The Growth Show

What One Entrepreneur Learned From 100 Days of Rejection

20 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Getting turned down is painful, whether it’s in your personal or your professional life. After a particularly harsh rejection, Jia Jiang decided to ...

Swears & Stick Figures: Behind the Charm of Tim Urban's 'Wait But Why'

13 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While most publications are trying to keep their articles short and sweet, Tim Urban from 'Wait But Why' regularly dives deep on his topics, writing t...

How Hunter Walk Spots Success Before the Spreadsheet Proves Him Right

06 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When seed stage venture capitalist Hunter Walk is evaluating whether to invest in a company, he doesn’t look at the product. To him, it’s all abou...

Escaping the "Good" Trap: The Tough Choices Founders Make to Be Great

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There are so many advantages to starting a company that didn’t exist 10 years ago, but founders and CEOs face more competition than ever. At Alchemi...

The Hashtag's Creator Is Glad He Gave It Away for Free

22 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Messina invented the hashtag and the concept of coworking spaces. Today, he works for Uber as a Developer Experience Lead. In this episode, Chr...

Twitter's Fmr. Editorial Director on Writing: If You Think You Sound Ridiculous, You Do

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A former journalist turned communications strategist, Karen Wickre has lead communication efforts for both Google and Twitter. Today, she advises othe...

How Do You Build an Online Secondhand Clothes Store? Think Like Richard Branson

08 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Buying clothing secondhand is nothing new -- but the way Anthony Marino is growing threadUP is. Before moving to thredUP, Marino worked for Virgin, un...

Hiten Shah Thinks You Should Admit You Suck

01 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Hiten Shah has co-founded several successful businesses (Kissmetrics, Crazy Egg, and Quick Sprout), and advises an impressive roster of high-growth co...

Amy Chang’s Secret to Building Accompany? Take Big Bets

25 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever been tortured by an idea? Amy Chang, CEO of Accompany, knows this feeling well. In fact, it’s what drove her to leave her seven-year s...

Ramit Sethi’s Counterintuitive Advice for Building a Richer Life

18 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While at Stanford University 12 years ago, Ramit Sethi made a big promise to the readers of his blog: He would teach them to become rich. Though he m...

Buffer Almost Went Under: The Heartbreaking Consequences of Growing Too Quickly

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, all looked rosy at Buffer. But one day, Buffer’s CEO Joel Gascoigne and the rest of the management team realized their math didn’...

Scaling Trello: The Challenges of Growing Tech’s Favorite Productivity App

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Getting teams across an organization to work together fluidly, transparently, and productively can be a serious challenge - but it’s one Michael Pry...

Why Early-Stage VCs Shouldn’t Place Bets

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Go, Co-Founder of NextView Ventures, knows what the future of business looks like. In fact, he’s invested in it. As an early-stage VC, he’s ba...

Episode 100: Guy Kawasaki's Unconventional Advice on Growth

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're bringing back one of our listeners' all-time favorite guests: Guy Kawasaki. In January 2015, Guy came on the show to talk about some of h...

Your Key to Growth May Be Free(mium)

13 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Julie Herendeen, a pioneer of the freemium model, knows better than most that sometimes your best marketing is free -- freemium to be exact. Julie’s...

The Psychology Behind Your App Addiction

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We all have habits -- some good, some bad. But why are some habits easy to form and others impossible to break? Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Bu...

The Neuroscience of Unforgettable Content

30 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We all want to create content people remember (and hopefully, act on). But what makes some pieces of content easier to remember than others? The Neur...

The Power of Knowing Your Weaknesses, and Other Advice From eShares’ CEO

23 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Henry Ward, CEO of eShares, thinks that if you want to build a great product, a great team, and a great company, you've got to get real with yourself ...

What Happens When You Win a Free Super Bowl Ad: The Death Wish Coffee Story

18 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What if one moment could change the course of your entire business? That pivotal moment came to Mike Brown, Founder of Death Wish Coffee, in the form ...

Growing GE, Intuit, eBay & More: Lorrie Norrington's Advice for Building a Legendary Company

16 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Lorrie Norrington knows how to grow a company. She’s racked up over 30 years of experience as a senior business executive building companies like DI...

