How I Built This with Guy Raz
Episodes
How I Built Resilience: Ethan Diamond of Bandcamp
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 2000s, the online music community was defined by MySpace, illegally downloaded music, and poorly made band websites. Then came Bandcamp –...
Food52: Amanda Hesser
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1990s, as Amanda Hesser's college friends were interviewing for their first cubicle jobs, she chose a different path: one that led straig...
How I Built Resilience: Kara Goldin of Hint
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After giving up diet soda, Kara Goldin started adding fresh fruit to her drinking water to make it more fun. This inspired her to create Hint water, a...
UPPAbaby: Bob and Lauren Monahan
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As a product developer, Bob Monahan worked with some iconic brands: the Pump at Reebok, the Taurus and Mustang at Ford. When he moved on to work at a ...
How I Built Resilience: Vivian Ku, Restaurateur
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vivian Ku is a Taiwanese-American restaurateur who owns three different Taiwanese restaurants in Los Angeles. After the pandemic halted her plans for ...
Hinge: Justin McLeod
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, Justin McLeod was in business school, still trying to get over a bad breakup that had happened years before. Determined to solve his own prob...
How I Built Resilience: Lisa Baird of National Women's Soccer League
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Baird stepped in as commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League in March 2020 and just two days into her job the entire multi-billion doll...
Siete Family Foods: Miguel and Veronica Garza
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Miguel and Veronica Garza grew up in Laredo, Texas, in the kind of family that did almost everything together. So when Veronica realized that a grain-...
How I Built Resilience: Shan-Lyn Ma of Zola
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the wedding industry dramatically impacted by the pandemic, co-founder and CEO of Zola, Shan-Lyn Ma decided to pivot. Instead of just wedding pla...
Rick Steves' Europe: Rick Steves
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Steves spent the summer after high school backpacking through Europe on two dollars a day—sleeping on the floor, sneaking into museums, and sub...
How I Built Resilience: Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief of Morning Brew
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Six years ago, Morning Brew started out as a fun business newsletter Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief wrote for their classmates out of their University...
Canva: Melanie Perkins (2019)
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When she was just 19 years old, Melanie Perkins dreamt of transforming the graphic design and publishing industries. But she started small, launching ...
How I Built Resilience: Troy Carter of Q&A (June, 2020)
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music manager and entrepreneur Troy Carter spoke to Guy last June, as the pandemic was worsening and the country was shaken by racial unrest. Troy spo...
Boxed: Chieh Huang
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of ten years as a founder, Chieh Huang bet twice on the ubiquity of the smartphone. The first time was in 2010 with Astro Ape, a mobil...
How I Built Resilience: Beverly Leon of Local Civics
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After retiring from professional soccer, Beverly Leon shifted her focus in a big way. In 2018 she founded Local Civics, an ed-tech start-up that uses ...
Simple Mills: Katlin Smith
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2012, 22-year-old Katlin Smith was growing restless at her consulting job, so she started experimenting with grain-free, paleo-friendly muffin reci...
How I Built Resilience: Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey of Strava
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Strava is a social fitness platform with more than 76 million users in nearly every country worldwide. Co-founders Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey spo...
Atlassian: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2001, Mike Cannon-Brookes sent an email to his college classmates in Sydney, asking if anyone was interested in helping him launch a tech startup a...
How I Built Resilience: M. Night Shyamalan
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
M. Night Shyamalan spoke with Guy as part of NPR's Storytelling Lounge at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Night is known for writing, producing an...
Norma Kamali: Norma Kamali
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Norma Kamali studied fashion illustration in the 1960s, she never expected to become a designer. So when a job as an airline clerk came along, sh...
How I Built Resilience: Loren and Lisa Poncia of Stemple Creek Ranch
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fourth generation cattle rancher Loren Poncia and his wife Lisa transformed Stemple Creek Ranch into one of the few carbon neutral livestock ranches i...
Seventh Generation: Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With its eco-friendly paper towels, diapers, and cleansers, Seventh Generation was one of the first—and most successful—green household brands to ...
How I Built Resilience: Elisa Villanueva Beard of Teach For America
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After starting her career at Teach For America in 1998, Elisa Villanueva Beard has served as the CEO of the non-profit for the last five and a half ye...
Jazzercise: Judi Sheppard Missett
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Judi Sheppard Missett wandered into her first dance class when she was 2, and hasn't stopped dancing since. In the late 1960s, she was teaching jazz d...
