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. And why not? On the street, people seemed to love her boldly striped shirts and sweats, always asking “Where can I get that?” whenever she wore them. Three years later, Paige opened her first store in Venice Beach, and then she relied on word of mouth – and shrewd negotiating tactics with landlords – to launch more new locations. Despite early st...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 584
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 of supply chain snarls led to a backlog of orders and a retreat by key investors. Undeterred, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has focused on ramping up production and has big plans for the company’s future — including the release of a new mid-size SUV in 2026. This week on How I Built This Lab, how Rivian continues to shape the rapidly evolving electric vehic...
Dec 28, 2023•36 min•Ep. 583
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 tech, she dived into doing after-school projects with her kids, like making puppets out of Styrofoam or combining baking soda and vinegar to see what happens. When she discovered that other parents liked these projects too, she decided to create a subscription box company that sent out science and crafts kits every month. She gathered kids in her gara...
Dec 25, 2023•53 min•Ep. 582
Our modern way of life requires more resources than ever before — resources that are becoming increasingly scarce and environmentally taxing to extract. Intuitive Machines co-founder and CEO Steve Altemus believes a solution to this problem could be waiting in the cosmos. This week on How I Built This Lab , Steve breaks down the logistics and economics of sending the first-ever commercial spacecraft to the moon. Plus, an overview of today’s newfound global space race, and how Steve embraces fail...
Dec 21, 2023•38 min•Ep. 581
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: automated bots were signing up for millions of free Yahoo email accounts, and generating tons of spam. Luis' idea to solve this problem became CAPTCHA, the squiggly letters we type into a website to prove we're human. He gave away that idea for free, but years later, that same idea had evolved into a new way to monetize language learning on the web, ...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 580
Warby Parker co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa broke their scrappy startup into the eyewear industry in 2010—putting legacy manufacturers on notice by offering stylish glasses at much lower prices. But having since gone public and facing pressure from digital landlords and changing technology, Warby Parker now faces a new set of challenges and unknowns... This week on How I Built This Lab, Neil and Dave share insights on leading a public for-profit company with a social mission. Plus, why ...
Dec 14, 2023•39 min•Ep. 579
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 and sold to Amazon for a reported $300 million. Not bad for an immigrant from Argentina who moved to the U.S. in his late 20s with “terrible” English skills. Before launching Wondery, Hernan worked his way up in television, eventually becoming CEO of Fox International Channels. But despite his experience and connections, he struggled to attract inve...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 578
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 symptoms. When Andrew was introduced to radiologist Rajpaul Attariwala, he had already built and sold two tech companies. So after stepping out of Attariwala’s MRI machine, Andrew saw the same opportunity he’d seen years earlier in the iPhone… This week on How I Built This Lab, how Prenuvo is working to change the health care industry one scan at a time....
Dec 07, 2023•41 min•Ep. 577
In 2010, a tragic personal event changed the trajectory of Nancy Twine's life. Suddenly, her promising job at Goldman Sachs no longer seemed fulfilling; she wanted something more. Drawing inspiration from the homemade hair treatments she once made with her mom, Nancy created a line of shampoos and conditioners that catered to all textures of hair without using harmful additives. But as a Black entrepreneur pitching beauty products to white, male investors, she had a tough time raising money. Fin...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 576
Collaboration is the new competition: that was French entrepreneur Lucie Basch’s philosophy when she approached a group of Danish founders who happened to be working on a similar food waste reduction app. Before long, Lucie and her new co-founders joined forces to create Too Good To Go, an app that enables restaurants and grocery stores to sell leftover items in ‘surprise bags’ at a significantly reduced price. Since launching in 2016, Too Good To Go has raised over $30 million dollars and has e...
Nov 30, 2023•42 min•Ep. 575
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 CAVA, a sprawling national chain that serves stuffed pita sandwiches and salads. Raised by Greek immigrants, the three founders understood how to make great food, but were rookies at running a restaurant–maxing out their credit cards, and learning the hard way that you should never write dinner orders on sticky-notes. As the restaurant tried to raise...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 574
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 in them, and recently Guy had the chance to try one out as well... This week on How I Built This Lab, Dmitri recounts the decade-plus journey of building Waymo into the world’s first company to operate a fully-autonomous ride hailing service. Plus, how Waymo’s approach differs from Tesla’s, and Dmitri’s take on when we’ll see more AV’s on the roads ...
Nov 23, 2023•42 min•Ep. 573
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 buzz around anything. He started with a cotton T-shirt, and taught himself every stage of production, from sourcing the fabric, to cutting, dyeing, and finishing. When Michael realized that some luxury brands charged as much as seven times the actual cost of a T-shirt, he decided to sell his for $15, and soon caused a stir by telling the world exact...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 572
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 carbon dioxide as cars do - but Brimstone CEO and co-founder Cody Finke says they’ve found a way to change that. This week on How I Built This Lab, Cody explains where all that carbon dioxide is coming from, and how swapping out a key ingredient in the production of cement could take it from carbon-intensive … to carbon-negative. This episode was produc...
Nov 16, 2023•31 min•Ep. 571
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 sourcing parts to make his first low-maintenance model, with a rust-proof aluminum frame and a carbon fiber belt drive instead of a chain. Dave was able to keep costs down by selling DTC, but had to scramble to meet demand when his first Kickstarter campaign yielded 1500 orders. From there, Priority pedaled forward steadily, adding new models, and partneri...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 570
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’s “fast casual” format. It’s a story he told when he was first on the show back in 2017. Now, he hopes to revolutionize the industry again with a new chain of small, highly automated, vegan restaurants called Kernel. This week on How I Built This Lab, Steve Ells returns to reflect on stepping away from the company he spent decades building and how ...
