How I Built This with Guy Raz
Episodes
Cisco Systems & Urban Decay: Sandy Lerner
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the pre-Internet 1970's, Sandy Lerner was part of a loosely-knit group of programmers that was trying to get computers to talk to each other. Event...
Power Rangers: Haim Saban (2017)
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As a refugee growing up in Tel Aviv, Haim Saban remembers not having enough money to eat. As an adult, he hustled his way into the entertainment busin...
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics: Bobbi Brown
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bobbi Brown started out as a makeup artist in New York City, but hated the gaudy color palette of the 1980s. She eventually shook up the industry by i...
Live Episode! New Belgium Brewing Company: Kim Jordan
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1991 newlyweds Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch took out a second mortgage on their home in Fort Collins, Colorado to start a craft brewery in their bas...
WeWork: Miguel McKelvey (2018)
03 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2007, architect Miguel McKelvey convinced his friend Adam Neumann to share an office space in Brooklyn. That was the beginning of WeWork: a shared ...
TRX: Randy Hetrick (2018)
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997, Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick was deployed in Southeast Asia, where he was stationed in a remote warehouse for weeks with no way to exercise. So he...
Angie's List: Angie Hicks (2016)
20 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1995, Angie Hicks spent months going door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio, trying to get people to sign up for a new home services referral business. Tod...
Live Episode! RXBAR: Peter Rahal
13 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, Peter Rahal was obsessed with CrossFit, but noticed it didn't sell any snacks to align with its pro-paleo philosophy. So instead of joining h...
Carol's Daughter: Lisa Price (2018)
06 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Price worked in television but had a passion for beauty products. At her mother's suggestion, she began selling her homemade moisturizer at a chu...
Slack & Flickr: Stewart Butterfield
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 2000s, Stewart Butterfield tried to build a weird, massively multiplayer online game, but the venture failed. Instead, he and his co-foun...
Drybar: Alli Webb (2017)
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A decade ago, full-time mom Alli Webb noticed a gap in the beauty market: there was no place that just focused on blow-drying hair. Now with more than...
Steve Madden: Steve Madden
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Madden fell in love with the shoe business in the 1970's, when he sold platform shoes at a neighborhood store in Long Island, New York. That wa...
Lonely Planet: Maureen & Tony Wheeler (2017)
09 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1972, Maureen and Tony Wheeler bought a beat-up car and drove from London "as far east as we could go." They wound up in Australia, by way of Afgha...
Chicken Salad Chick: Stacy Brown
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For many of us, chicken salad is just another sandwich filling, but Stacy Brown turned it into a $75 million business. In 2007, she was a divorced mot...
Lyft: John Zimmer (2017)
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2006, John Zimmer was a college student and ride-hailing wasn't yet "a thing." But a class on green cities got him thinking about the glut of under...
Lululemon Athletica: Chip Wilson
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After noticing more and more people sign up for yoga in the late 1990s, Chip Wilson bet everything on an athletic apparel company aimed toward young p...
Honest Tea: Seth Goldman (2017)
11 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997, after going for a long run, Seth Goldman was frustrated with the sugar-filled drinks at the corner market. So he brewed up a beverage in his ...
Remembering Kate Spade
05 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We are incredibly saddened by the loss of the brilliant designer and entrepreneur Kate Spade. We are grateful she and her husband Andy Spade shared th...
Minted: Mariam Naficy
04 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000, Mariam Naficy sold her first company, an online cosmetics store called Eve.com, for $110 million. Several years later, she got the entreprene...
Lady Gaga & Atom Factory: Troy Carter (2018)
28 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As a kid, Troy Carter dreamed of being a rapper, but soon discovered he was a better manager than a musician. He took Lady Gaga from obscurity to star...
Bob's Red Mill: Bob Moore
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960s, Bob Moore read a book about an old grain mill and was inspired to start his own. Using giant quartz stones from the 19th century, he mad...
Real Estate Mogul: Barbara Corcoran (2017)
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Corcoran grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family in Jersey – with nine brothers and sisters. But she used her charisma to conquer t...
Stripe: Patrick and John Collison
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brothers Patrick and John Collison founded and sold their first company before they turned 20. They created software to help eBay users manage invento...
Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich
30 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1980s, Ron Shaich bought a small, struggling Boston bakery chain called Au Bon Pain, and built it out to 250 locations nationwide. Ron th...
