Guests

Joan Barnes is the founder and former CEO of Gymboree, an early childhood brand she started in 1976 with $3,000. What began as a single play center in California expanded into a global empire with 600 franchises. Barnes stepped down to focus on recovery and later co-authored "Play It Forward".

Founder and CEO of Spikeball, the round-net lawn game turned competitive sport.

Rebecca Smith is part of the team at Streaky Bay Distillers, a premium small batch distillery on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. She was featured on How I Built This discussing the challenges of making craft spirits stand out in a crowded market.

Blair Hastie is associated with Bear, a company focused on innovative products and services. Details about their professional background and contributions continue to be gathered from episode content and additional research.

Nick Harmon co-founded Randimals. It started with Oliver. Quirky composite beast plush, inspired by his Basset Lab mix, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, earned Randimals the 2022 Autism Live Speech Builder Award, and appeared on *How I Built This*.

Kimber Crandall co-founded Pearl Pop, a company born from a BYU Executive MBA class project. Pearl Pop creates toothpaste pearls that make brushing fun for kids. A mom of four, Kimber hand-poured the first bottles herself.

Michael Rubin is the founder and CEO of Fanatics, the global digital sports platform reshaping licensed merchandise, collectibles, and sports betting. He previously founded GSI Commerce, which he sold to eBay for $2.4 billion in 2011.

Founder of Bad Luck Burger Club, a community platform for burger lovers and restaurant reviewers.

Founder of T. Jazelle, a Cape Cod jewelry brand known for charm bracelets and gemstone collections.

Nicolas Mermoud is the co-founder of HOKA, the revolutionary running shoe brand. A French mountaineer and ultrarunner from the Alps, he brought his outdoor expertise to create footwear that changed the running world. Prior to HOKA, he served as VP International Marketing at Groupe Rossignol.

Co-founder and Chief Writing Officer of Substack. Journalist and author of Insane Mode, the Tesla story. Former lead writer for Tesla and editorial advisor at Kik.

Missy Park is founder and CEO of Title Nine, the women’s athletic and outdoor gear brand named for 1972’s gender equity legislation. A former college athlete, she launched it solo from a Berkeley garage in 1989, remains its sole owner, and recently guested on the How I Built This podcast.