How I Built This
Searchable database of How I Built This entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship stories. Find episodes, founder profiles, and company histories from Guy Raz's iconic podcast.
Advice Line with Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed
BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti joins Guy Raz on the Advice Line to help founders tackle scaling and brand differentiation challenges. Anthony Cortez of MotionFlix wrestles with franchise versus partner-led expansion for his outdoor cinema business. Melissa Bermudez of Unrefined Foods seeks to stand out in the crowded healthy food market. Peretti's core insight: in an AI-driven world, human connection and obsessive storytelling are the last sustainable competitive advantages.
Beautycounter: Gregg Renfrew. She Built Beautycounter to $1B… Then Got Fired From Her Own Company
Gregg Renfrew built Beautycounter into a clean beauty powerhouse worth nearly $1 billion, championing safer cosmetics when the industry ignored toxic chemicals. Then, in dramatic boardroom move, the very investors who backed her growth fired her from the company she founded. Her story reveals how mission-driven brands can both empower and betray their creators, and what happens when your success outgrows your control.
Advice Line with David Neeleman of JetBlue
David Neeleman, the aviation entrepreneur behind JetBlue, Azul, and Breeze, shares hard-won lessons on scaling airlines without losing soul. He argues that true leadership means hiring people who care more than you do, and that cutting costs at the expense of culture is the fastest way to destroy a brand. From choosing the right airplanes to building teams that treat customers like family, Neeleman's advice cuts through the noise of typical business platitudes.
Gregg Renfrew
Gregg Renfrew is an American entrepreneur and founder of clean beauty brand Beautycounter, launched in 2013. She previously co-launched The Wedding List, acquired by Martha Stewart in 2001. Renfrew is a pioneer in the clean beauty movement and now leads Counter.
1 episode
Ian Murray
Ian Murray co-founded Vineyard Vines with his brother Shep in 1998, launching the brand from Martha's Vineyard with a line of neckties. What began as a small operation has grown into a nationwide lifestyle brand with over 100 retail locations.
1 episode
Shep Murray
Shep Murray is the co-founder and CEO of Vineyard Vines, the lifestyle brand he launched with his brother Ian in 1998 on Martha's Vineyard. A Skidmore College graduate, Murray transformed a men's tie business into a billion-dollar apparel company.
1 episode
Daniel Lubetzky
Daniel Lubetzky is the founder of KIND Snacks, a healthy snack company he launched in 2004 and sold to Mars for $5 billion. A Lithuanian-Mexican-American entrepreneur, he is also a Shark Tank investor and author.
1 episode
Beautycounter
Beautycounter was a direct-to-consumer clean beauty company selling skincare and cosmetics. Founded in 2011, it grew to 150 products through 65,000 consultants with a mission to get safer products into everyone's hands before entering administration in 2024.
1 episode
Vineyard Vines
Vineyard Vines is an American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha's Vineyard by brothers Shep and Ian Murray. The family-owned company creates classic, preppy apparel with a relaxed, timeless aesthetic.
1 episode
KIND bars
KIND is an American snack food company based in New York City that produces whole nut and fruit bars. Founded in 2004 by Daniel Lubetzky, KIND positions its products as a healthier alternative to traditional granola and energy bars, becoming the fourth-largest U.S. snack manufacturer.
1 episode
iRobot
iRobot is an American robotics company founded in 1990 by three MIT roboticists that designs and builds consumer robots. The company pioneered the domestic robot market with the Roomba autonomous vacuum, shipping over one million units globally.
1 episode