Building the Netflix for Wine: Winc’s CEO on Creating a Personalized Wine Delivery Service

11 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

People tend only buy one or two different types of wine, and one company is on a mission to change that. Winc uses machine learning to give subscriber...

Mattermark’s CEO on Her Accidental Mission to Organize the World’s Business Data

09 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In high school, Danielle Morrill started working at her father's business. After spending time as an analyst and the Head of Marketing for Twilio, she...

Why IBM Watson Won Jeopardy (And What It Means for Our Future)

04 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 2011, IBM Watson beat Jeopardy mega-champion Ken Jennings, signaling a seismic shift in computing. Like the human mind, Watson can process massive ...

Netflix’s Former Chief Talent Officer on the Right Way to Build a Great Team

02 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

During her time as Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, Patty McCord created the famous Netflix Culture Deck - one Sheryl Sandberg refers to as “...the ...

$5M in 3 Years: Behind the Scenes of an Up-and-Coming Fashion Startup

26 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Doyle and Jay Adams, the co-founders of Brass Clothing, met when they were 14 years old. It’s on that foundation that they began Brass Cloth...

What If Everything in the World Was Connected?

19 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What if everything around you was connected? That is our future, and Linden Tibbets, CEO of IFTTT, is at the center of it. IFTTT users have complete ...

How to Fail Better: Hard-Learned Lessons From Medium’s Top Writer

12 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Westenberg is arguably one of the top writers on Medium. He has over 50 thousand followers, and his content receives over 300 thousand views in a ...

What Happens When You Start a Business With the Love of Your Life

05 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine starting a company with your significant other. Does that sound like a dream...or a nightmare? For married couple Anna and Nathan Bond, it see...

Mind the Gap: The Startup Bent on Helping Women Overcome Resume Breaks

28 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Over 3 million educated women in the U.S. are looking to re-enter the workforce after taking a career break - yet only 40% secure full-time jobs, acco...

The Secret to Mixpanel’s Rapid Growth? Question Everything

21 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Suhail Doshi, the founder of Mixpanel, is not afraid to question the way things are done. It all started in 2009. Suhail challenged the “golden metr...

What Most Managers Get Wrong About Hiring

14 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On paper, the hiring process appears fairly straightforward: read applications, interview, hire top talent, and then rinse and repeat … right? Well,...

Building Better Bots: Ryan Block on Why Computers Can’t Replace Humans (Yet)

07 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Are computers replacing humans? In short: not yet. That’s what Ryan Block, co-founder of Begin, believes, anyway - and he knows a thing or two about...

The Convenience Play: How Shyp Became the Hottest Startup in Silicon Valley

31 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

People pay for convenience. In fact, the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that consumers are willing to pay 20% more for a product purchased at ...

The Risks & Rewards of Getting Acquired by Google

24 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Victoria Ransom has never been afraid of doing things a little differently than her peers. By never shying away from the risks associated with making ...

The Surprising Benefit of Sharing Secrets: PostSecret’s Founder on His Decade-Long Social Experiment

17 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Frank Warren, the person who likely keeps the most secrets in the world. Twelve years ago, Frank asked people to anonymously send their secrets t...

charity: water’s Founder on the Power of Naivety

10 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

charity: water’s founder, Scott Harrison, spent 10 years as a club promoter before starting his nonprofit. A decade later, he’s managed to help ov...

What NBA Legend Bill Walton Learned From the Most Influential Leaders in His Life

03 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Walton’s life is one of extremes. Back in the 80s, he was a talented player on the Celtics. He's also experienced some deeply difficult situati...

Making “The Message”: Why GE Took a Big Bet on Podcasting (And What’s Next)

19 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As the Chief Creative Officer of GE, Andy Goldberg led the charge in developing new stories on emerging platforms and broadening General Electric's br...

How to Inspire Others to Make Bold Changes: Tips for Turning Your Vision Into Reality

12 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Part of being an exceptional leader means setting a solid vision for your team - and getting them on board to execute your vision together. But that i...