Dermalogica: Jane Wurwand (2016)
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Wurwand moved to Los Angeles with a suitcase and a beauty school diploma. She started what would become Dermalogica, an international beauty empi...
Wayfair: Niraj Shah & Steve Conine
16 Apr 2018
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...
FUBU: Daymond John
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Daymond John grew up during the 1980s in the heart of hip hop culture: Hollis, Queens. In his early 20s, he was working at Red Lobster and trying to f...
Stitch Fix: Katrina Lake
02 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, Katrina Lake recruited 20 friends for an experiment: she wanted to see if she could choose clothes for them that accurately matched their sty...
Atari & Chuck E. Cheese's: Nolan Bushnell (2017)
26 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Before he turned 40, Nolan Bushnell founded two brands that permanently shaped the way Americans amuse themselves: the iconic video game system Atari,...
LÄRABAR: Lara Merriken
19 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000, Lara Merriken was 32, recently divorced, and without a job when she decided to make energy bars by mixing cherries, dates, and almonds in her...
The Knot: Carley Roney & David Liu
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When Carley Roney and David Liu got married, they had a seat-of-the-pants celebration on a sweltering Washington rooftop. They never planned to go int...
1-800-GOT-JUNK?: Brian Scudamore (2018)
05 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Scudamore didn't dream of a life hauling away other people's trash. But when he needed to pay for college, he bought a $700 pickup truck, painte...
Live Episode! Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Jeni Britton Bauer
28 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Even as a kid, Jeni Britton Bauer knew she was going to start a business one day. But she had no idea that her love for perfume would inspire her to s...
Wikipedia: Jimmy Wales
26 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
During the dot com boom of the late 1990s, Jimmy Wales was running an internet search company. That's when he began to experiment with the idea of an ...
Warby Parker: Dave Gilboa & Neil Blumenthal (2016)
19 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, it was nearly impossible to buy a fashionable, affordable pair of glasses online. That simple frustration inspired the idea behind Warby Park...
Dyson: James Dyson
12 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1979, James Dyson had an idea for a new vacuum cleaner — one that didn't use bags. It took him five years to perfect the design, building more th...
Melissa & Doug: Melissa And Doug Bernstein (2016)
05 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Melissa and Doug Bernstein's first success was a wooden 'fuzzy puzzle' of farm animals. Today, Melissa & Doug makes over 2,000 kinds of toys and serve...
Dell Computers: Michael Dell
29 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Before it became fashionable to start a tech company in your dorm room, Michael Dell did exactly that. In 1983, he began selling upgrade kits for PC's...
Serial Entrepreneur: Marcia Kilgore
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After high school, Marcia Kilgore moved to New York City with $300 in her pocket and no real plan. One step at a time, she became a successful serial ...
LinkedIn: Reid Hoffman
15 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1990s, Reid Hoffman had a vision for the future of the Internet: people would connect through social networks using their real names, and...
Kate Spade: Kate & Andy Spade (2017)
08 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our next live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Kate Spade. A 1991 conversation at a Mexican restaur...
Clif Bar: Gary Erickson (2018)
01 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a break for the holidays, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Clif Bar. Gary Erickson asked his mom, "Can you make a cookie...
Live Episode! The Home Depot: Arthur Blank
28 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1978, Arthur Blank and his business partner Bernie Marcus were running a successful chain of hardware stores called Handy Dan – but then, they we...
Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
25 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a break for the holidays, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Patagonia. In 1973, Yvon Chouinard started the company to mak...
LearnVest: Alexa von Tobel
18 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Alexa von Tobel was just 14, her father passed away unexpectedly, leaving her mother to manage the family's finances. The tragedy made Alexa dete...
Live Episode! Black Entertainment Television: Robert Johnson
14 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1979, Robert Johnson was a lobbyist for the burgeoning cable industry. That's when he got an idea for a channel called Black Entertainment Televisi...
Tom's Of Maine: Tom Chappell
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1970, Tom Chappell took out a $5000 loan to launch a natural products company called Tom's of Maine. Working out of a warehouse in Kennebunk, Maine...
Zumba: Beto Perez & Alberto Perlman (January, 2017)
04 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Zumba. Zumba began as a mistake: aerobics teache...
Framebridge: Susan Tynan
27 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Tynan's experience in the ephemeral e-market of LivingSocial made her want to start a business that she could touch and feel. She got her idea a...
