# Lonely Planet: Maureen & Tony Wheeler

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2017-05-08
- Length: 40m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler

## Summary

Maureen and Tony Wheeler, founders of Lonely Planet, recount how a chance meeting in London led to a backpacking trip across Asia that inspired their first guidebook, printed in their Sydney kitchen. They discuss bootstrapping the company from a cottage industry to a global publisher, the pivotal success of their India guide, and the operational challenges of scaling while raising a family. The episode covers their decision to sell the company to BBC Worldwide in the mid-2000s as it shifted toward digital media, and includes a postscript on Michael Mendicino’s Bottle Flip board game.

## Chapters

- [2:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=160) Introduction: Maureen & Tony Wheeler and Lonely Planet
- [4:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=268) The Chance Meeting and the Asia Trip
- [11:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=692) Bootstrapping the First Guidebook in Sydney
- [24:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=1460) Scaling with the India Guide and Family
- [28:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=1685) The 9/11 Crisis and Selling the Company
- [36:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-08-lonely-planet-maureen-tony-wheeler#t=2180) Postscript: Michael Mendicino and Bottle Flip

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up, established companies

## Mentioned

- Lonely Planet (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- Wow in the World (product)
- BBC Worldwide (company)
- Bottle Flip (product)
- Shark Tank (product)
- Mad Dogs and Englishmen (product)
- Joe Cocker (other)
- Leon Russell (other)

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- [#004 - How one green company could beat the odds with a magical pencil and double each year, with Michael Stausholm of Sproutworld, Denmark](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2016-12-14-004-how-one-green-company-could-beat-the-odds-with-a-magical-pencil-and-double-e) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [Against All Odds: Overcoming Huge Setbacks to Sell 5 Million Worldwide](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-05-15-against-all-odds-overcoming-huge-setbacks-to-sell-5-million-worldwide) (It's Only a Prototype)
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- [Founder Feature: Zoe Levin of Bim Bam Boo](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-03-21-founder-feature-zoe-levin-of-bim-bam-boo) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

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