How I Built This with Guy Raz

Today’s callers: Michelle from California assesses the trade offs of accepting outside investment to scale her organic granola brand. Then, Gloria from Connecticut wonders how to overcome stigma and get more people talking about her pelvic floor therapy device. And Eric from Australia evaluates new markets for his maple-based sports nutrition products.  Plus, Dan and Angie’s take on why even the busiest entrepreneur should find time to turn off their phone at the dinner table...  Thank you to the founders of Nana Joes Granola, Elidah, and mapleROO for being a part of our show. If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to BOOMCHICKAPOP’S founding story as told by Angie and Dan on the show in 2019.   This episode was produced by Noor Gill with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo. You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com  and on Substack. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back in the early days of ecommerce, Marc Lore took a classic retail loss leader–diapers– and turned it into a DTC giant– Diapers.com. It did so well that it attracted the attention of Amazon, which slashed prices on its own diapers until Marc was forced to sell them his business.   It was not a happy moment, but it was a galvanizing one: Marc went on to launch another ecommerce company, jet.com. Within a year, it was bought by Walmart in a deal valued at $3.3 billion.   This is a story about a devastating corporate surrender, a multi-million dollar comeback, and a founder with a relentless ability to re-invent himself.   Timestamps:  10:04 – Marc’s “boost-your-grades” bet with his college coach    14:21 – A job on Wall Street and a Master Plan: 8 figures by age 48 16:28 – How a lunchtime lark turned into a spot on the U.S. Bobsled Team 27:44 – How random Google searches led Marc to diapers 35:29 – Guerilla tactic: Buying all of P&G’s diapers to get their attention 40:07 – The simple packaging hack that boosted sales   45:53 – Building a retail empire (and getting on Amazon’s radar) 47:52 – Amazon’s scorched earth strategy forces Marc to sell  1:00:11 – Raising $750M to take on Jeff Bezos 1:03:02 – A brand new business and a $3.3 billion exit: Walmart’s record-breaking deal This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant.  Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore — founder of brands like Beauty Pie and Soap & Glory — joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three early-stage founders managing uncertainty and risk.  Today, we meet Victor in Fort Worth, the co-founder of a Mexican-style sweets and treats venture who wonders if he should focus on expanding brick-and-mortar operations, retail presence, or both. Then Lydia in Seattle, a former disease researcher who is ready to grow her small batch botanical skincare line, but needs help overcoming her fear of failure to get to the next step. And Jack in San Francisco, the founder of a custom bike bag and accessories brand who’s trying to figure out how to maintain customer excitement throughout the entire purchasing process so as not to lose momentum.  Thank you to the founders of Sol Dias, Clērstory, and Wompy Bikes for being part of our show. And stick around to hear a brief update on all three callers! If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to Marcia Kilgore’s original How I Built This episode as told by Marcia on the show in 2018.  This episode was produced by Carla Esteves with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo. You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For decades, a dozen eggs was just… a dozen eggs. No story. No real branding. No reason to care who produced them. Then Matt O’Hayer came along and asked a question almost nobody in America was asking: what if store-bought eggs could be different? What if they tasted better, looked better, and came from hens raised in a much more humane way?  The business he launched– with 20 hens and some used trailers– is now the number-one pasture-raised egg producer in the US, with a network of 600 farms, and a projected revenue of nearly $1B this year.   When he started Vital Farms, Matt was in his 50s, living in an RV on the farm, and trying to convince people to pay premium prices for eggs.  Before that, his passion for business drove him to pursue an astonishing range of ideas: carpet-cleaning, a barter-exchange franchise, a stint as a charter-boat captain and broker. One of his businesses left him nearly broke after 9-11, and there were many other hard lessons along the way.  This is a story about metabolizing failure into success, and turning one of the most overlooked shelves in the grocery store… into a billion dollar opportunity.   What you’ll learn:  The hard lessons Matt learned from 3 (+) decades of founding businesses How 9/11 changed his life What 4 years as a boat captain taught him about leading–and serving How “conscious capitalism” became the blueprint for Vital Farms Why pasture-raised eggs were a branding opportunity hiding in plain sight How Whole Foods became an early and critical partner Why great products grow faster when customers do your work for you Timestamps:  07:48 – “I didn’t have 300 dollars.” Matt starts a carpet-cleaning company with no real plan 11:31 – The barter business that taught Matt how to scale complex ideas 17:58 – Building a travel company, taking it public, and growing it to roughly $50 million in sales 22:57 – The morning of 9/11: Matt watches his business collapse in real time 25:59 – Starting over, Matt becomes a charter boat captain –plus chef, teacher, and toilet-fixer 31:16 – The blog essay that transformed how Matt thought about business 34:19 – The lightbulb conversation: pasture-raised eggs could become a real company 41:03 – Starting the farm in Austin: “I bought a thousand baby chicks.”  43:58 – The first eggs taste great, but nobody wants to pay for them 49:53 – Finally: The first Whole Foods pallet  50:52 – A label mistake gets Vital Farms pulled from shelves 1:03:09 – How the egg carton became one of Vital Farms’ most powerful branding tools 1:08:24 – Why humane eggs cost more—and why Matt believes they should This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Casey Herman. —----------------- Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.