# The Knot: Carley Roney & David Liu (2018)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2019-10-07
- Length: 55m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018

## Summary

Carley Roney and David Liu, founders of The Knot, explain how their disastrous DIY wedding inspired them to build a wedding planning platform for non-traditional couples. They detail their early struggles to secure funding from AOL, the pivot to an online gift registry, and surviving the dot-com crash by maintaining revenue growth while their stock price plummeted. The episode also covers their expansion into lifestyle brands like The Nest and The Bump, and includes a brief segment on Tyson Walters, who created the Shed Defender dog suit to manage his St. Bernard's shedding.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=0) Introduction: Carley Roney & David Liu
- [7:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=443) The Disaster Wedding That Sparked the Idea
- [20:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=1249) Pitching AOL and Securing Initial Funding
- [25:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=1504) Building the Community and First Revenue
- [31:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=1900) Launching the Online Gift Registry
- [36:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=2209) Surviving the Dot-Com Crash and Delisting
- [43:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=2606) Expanding Beyond Weddings: The Nest and The Bump
- [51:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018#t=3094) Postscript: Tyson Walters and the Shed Defender

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- The Knot (company)
- AOL (company)
- Ted Leonsis (other)
- The Nest (product)
- The Bump (product)
- Shed Defender (product)
- Tyson Walters (other)
- Harley (other)
- Shark Tank (other)
- Nicole Miller (other)
- Bloomingdale (company)
- Wedding Channel (company)
- XO Group (company)
- The Knot Worldwide (company)
- How He Asked (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 9 - Rusty Meadows (10/21)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-11-05-afterschool-podcast-episode-9-rusty-meadows-10-21) (Core77 Podcast)
- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-08-19-afterschool-podcast-episode-1-rich-brilliant-willing) (Core77 Podcast)
- [007: CNC Knitted Scarves & $100K Kickstarter Success, Fabienne Serrière of Knit Yak](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-05-03-007-cnc-knitted-scarves-100k-kickstarter-success-fabienne-serriere-of-knit-yak) (Product Startup)
- [Founder Feature: Gabriella Labi and Tonya Reznikovich of Gato Dates](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-04-03-founder-feature-gabriella-labi-and-tonya-reznikovich-of-gato-dates) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#179 - Bootstrap Heroes: Hazard's Hop Water, SWAIR, Gourmend Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-01-21-179-bootstrap-heroes-hazards-hop-water-swair-gourmend-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-10-07-the-knot-carley-roney-david-liu-2018. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.