Nov 09, 2023•42 min•Ep. 569
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 ice in Kentucky, where people had barely heard of it. After thirteen successful years as a vacuum cleaner salesman, Tony launched his first shaved ice truck in 2007. Fueled by a bad experience buying freezer-burned popsicles off a battered ice cream truck, he built a custom-made vehicle with a tropical vibe and a built-in “Flavorwave” that let cust...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 568
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 question Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn have had to answer since their original appearance on How I Built This in January 2022. This week on How I Built This Lab , Vincent and Andrew share their aspirations for Dang Foods after a difficult and heartfelt departure. Plus, how they navigated changes in consumer demand post-pandemic and the resources that ...
Nov 02, 2023•41 min•Ep. 567
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 furniture, when he noticed that other craftspeople had the same need. So he and a few friends built a website where makers could sell a wide range of goods. Rob named it after an Italian phrase he heard in a Fellini film, and within three years, Etsy passed $10 million in sales. But as a young founder, Rob struggled to manage the rapidly-growing compan...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 566
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 meetups, then became the youngest female founder ever to take a company public...all while in the throes of first-time motherhood! This week on How I Built This Lab, Whitney offers perspective on leading and learning in extraordinary times. Plus, how social media may be fueling a loneliness epidemic and Whitney’s current obsession: harnessing the power ...
Oct 26, 2023•46 min•Ep. 565
Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan were only college students when they created Sir Kensington’s, a $140-million-dollar condiment brand – with a backstory that’s completely made up. These days, it seems like every brand – every start-up – is trying to tell a story about its authentic and humble beginnings. Scott and Mark went in the opposite direction when they had the idea to create a gourmet ketchup in 2008. They wanted to take on a juggernaut: Heinz. So, to stand out, they told a story about their...
Oct 23, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 564
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 the past three years, giving Julia the opportunity to evolve Eventbrite to better serve its key customers — event creators. This week on How I Built This Lab, Julia goes back in time to review how she kept a ticketing service afloat when no one was buying tickets. Plus, thoughts on effective leadership from a public company CEO, and Julia’s tips for desig...
Oct 19, 2023•49 min•Ep. 563
Brothers Jamie and Lyndon Cormack founded Herschel Supply Co to sell modern bags with a timeless feel. While working in the sports and apparel industry, they realized they couldn’t find backpacks and totes with the same stylish but simplified vibe as their favorite sneakers and shirts. With no background in manufacturing, they learned to make bags partly by ripping old ones apart. Then they Googled their way to finding a factory and scrambled to catch up as orders started to roll in. Since launc...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 562
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 the existing power grid. One thing holding the world back from a transition to clean energy: electricity generated from sources like the sun and wind has to be used right away or it disappears…but one possible answer might be—salt. This week on How I Built This Lab, Ramya recounts how she got into the renewable energy industry with two previous compa...
Oct 12, 2023•35 min•Ep. 561
Freshpet co-founder Scott Morris helped transform pet food by sidestepping traditional kibble and cans, and making slice-and-serve meals that almost looked palatable enough for humans. When Scott and his partners launched the business in 2006, the concept of fresh pet food was so novel that retailers balked at installing special refrigerators for it. So Freshpet provided its own refrigerators, a logistical nightmare that nearly ground the business to a halt. More than 30,000 refrigerators later,...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 560
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 shipping the world’s first handgun with an electronic firing system that unlocks instantaneously upon fingerprint or facial verification. This week on How I Built This Lab, how Kai spent the past decade designing a firearm intended to prevent unauthorized use, particularly by children and adolescents. Plus, why past efforts to bring a smart gun to mark...
Oct 05, 2023•36 min•Ep. 559
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 launched Vuori in 2015, women’s athleisure brands like Lululemon were exploding, but there wasn’t a similar brand that catered to men. So Joe set out to sell men’s workout clothes that didn’t scream “hey, these are workout clothes!” and tried to place them into yoga studios and other small stores. At first Vuori didn’t get much traction – so Joe made a ...
Oct 02, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 558
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. But learning about the environmental harms of mass beef production, plus having to answer his kids’ questions about what happens to baby cows at certain farms, was enough to convince him to say goodbye to corporate life and join the plant-based revolution. This week on How I Built This Lab, Eshchar recounts his path from product manager to market...
Sep 28, 2023•39 min•Ep. 557
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 Greek yogurt treats, and building Yasso into a $200 million dollar brand. When Amanda got the idea in 2009 to freeze Greek yogurt into popsicles, she reached out to Drew, who had already started a business selling—and there’s no way you could guess this—inflatable beer pong tables. The two friends set out to make a high protein, low-calorie yogurt ba...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 556
Pierre Thiam is a renowned chef, restaurant owner, cookbook author, and co-founder of Yolélé – a company working to introduce the world to fonio, an ancient West African grain built for climate change. But it hasn't been all sunshine and good harvests for Pierre. In fact, he was robbed just days after he first arrived in New York City from Senegal. It was 1989, and he had just traveled to the U.S. to study chemistry and physics. This chance incident, however, set Pierre’s life on an entirely dif...
Sep 21, 2023•42 min•Ep. 555
