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tory Burch didn’t set out to make her name into a brand; she didn’t even set out to get into fashion. As a matter of fact, she sort of gave up any...
Cultivating a creative community with Tina Roth-Eisenberg of CreativeMornings
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with.” - Seth GodinYearning to find community as a Swiss transplant in...
Chef and Restaurateur: Thomas Keller
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Keller is one of the best—and best known—chefs in America, but it took him 40 years to get there. He took a long, winding path through the ...
HIBT Lab! Google: Sundar Pichai (2022)
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Drive. Docs. Chrome. Maps. Gmail. Android. What do these products have in common? Of course, they’re all Google, but what you may not know is that t...
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
HIBT Lab! Cotopaxi: Davis Smith
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Davis Smith has spent the last nine years building the outdoor gear and clothing brand, Cotopaxi. The company’s slogan, Gear for Good, encapsulates ...