Patreon: Jack Conte and Sam Yam
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As part of the band Pomplamoose, musician Jack Conte had a sizeable fan base in the late 2000s and was making thousands of dollars a month from iTunes...
Chipotle: Steve Ells (2017)
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1992, Steve Ells was a classically trained chef working in a high-end restaurant in San Francisco. But after eating a burrito at a local taqueria, ...
ActOne Group: Janice Bryant Howroyd (2018)
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1970s Janice Bryant Howroyd moved to Los Angeles and began temping as a secretary. She soon realized there were many other young people in...
How I Built Resilience: Morra Aarons-Mele of Women Online
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Morra Aarons-Mele is the founder of Women Online and hosts The Anxious Achiever podcast. Morra shares how her agency pivoted during the pandemic after...
Author and Podcaster: Tim Ferriss
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the time he turned 30, Tim Ferriss had figured out how to succeed at things that many people fail at—from growing a business to dancing the tango...
How I Built Resilience: Daniela Corrente of Reel
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Reel is a digital savings platform that helps people people make big purchases without racking up credit card debt. CEO and co-founder Daniela Corrent...
Riot Games: Bonus Episode
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There were so many interesting moments in Guy's conversation with the co-founders of Riot Games that we decided to put them into this short bonus epis...
Riot Games: Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At USC in the late 1990s, Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck were bonding over video games and noticing that free, player-made modifications for the game W...
How I Built Resilience: Emily Powell of Powell's Books
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Powell is the third generation owner and president of Portland, Oregon's iconic independent bookseller, Powell's Books. After having to let go o...
Kodiak Cakes: Joel Clark
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When he was 8 years old, Joel Clark loaded bags of his mom's whole grain pancake mix into a red wagon to sell door-to-door. By the mid-90s, he and his...
Remembering Tony Hsieh of Zappos
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The former CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh has died. He was 46 years old. We are grateful that Tony shared his story with us in 2017 and we are republishing...
How I Built Resilience: Dr. Iman Abuzeid of Incredible Health
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Iman Abuzeid is the co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, a digital platform that helps streamline the hiring process for nurses and recruiting...
The Lip Bar: Melissa Butler
23 Nov 2020
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...
How I Built Resilience: Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Father Gregory Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, one of the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry programs in the world. He...
Kenneth Cole: Kenneth Cole
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kenneth Cole launched his shoe business out of a forty-foot truck in midtown Manhattan and quickly became known as an up-and-coming designer with an e...
Dropbox: Drew Houston
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2006, Drew Houston got on a bus from Boston heading to New York. He planned to use the three-hour ride to get some work done, so he opened his lapt...
How I Built Resilience: Varshini Prakash of Sunrise Movement
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Guy talks with Varshini Prakash, co-founder of Sunrise Movement, a grassroots organization that's fighting to make climate change a top priority in th...
Famous Dave's: Dave Anderson
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in 1960's Chicago, Dave Anderson didn't eat much deep dish. Instead, his dad took the family to the South Side for barbecue, and those memo...
How I Built Resilience: Justin Gold of Justin's
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Justin Gold is the founder of Justin's, known for its nut butters and chocolate peanut butter cups. He talks about how he started by pulverizing peanu...
How I Built Resilience: Cheryl Contee of Do Big Things
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do Big Things is a Black woman-led, mission-driven digital agency that works with companies like Google, Etsy, and the NAACP, and has a staff that's 5...
McBride Sisters Wine (Part 2 of 2): Robin McBride and Andréa McBride John
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After Robin McBride and Andréa McBride John made the extraordinary discovery that they were half-sisters, they formed a deep bond and discovered a mu...
How I Built Resilience: Sonia Gil of Fluenz
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fluenz helps English speakers learn new languages, both online and with in-person immersion programs. With travel restrictions and a global pandemic, ...
McBride Sisters Wine (Part 1 of 2): Robin McBride and Andréa McBride John
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When we first spoke with Robin McBride and Andréa McBride John, we were so blown away by their story that we decided to turn it into two episodes. Wi...
method: Adam Lowry & Eric Ryan (2018)
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1990s, Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan took on the notion that "green doesn't clean" by setting out to make soap that could clean a bathtub witho...
How I Built Resilience: Cynt Marshall of Dallas Mavericks
10 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When a Sports Illustrated article exposed internal abuse and harassment in the Dallas Mavericks organization, owner Mark Cuban knew he had a culture p...