Ben & Jerry's: Ben Cohen And Jerry Greenfield
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-1970s two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield decided to open an ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont. Their quirky little s...
Instagram: Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger (2017)
13 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Instagram. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launc...
Eileen Fisher: Eileen Fisher
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1983, Eileen Fisher signed up for a fashion trade show with no experience, no garments, no patterns or sketches – nothing but a few ideas for a w...
Chipotle: Steve Ells
30 Oct 2017
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, ...
Burton Snowboards: Jake Carpenter
23 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1977, 23-year-old Jake Carpenter set out to design a better version of the Snurfer, a stand-up sled he loved to ride as a teenager. Working by hims...
Bumble: Whitney Wolfe
16 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
At age 22, Whitney Wolfe helped launch Tinder, one of the world's most popular dating apps. But a few years later, she left Tinder and filed a lawsuit...
Teach For America: Wendy Kopp
09 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1989, college senior Wendy Kopp was trying to figure out how to improve American public schools. For her senior thesis, she proposed creating a nat...
Stonyfield Yogurt: Gary Hirshberg
02 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1983, two hippie farmers decided to sell homemade organic yogurt to help raise money for their educational farm in New Hampshire. As the enterprise...
Live Episode! Starbucks: Howard Schultz
28 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
During his first visit to Seattle in 1981, Howard Schultz walked into a little coffee bean shop called Starbucks and fell in love with it. A few years...
Southwest Airlines: Herb Kelleher (2016)
25 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning more live shows, so we bring you one of our favorites from last year: Southwest Airlines. In 1968, competitors sued to kee...
The Chipmunks: Ross Bagdasarian Jr. & Janice Karman
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Years after his father created a hit singing group of anthropomorphic rodents called The Chipmunks, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. made it his mission to revive...
Barre3: Sadie Lincoln
11 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sadie Lincoln and her husband, Chris, had what seemed like the perfect life – well-paying jobs, a house in the Bay Area, two kids. But one day they ...
VICE: Suroosh Alvi (2017)
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: VICE. Suroosh Alvi was a recovering addict when ...
Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman
31 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With $12,000 and a mascot named Snoo, two former college roommates designed a web site they hoped would become "the front page of the Internet." Today...
Airbnb: Joe Gebbia (2017)
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Airbnb. A chance encounter with a stranger gave ...
Edible Arrangements: Tariq Farid
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Tariq Farid was 12, he emigrated from Pakistan to the U.S. – and quickly found a job at a local flower shop. Eventually he opened his own shop,...
Radio One: Cathy Hughes (2017)
14 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Radio One. As a kid, Cathy Hughes practiced her ...
Rent The Runway: Jenn Hyman
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jenn Hyman got the idea for Rent the Runway in 2008, after she watched her sister overspend on a new dress rather than wear an old one to a party. Jen...
Kickstarter: Perry Chen
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 2000s, Perry Chen was trying to put on a concert in New Orleans when he thought, what if fans could fund this in advance? His idea didn't...
Live Episode! BuzzFeed: Jonah Peretti
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 2001, when most of us had no idea what it meant to "go viral," Jonah Peretti shared an email prank among his friends — and saw it spread to milli...
Samuel Adams: Jim Koch (2017)
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Samuel Adams. In 1984, Jim Koch felt suffocated...
Aden + Anais: Raegan Moya-Jones
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Cotton muslin baby blankets are commonplace in Australia, where Raegan Moya-Jones grew up. But when she started a new life and family in NYC, she coul...
Rolling Stone: Jann Wenner
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After being involved in Berkeley's Free Speech Movement, Jann Wenner wanted to start a publication to capture the exploding counterculture scene of th...
Spanx: Sara Blakely (2017)
03 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Spanx. At 27, Sara Blakely was selling fax mach...
TRX: Randy Hetrick
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997, Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick was deployed in Southeast Asia, where he was stationed in a remote warehouse for weeks with no way to exercise. So he...
WeWork: Miguel McKelvey
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 2007, architect Miguel McKelvey convinced his friend Adam Neumann to share an office space in Brooklyn. That was the beginning of WeWork: a shared ...
Carol's Daughter: Lisa Price
12 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Price worked in television but had a passion for beauty products. At her mother's suggestion, she began selling her homemade moisturizer at a chu...