Building LEGO: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Iconic Brand’s Growth

05 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For Michael McNally, working at LEGO was destiny. As a kid, he was a die-hard LEGO fanatic. So when he stumbled on a LEGO job listing as an adult, he ...

Why the Best Managers Don't Have All the Answers

29 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The best managers aren't always quick to provide a solution. Instead, they ask more questions to help guide their employees to a solution on their own...

How to Build a Brand When No One Understands What You Do

24 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The first rule of branding is to nail down a solid story. But what if your story is extremely complicated and technical? That's the situation Mike Tro...

The Happiness Equation: How to Design a More Fulfilling Life

19 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Most people think happiness is a destination. You work hard. You become successful. Then, you're happy. Rinse and repeat for a happy life...right? Not...

The Unconventional Habits of Highly Productive People

15 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer-winning journalist for The New York Times and author of "The Power of Habit," has spent years trying to figure out what mak...

The Slow Growth Advantage: How This Food Truck Turned Overnight Fame Into Long-Term Profit

08 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

James DiSabatino didn't set out to build one of Boston's biggest food trucks. In fact, he didn't have much of a plan at all. He just knew he wanted to...

Patagonia’s Rick Ridgeway: Eye-Opening Lessons for Working (and Living) Adventurously

01 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

At Patagonia, transparency isn't convenient. "Transparency is telling the good and the bad," says Rick Ridgeway, Patagonia's VP of Environmental Affai...

Developing the Writing Algorithm: Can Computers Teach Us to Be Better Writers?

23 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Learning to write is a painful process. Here's how it typically goes: You spend hours crafting something you think will be a good piece. You submit it...

The Power of No: 3 Leaders Discuss Their Most Difficult Decisions

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Some things in life are easy to turn down. Offered a boiling cup of coffee in the middle of the summer? That's an easy thing to pass on. But some deci...

How One Entrepreneur Built a Six-Figure Tech Company Without Knowing a Line of Code

16 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Mike Wilner first set out to build his tech startup, there was a huge elephant in the room: He had no idea how to code. To make matters worse, th...

How ChefSteps Plans to Make You Fall in Love With Cooking Again

09 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For many, cooking is a chore. After a long day of work, you come home to throw together an easy-yet-healthy-enough meal. After whipping it up and scar...

Selling Snow: How One Couple Built a Booming Side Business From Boston's Biggest Blizzard

02 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It was snowing. A lot. Boston was in the midst of a blizzard, receiving the most snow ever in recorded history. Kyle and Jessica Waring were stranded ...

ClassPass' Founder on the Twists & Turns of Growing the Popular Fitness Startup

26 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Payal Kadakia quit her job at Warner Music Group, she didn't have a backup plan. She knew she wasn't happy in her job, but she wasn't sure what s...

No Such Thing As Luck? 3 Entrepreneurs Dish on Their Biggest Breaks

21 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Most people would agree: Luck is an integral ingredient to success. The tough part is, getting lucky is all up to chance. You can't predict it. You ca...

What Great Bosses Do Differently

19 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When was the last time you held back valuable feedback for fear of being mean? We've all done this before. We think we're being kind. But, we aren't. ...

How to Discover the Next Big Thing: Advice From Mozilla's CMO, Jascha Kaykas-Wolff

12 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We all want to be the one to uncover the next big thing - the next big app, the next big trend, the next big growth strategy. We take big bets. We tel...

Everlane's Founder on Building a Transparent, Focused & Cutting-Edge Fashion Brand

05 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Everlane isn't like many other contemporary fashion brands. While others drive profits by discretely marking up low-cost goods, Everlane discloses the...

Disrupting a Centuries-Old Industry: How Robinhood Plans to Upend the Financial Sector's Giants

29 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When you're up against companies with household names and centuries of experience, how do you win market share? It's simple: Find out what they don't ...

The Realities of Scaling a Startup: Inside Wistia's 10-Year Path to 200K Customers

22 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In the beginning, Wistia had just a few guys working out of an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It took them a year to make their first dollar, ...

Lyft's CMO on Disrupting a Competitive Industry, Scaling Culture & Hiring Player-Coaches

15 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Pink mustaches. Fist bumps. A seat up front. These quirks help differentiate Lyft as the friendly, human option in an uber-competitive industry. And i...