How I Built Resilience: Aishetu Dozie of Bossy Cosmetics
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Aishetu Dozie had a successful career in finance before she took a leap and launched Bossy, a makeup brand that has exploded in popularity over the pa...
Lush Cosmetics: Mark Constantine
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Working at a high-end beauty salon in the south of England in the early 1970's, Mark Constantine concocted natural shampoos and conditioners in a tiny...
How I Built Resilience: Jennifer Neundorfer of January Ventures
03 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
January Ventures is an investment firm that is trying to address the unique challenges and biases faced by entrepreneurs often under-represented in bu...
How I Built Resilience: Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman says his leadership team anticipated a "nuclear winter" after the pandemic hit. But as businesses start to re-open, and...
Health-Ade Kombucha: Daina Trout
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2012, Daina Trout, her husband Justin, and her best friend Vanessa Dew were sitting around a kitchen table spit-balling possible business ideas. Th...
How I Built Resilience: John Zimmer of Lyft
26 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This year has brought unexpected challenges to Lyft, starting with a 75 percent drop in rideshares at the beginning of the pandemic. But co-founder Jo...
Khan Academy: Sal Khan
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, Sal Khan walked away from a high-paying job to start a business that had no way of making money. His idea to launch a non-profit teaching pla...
How I Built Resilience: Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble
19 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, the dating app Bumble launched a video chat feature that was initially slow to take off. But that changed after the pandemic hit. Founder W...
How I Built Resilience: Bert and John Jacobs of Life is Good
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bert and John Jacobs had just come off a $100 million year for their Boston-based apparel company, Life is Good. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has up...
Calendly: Tope Awotona
14 Sep 2020
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...
How I Built Resilience (Special Edition): Guy Raz
12 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this special episode, Stacey Vanek Smith interviews Guy about his brand new book, How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World'...
How I Built Resilience: Pokimane
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Imane Anys—who goes by the online moniker Pokimane—is the leading female streamer on Twitch, a popular streaming platform for gamers. Pokimane spo...
Rad Power Bikes: Mike Radenbaugh
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in rural Northern California, Mike Radenbaugh hated biking to high school—it was a 16 mile slog; hilly and tiring. So he scrounged up a b...
How I Built Resilience: Sandra Oh Lin of KiwiCo
05 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
KiwiCo delivers science and arts projects to kids on a monthly basis. Sandra Oh Lin founded the company nine years ago, and her team has scrambled to ...
How I Built Resilience: Luke Holden and Ben Conniff of Luke's Lobster
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
COVID-19's impact on the seafood industry hit Luke Holden and Ben Conniff hard; in March they closed their restaurants and laid off 300 employees. Sin...
Chilewich: Sandy Chilewich
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One night in 1978, for fun, Sandy Chilewich and her friend, Kathy Moskal, tried bleaching their black cotton shoes, and dyeing them a new color. They ...
How I Built Resilience: Niraj Shah and Steve Conine of Wayfair
29 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the economic crisis, Wayfair has seen an 84 percent sales spike, leading them to profitability during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, co-found...
How I Built Resilience: Ajay Prakash and James Joun of Rinse
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rinse is a laundry and dry-cleaning app started by college friends Ajay Prakash and James Joun in 2013. Since March, Rinse's dry cleaning service has ...
Wayfair: Niraj Shah & Steve Conine (2018)
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After selling their first small business and shuttering their second, former college roommates Niraj Shah and Steve Conine thought about getting "norm...
Zocdoc: Oliver Kharraz
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2007, three friends set out to address a common frustration: the long waits and scheduling hassles of booking a doctor's appointment. But soon afte...
How I Built Resilience: Samantha Bee of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Samantha Bee, the host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, has been filming her show from her backyard in upstate New York since March. While Samantha ...
How I Built Resilience: Brian Chesky of Airbnb
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the early stages of the lockdown, Airbnb was in a freefall: it lost 80 percent of its business and laid off a quarter of its staff. But CEO Brian C...
Briogeo: Nancy Twine
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, a tragic personal event changed the trajectory of Nancy Twine's life. Suddenly, her promising job on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs no lo...
How I Built Resilience: Jessie Woolley-Wilson of DreamBox
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Guy speaks with Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of DreamBox, an online math learning program for K-8 students. The platform has added two million new users...
