Hardware Podcasts

VICE: Suroosh Alvi (2017)

How I Built This · 4 Sept 2017 · 38m

What this episode covers

Suroosh Alvi, co-founder of Vice Media, recounts his journey from a heroin addiction and rehab in Montreal to launching the magazine *Voice of Montreal* with friends Gavin McInnes and Shane Smith. After being forced to rename the publication to *Vice* due to trademark issues, the trio bootstrapped the company, eventually securing an investment from Richard Solwinsky that allowed them to expand into fashion and e-commerce before the dot-com bubble burst. Alvi details how they bought back the company, pivoted to video journalism with MTV, and grew Vice into a multi-billion dollar media empire. In a postscript, Kent Sheridan of Voila Coffee discusses overcoming freeze-drying production failures to deliver high-quality instant coffee to Kickstarter backers.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Vice Media, Voila Coffee, MTV, CNN, Stumptown Coffee
Products
Voice of Montreal
Also
Kent Sheridan, Gavin McInnes, Shane Smith, Richard Solwinsky

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