Behind the Scenes With Zappos: How to Build a Lovable Company Culture

08 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ah, company culture. It's the management buzzword du jour. And it's often the overlooked, compartmentalized, and misunderstood element to building a h...

The Secrets to Becoming a Radically Honest, Passionate & Audacious Leader

02 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Kai Kight's background is anything but typical. When he was three, he began learning the violin, later going on to perform in places like the White Ho...

Mo Mustaches, Mo Growth: The Rise of the Movember Movement

24 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It began as a bet in a bar. A group of friends got together and decided to see who could grow the coolest mustache. Over a decade later, this bet has ...

Growth Secrets From Canva: How the Design Startup Acquires 30K New Users a Day

17 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Visual content: Everyone knows they need it, but many people lack the skills or tools to do it well. That is, until Canva entered the picture in 2013....

How to Compete With Google: Inside This Startup's Plan to Disrupt the #1 Search Engine in the World

10 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Would you ever start a company that competed with Google? Back in 2007, that's exactly what Gabriel Weinberg did. He created DuckDuckGo, an alternativ...

Succeeding on Medium: How the Hottest Publishing Platform Rewards Quality Content & Conversation

03 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In a world where attention spans are shortening and there's more and more content than ever, how should a company grow its brand online? Enter Medium....

How to Become an Influential Leader: Tips on Hiring, Growth & Management From Charlene Li

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Technology has completely changed the way people work -- especially leaders at high-growth companies. How should managers approach hiring, growth, and...

How to Make Your Own Luck: Problogger's Founder on the Secrets to Success (Live at #INBOUND15)

20 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It all started with an email from a friend, mentioning this thing called a "blog." Darren Rowse learned of this new trend taking the internet by storm...

Embracing Doubt & Other Leadership Lessons From a Former Executive at LinkedIn (Live at #INBOUND15)

13 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It's natural to be afraid of doubt - especially when you're leading a team. You want to be the calm, cool, and collected leader ... but inside you're ...

Todd Rowe, Google’s Managing Director, on Creating a Culture of Innovation (Live at #INBOUND15)

06 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder why Google is so successful? According to Todd Rowe, Managing Director at Google, it all comes down to placing big bets on smart people - ...

Sophia Amoruso, Founder of Nasty Gal, Live at #INBOUND15

29 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The year was 2006. Sophia Amoruso was sitting in her apartment in a bathrobe and selling vintage clothes on eBay. She was the “one man band” behin...

Jonah Peretti, Founder of BuzzFeed & The Huffington Post, Live at #INBOUND15

22 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On this live-recorded episode from INBOUND 2015, Jonah Peretti, founder of BuzzFeed & The Huffington Post, joins us to chat about BuzzFeed's insane gr...

Marc Maron Live at #INBOUND15

16 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron joins us on this episode of The Growth Show -- the first in a series of live interview's from INBOUND 2015.

Clif Bar CEO Kevin Cleary

31 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The founders of Clif Bar could have sold the company for $120M in 2000. Most people would have taken that offer, but instead, Clif Bar wanted to build...

Re-Thinking the Way We Work with Basecamp CEO Jason Fried

25 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Fried is the founder and CEO of Basecamp, the co-author of Getting Real, Remote, and The New York Times Bestseller REWORK. He’s a frequent spe...

Ghostery CEO Scott Meyer

18 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Meyer is the CEO of Ghostery, a technology company that allows consumers and businesses to create safer, faster, and more trusted digital experi...

The Heady Topper Craze

10 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

John and Jen Kimmich are the owners of the Alchemist Brewery. Their most popular beer, Heady Topper, has become a sensation up and down the East Coast...

Sue Heilbronner, CEO, MergeLane

03 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Heilbronner is the CEO and Co-Founder of MergeLane, a startup accelerator in Boulder, CO that discovers, accelerates and invests in exceptional wo...

Gimlet Media Co-Founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, former This American Life producer and Planet Money co-host Alex Blumberg launched a business of his own: Gimlet Media. Today, Gimlet has 2...