How I Built Resilience: Alberto Perlman of Zumba
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Within weeks after the pandemic lockdown, the fitness program Zumba rapidly shifted gears and launched its own online workout platform. Co-founder Alb...
Vita Coco: Michael Kirban
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
So—no joke: two guys really do walk into a bar. While sharing a few drinks on a winter night in New York City, best friends Michael Kirban and Ira L...
How I Built Resilience: Sarah Harden and Lauren Neustadter of Hello Sunshine
01 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hello Sunshine—a production company founded by Reese Witherspoon—has created TV shows Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show, and Big Little Li...
How I Built Resilience: Taha Bawa of Goodwall
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As COVID-19 continues to affect the global economy, college graduates are entering a job market reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis. Taha Bawa is...
The Laundress: Lindsey Boyd
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1990s, while working in high-end fashion in NYC, Lindsey Boyd came to despise the weekly ritual of dry-cleaning; not only was it expensive...
How I Built Resilience: Jeremy Zimmer of United Talent Agency
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With live events canceled and sound stages shuttered, the entertainment industry has to look for new ways to create content while cutting costs. Guy t...
How I Built Resilience: Songe LaRon of Squire
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Songe LaRon founded Squire in 2016, his mission was to use modern technology to help run barbershops, which are using his app in the U.S., U.K., ...
La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti met at a grunge concert in Seattle in the 1980s, they were an unlikely pair. But they shared a love for great cof...
How I Built Resilience: Live with John Foley
18 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While upending many businesses, the pandemic has benefited fitness brands like Peloton, which saw a surge in demand in mid-March. Peloton founder John...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Julia Hartz
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Founder Julia Hartz is reckoning with COVID-19's impact on the live events industry, which uses her company, Eventbrite, to sell tickets and market ev...
Tatcha: Vicky Tsai
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, Vicky Tsai walked away from a startup job and set out to rediscover herself on a trip to Japan. In Kyoto, she had an unforgettable meeting wi...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Morgan DeBaun
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Morgan DeBaun founded Blavity as a media platform for Black millennials to convene and connect online. Today, amidst an economic crisis and a reawaken...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Sharon Chuter
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, Sharon Chuter left her job at a legacy beauty brand to start UOMA Beauty, a cosmetics company that caters to a wide variety of skin tones. Sh...
Tempur-Pedic: Bobby Trussell (2018)
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At age 40, Bobby Trussell's promising career in horse racing hit a dead end. With bills to pay and a family to support, he stumbled across a curious p...
ClassPass: Payal Kadakia
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 2000s, Payal Kadakia was working a corporate job and running an Indian dance company on the side. When a search for a ballet class yielded...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Melanie Perkins and Bill Creelman
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the online design platform Canva closed a new round of funding, bringing the company's valuation to $6 billion. Founder Melanie Perkins is ...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Deval Patrick
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick talks to Guy about how the protests for racial justice have resonated with him personally, and how this mo...
Ring: Jamie Siminoff
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie Siminoff spent much of his twenties and thirties as a serial entrepreneur, launching three tech businesses you've probably never heard of. When ...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Sadie Lincoln
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While 70 percent of Barre3's locations remain closed, founder Sadie Lincoln is noticing a surge in subscriptions for their online workout platform. Th...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Cathy Hughes
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cathy Hughes is the founder of Urban One, the largest African American-owned broadcast network with 54 radio stations around the United States. Cathy ...
Shake Shack: Danny Meyer
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2001, as part of an initiative to revitalize Madison Square Park, Danny Meyer set up a simple hot dog cart. At that time, he had been a leader...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Y-Vonne Hutchinson
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Y-Vonne Hutchinson is the founder of ReadySet, a consulting firm that helps companies make authentic commitments to diversity and inclusion. Y-Vonne s...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Kevin Hart
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Actor and comedian Kevin Hart speaks to Guy about the Black Lives Matter protests and offers advice to future activists, entertainers and entrepreneur...
Supergoop!: Holly Thaggard
08 Jun 2020
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...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Troy Carter
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Troy Carter, the founder of Q&A and Atom Factory, speaks to Guy about the painful events of the past few months—and especially the past two week...
How I Built Resilience: Live with Jenn Hyman
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Rent the Runway faces the economic challenges of the pandemic, co-founder Jenn Hyman is focused on recovery and empowering women's lives through cl...
Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman were two rock-and-roll fans who met at exactly the right time and place: Seattle in the early 1980s, where a raw hyb...