Five Guys: Jerry Murrell
05 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jerry Murrell's mother used to tell him, you can always make money if you know how to make a good burger. In 1986 — after failing at a number of bus...
TOMS: Blake Mycoskie
29 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Blake Mycoskie started and sold four businesses before age 30. But only in Argentina did he discover the idea he'd want to pursue long term. After see...
Compaq Computers: Rod Canion
22 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1981, engineer Rod Canion left Texas Instruments and co-founded Compaq, which created the first IBM-compatible personal computer. This opened the d...
Whole Foods Market: John Mackey
15 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1978, college drop-out John Mackey scraped together $45,000 to open his first health food store, "Safer Way." A few years later he co-founded Whole...
Lonely Planet: Maureen & Tony Wheeler
08 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1972, Maureen and Tony Wheeler bought a beat-up car and drove from London "as far east as we could go." They wound up in Australia, by way of Afgha...
Lady Gaga & Atom Factory: Troy Carter
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As a kid, Troy Carter dreamed of being a rapper, but soon discovered he was a better manager than a musician. He took Lady Gaga from obscurity to star...
Real Estate Mogul: Barbara Corcoran
24 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Corcoran grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family in Jersey – with nine brothers and sisters. But she used her charisma to conquer t...
1-800-GOT-JUNK?: Brian Scudamore
17 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Scudamore didn't dream of a life hauling away other people's trash. But when he needed to pay for college, he bought a $700 pickup truck, painte...
Instacart: Apoorva Mehta
10 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
App developer Apoorva Mehta almost gave up on being an entrepreneur until he figured out what he really wanted to do: find a hassle-free way to buy gr...
AOL: Steve Case
03 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Steve Case started out in the tech business in the mid-80s, the idea of the internet — as we think of it today — didn't exist. But with AOL, ...
Power Rangers: Haim Saban
27 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As a refugee growing up in Tel Aviv, Haim Saban remembers not having enough money to eat. As an adult, he hustled his way into the entertainment busin...
Kendra Scott: Kendra Scott
20 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since she was a little girl playing dress-up in her aunt's closet, Kendra Scott loved fashion. Her first business was a hat shop, which she start...
5-Hour Energy: Manoj Bhargava
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After living as a monk in India and running a plastics company in Florida, Manoj Bhargava decided to launch something new: a one-shot energy drink in ...
Chesapeake Bay Candle: Mei Xu
06 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty-five years ago, when Mei Xu emigrated from China to the U.S., she loved going to Bloomingdale's to gaze at their housewares. She eventually sta...
Atari & Chuck E. Cheese's: Nolan Bushnell
27 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Before he turned 40, Nolan Bushnell founded two brands that permanently shaped the way Americans amuse themselves: the iconic video game system Atari,...
Crate & Barrel: Gordon Segal
20 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1962, Gordon Segal — with his wife Carole — opened a scrappy Chicago shop called Crate & Barrel. That store turned into a housewares empire tha...
Live Episode! Beyond Meat: Ethan Brown
16 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, Ethan Brown believes he can turn peas and lentils into protein that tastes — and feels – exactly like beef and ...
Lyft: John Zimmer
13 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ridesharing wasn't a thing 12 years ago when John Zimmer was in college. But a class on green cities got him thinking about the glut of underused cars...
Kate Spade: Kate & Andy Spade
06 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A 1991 conversation at a Mexican restaurant led Kate & Andy Spade to ask, "What's missing in designer handbags?" Kate's answer was a simple modern-sha...
Virgin: Richard Branson
30 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Branson took a record shop and built it into a label, a bank, an airline, space tourism, and 200 other businesses — all under the name Virgi...
Zappos: Tony Hsieh
23 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Computer scientist Tony Hsieh made millions off the dot-com boom. But he didn't make his mark until he built Zappos — a customer service company tha...
Honest Tea: Seth Goldman
16 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997, after going for a long run, Seth Goldman was frustrated with the sugar-filled drinks at the corner market. So he brewed up a beverage in his ...
Drybar: Alli Webb
09 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A decade ago, full-time mom Alli Webb noticed a gap in the beauty market: there was nowhere that just focused on blow-drying hair. Now with 70 locatio...
Zumba: Beto Perez & Alberto Perlman
02 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Zumba began as a mistake: aerobics teacher Beto Perez brought the wrong music to class, then improvised a dance routine to go with it. For his student...