Harry's Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jeff Raider

21 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Raider is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Harry’s. Harry’s is on a mission to make the shaving process easier: all you have to do is enter the n...

Blue Bottle Coffee CEO James Freeman

13 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

James Freeman is the founder and CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee, a coffee roaster and retailer headquartered in Oakland, California.Best known for their lo...

How 90+ Cellars Became the Fastest Growing Wine Brand in the U.S.

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

90+ Cellars is the fastest growing wine brand in the U.S. yet they don’t own any vineyards, they don’t plant any grapes, and they don’t even own...

Codecademy CEO Zach Sims

29 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

With only one year left until graduation, Zach Sims decided to drop out of Columbia in 2011 to start Codecademy. Fast forward to 2015 and Codecademy h...

Elon Musk Biographer and Businessweek Writer Ashlee Vance

22 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran tech journalist Ashlee Vance (NYT, Businessweek) joins Mike to talk about Ashlee’s best-selling biography of Elon Musk. Ashlee goes behind t...

theSkimm Founders Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Carly and Danielle quit their jobs at NBC News without a product and only two months worth of savings in their bank accounts. Today, they’re the fou...

Harvard Business Review and Venturebeat on the Future of Publishing

08 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve got two special guests on this episode of The Growth Show: Harvard Business Review Group Publisher Josh Macht and Venturebeat Editor-In-Chief ...

How an Event Grew from an Idea to 10,000 Attendees

01 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever thought about running an event for your business, you don't want to miss this episode. Mike sits down with HubSpot's VP of Brand & Buzz...

Mark Roberge, Chief Revenue Officer, HubSpot

31 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When Mark Roberge joined HubSpot in 2007, he had never run a sales team. So he stuck with what he knew how to do and created a system of hiring and de...

Ask Mike Anything

29 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mike answers your questions on this special episode of The Growth Show — including how his team maintains a startup mentality, the right way to pay ...

Michelle Miller, The Underwriting

25 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, Michelle Miller left her job at JP Morgan to write a story about Wall Street and Silicon Valley called The Underwriting. She knew nothing abo...

Ministry of Supply CEO Gihan Amarasiriwardena

20 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine wearing a dress shirt that didn’t make you sweat on your commute to work? Launched out of MIT, Ministry of Supply has set out to do just tha...

Boston Red Sox SVP of Brand and Marketing, Adam Grossman

17 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of growth is a little different when you run marketing for a professional sports team. For Adam Grossman, SVP of marketing and brand devel...

Brandee Barker, Facebook’s First PR Executive

11 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Brandee Barker was hired in 2006 as Facebook’s first head of communications. While at Facebook, she led the PR strategy around their investments, ac...

Product Strategy with Intercom Co-Founder Des Traynor

07 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Des Traynor is one of the best in the business when it comes to product strategy and managing growth. He joins HubSpot’s Meghan Keaney Anderson on t...

Seth Godin

04 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, a marketer, an author, and a speaker. People have called him the godfather of modern marketing and the best marketing b...

Warby Parker Co-Founder Neil Blumenthal

27 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Neil Blumenthal and his friends (later turned co-founders) were tired of paying outrageous prices for their glasses, so they did what any crazy and am...

Meerkat Founder Ben Rubin

24 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Two months ago, Meerkat didn’t even exist. Today, the live-streaming app has over 700,000 active users, including celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and ...

SoulCycle VP of PR & Brand Strategy Gabby Cohen

22 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

SoulCycle has evolved into one of the fastest-growing fitness sensations of all-time — the result of a cult-like following that they’ve built that...

Product Hunt's Ryan Hoover and Erik Torenberg

17 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Product Hunt started as an email newsletter in 2013 about founder Ryan Hoover’s favorite new products. Today, Product Hunt has become the place to d...

Blue Apron Founder & CEO Matt Salzberg

13 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Blue Apron is one of the fastest-growing food delivery businesses. Each week, they send customers a box that includes recipes and the ingredients need...

Apple Watch Special: Silicon Valley Veteran Philippe Kahn

09 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You may not have heard of Philippe Kahn, but you’re definitely familiar with his work: he’s credited with creating the first camera phone and shar...