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Artwork for How I Built This

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery
Entrepreneurship
Airbnb
E-Commerce
Covid-19
Business Growth
Nike
Amazon
Social Media Marketing
Unilever
Tatcha
California
Small Business
Procter & Gamble
American Express
Bombas
Travel
Walmart
Franchising
Norma Kamali
Crumbl Cookies

Guy Raz interviews the world’s best-known entrepreneurs to learn how they built their iconic brands. In each episode, founders reveal deep, intimate moments of doubt and failure, and share insights on their eventual success. How I Built This is a master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership and how to navigate challenges of all kinds.

New episodes release on Mondays and Thursdays.

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes847Founded10 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Business

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Artwork for How I Built This

Latest Episodes

In 2004, Joey Shamah and his partner launched a cosmetics company built on an idea that made almost no sense:

Sell high-quality makeup for just $1.

At the time, high quality beauty products were supposed to be expensive. The biggest brands spent fo... more

Today’s callers: Ruchi from Chicago looks for advice on which channels to focus distribution for her probiotic skincare line. Then Peter in San Francisco considers strategies to champion his line of organic South African wines. And Dominic from Barba... more

Stephen Starr didn’t plan to get into the restaurant business.

He set out to be a radio DJ. Then a nightclub owner. Then a music promoter.

Along the way, he booked a young Jerry Seinfeld for $75, promoted shows for U2 and Madonna, and spent years p... more

Today’s callers: Daisy in the United Kingdom looks to grow her barefoot shoe brand across the pond in the United States. Then Rachel in Pennsylvania considers private labeling for her protein-packed sprinkles. And Andrew in California wonders whether... more

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Stephen Starr
Founder of Starr Restaurants, restaurateur and designer
Starr Restaurants
Episode: STARR Restaurants: Stephen Starr. How a Non-Foodie Built Thriving Restaurants on Gut Instinct
Shazi Visram
Founder of Happy Family Organics and Healthy Baby
Happy Family Organics / Healthy Baby
Episode: Advice Line with Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics
Andrew Graff
Caller from Laguna Beach, soil product innovator
Self-initiated project
Episode: Advice Line with Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics
Maxine Clark
Founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Episode: Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire
Christina Tosi
Milk Bar founder
Milk Bar
Episode: Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar
Brian Smith
Founder of UGG, Australian entrepreneur
UGG, Decker's (former owner)
Episode: UGG: Brian Smith. How an epiphany, surfers, and $500 launched an iconic sheepskin footwear company.
Jeffrey Hollender
Co-founder of Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation
Episode: Advice Line with Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation
Justin Gold
Founder of Justin's Nut Butter, Boulder-based entrepreneur
Justin's
Episode: Justin’s Nut Butter: Justin Gold. He Was Waiting Tables, Then...He Reinvented Peanut Butter.
Jensen Huang
Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia
Nvidia
Episode: NVIDIA: Jensen Huang. From near collapse to becoming the world’s biggest company

Host

Guy Raz
Host known for interviewing founders; long-running series focused on founder journeys, branding, and growth.

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 42.7k ratings
  • Hi I’m listening to to wow in the world 🌎

    Super good and I’m only 10 years old🤪😜😝

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Harry prince I am not
    Canadaa month ago
  • Very informative!

    I just started listening a couple weeks ago, i thoroughly enjoy the podcast. Guy has a wide range of guests with great advice. Keep it up!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    !Christ0pher.P.
    Canada3 months ago
  • Scrub Daddy Wins!

    HIBT is my twice-a-week go-to podcast. But the Scrub Daddy episode is by far my favorite. I love how the inventor iterated in business over and over. He made his own luck. Bravo!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Pumpdogowner
    United States4 months ago
  • Predictable

    This show has a formula. It is write/rinse/repeat… Like a Taylor Swift song. It lacks talent and it is not real advice for real working people.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Look@123
    United States4 months ago
  • Inspirational

    A broad range of startup stories, well picked founders of different generations and industries and moderated in a well-researched, gentlemen-like manner. Highly recommended.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    UX1800
    Switzerland4 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The show is praised for thoughtful questions and deep-dive interviews with diverse industries.
Guests and host are seen as well-researched and credible, offering real-world insights for startups and marketers.
Some listeners feel the format relies too heavily on advertising or promotional content in certain episodes.
Listeners appreciate the breadth of founder stories and practical takeaways on branding and growth.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Spotify
#31
United States/Business
Apple Podcasts
#47
United States/Business
Apple Podcasts
#17
Canada/Business
Apple Podcasts
#53
United Kingdom/Business
Apple Podcasts
#37
Australia/Business
Apple Podcasts
#42
France/Business

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products
Q: What is a practical way to grow a Barbados-based coffee brand internationally from a small island?
Agree on a staged expansion strategy: maximize Caribbean island distribution first to prove concept, then target selective regional grocers and eventually major markets like the US and UK, offering a strong island-brand story and consistent quality to drive demand.
Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products
Q: How should Peter approach expanding South African wine into other markets beyond California?
The panel advises a focused, regional rollout—start in Chicago and other major culturally aligned markets, train distributors and sales teams, and use storytelling around quality and heritage to move premium wines into Michelin-level restaurants and specialty stores.
Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products
Q: What is your question for us when you joined the show and what direction are you hoping for EO Products?
Susan and Guy discuss focusing on where the brand already has strength (DTC and professional channels) and leveraging the founder's story to build trust with customers, while gradually expanding into offices and medispa channels to increase discoverability.
Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar
Q: What should be the strategy to raise bridge capital for the Phoenix expansion?
Consider pre-selling memberships, leveraging community; explore landlord incentives and local partnerships to reduce upfront capital, and think about engaging a local guardian/franchise model rather than rushing institutional funding.
Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar
Q: What is the average order value and day parts for customers in the Beau Collective case?
Retail tickets range around 60-85 dollars, memberships around 200 dollars monthly; focus is on growing retail and membership traffic, especially in morning class times.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
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Frequently Asked Questions About How I Built This

What is How I Built This about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on founder-led storytelling, examining how iconic brands were created and scaled through persistence, experimentation, and smart go-to-market decisions. Episodes frequently explore branding, distribution, partnerships, and operational bets across consumer goods, tech, retail, and services, with real-world examples from franchising to DTC and marketplace strategies. A notable strength is the mix of deep, candid journeys from well-known entrepreneurs and actionable takeaways on building and sustaining growth, brand purpose, and customer experience. Listeners can expect practical lessons on storytelling, product positioning, and navigating capital and partnerships, often illustrated with diverse industry case studies.

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Which podcasts are similar to How I Built This?

These podcasts share a similar audience with How I Built This:

1. Masters of Scale
2. Founders
3. My First Million
4. Freakonomics Radio
5. The Daily

How many episodes of How I Built This are there?

How I Built This launched 10 years ago and published 847 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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What guests have appeared on How I Built This?

Recent guests on How I Built This include:

1. Stephen Starr
2. Shazi Visram
3. Andrew Graff
4. Maxine Clark
5. Christina Tosi
6. Brian Smith
7. Jeffrey Hollender
8. Justin Gold

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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