10 Years of How I Built This: A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention

How I Built This · 5 Oct 2026 · 1h 10m

What this episode covers

Guy Raz and Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, review highlights from ten years of 'How I Built This,' discussing the emotional and financial struggles of founders like Sam Kalagani of Dogfish Head, Eileen Fisher, and Sarah Blakely of Spanx. They explore the distinction between scary and dangerous decisions, the importance of scrappy experimentation in products like Justin's Nut Butters and Liquid Death, and the psychological toll of fundraising rejections faced by founders of Whole Foods and Airbnb. The conversation emphasizes that failure and doubt are integral parts of building physical products, often requiring founders to persist through cash flow crises and technical failures before achieving market success.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: Dogfish Head, Stitch Fix, Squarespace, Stonyfield, Whole Foods, Airbnb, Banana Republic, Chobani, Serena and Lily, Title 9, Bobbi Brown, NVIDIA, Shake Shack, Kinko's, Zoomies, Shopify, Dropbox, Weber
Products: Ring, Instagram, Dyson, Spanx, Liquid Death

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast15 May 2025 · 1h 21m
Ep. 39 - Starting a Hardware Company
Stephen Hawes and Lucian Chapa, founders of Opulo, discuss the realities of starting a hardware company, emphasizing the necessity of accepting failure and overcoming imposter syndrome. They share personal anecdotes about failed projects, such as a 3D scanner and wedding cake toppers, to illustrate that iteration is key. The hosts also detail their strategy for building traction through authentic social media content, specifically YouTube, and the importance of validating product-market fit by engaging directly with early users.
Starting a product company Validation & product-market fit
9 chapters
The Startup CPG Podcast20 Jun 2026 · 48m
Founder + Funder: Fundraising, Founder-Investor Fit, and Building the Next Big Breakfast Brand with Emily Groden of Evergreen and Brian Bernstein of Rich Products Ventures
Emily Groden, Founder and CEO of Evergreen, and Brian Bernstein, Principal at Rich Products Ventures, discuss the journey of building Evergreen from homemade waffles into a nationally distributed frozen breakfast brand. They detail the fundraising process, emphasizing the importance of founder-investor fit, operational alignment, and building relationships long before capital is needed. The conversation covers Evergreen's product expansion from mini waffles to pancakes and protein products, as well as the diligence and strategic value provided by a corporate venture fund.
Fundraising & investors Validation & product-market fit
8 chapters
The Builder Circle13 May 2023 · 11m
The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"
Sera Evcimen, host of The Builder Circle, explains her motivation for launching the podcast after mentoring startups at Techstars Paris and working on technologies like CubeSats and ion thrusters. She outlines the show's format, which includes case studies with founders like Bridget Hunter Jones and expert discussions with industry veterans such as Scott Miller. The episode details the podcast's unique value proposition, including 50-minute episodes with TL;DL summaries and a focus on actionable advice and failure analysis rather than just success stories.
Starting a product company Validation & product-market fit
5 chapters
Core77 Podcast19 Aug 2013 · 55m
Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing
Theo Richardson, Alex Williams, and Charles Brill, co-founders of the Brooklyn design studio Rich Brilliant Willing, discuss their journey from RISD graduates to running a furniture and lighting company. They explain how the 2008 financial crisis pushed them to bypass traditional licensing models and instead design and manufacture their own products, such as the XL Perch and Delta Fabric lamp series, to maintain speed and control. The founders detail their collaborative process, the shift from seasonal trade show launches to a more continuous product release strategy, and the challenges of maintaining their creative partnership while scaling the business.
Starting a product company Industrial & consumer product design
8 chapters
The Startup CPG Podcast25 Jul 2023 · 44m
#100 Toasting to 100 Episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast with Our Favorite Moments
Host Jessi Freitag counts down the top 10 moments from 100 episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast, featuring insights from founders like Seth Goldman of Honest Tea, Alexiou Gibson of The Sea Moss Transformation Factory, and Rosa Li of wildwonder. The episode highlights strategic decisions in fundraising, marketing, and product launches, including Sandra Velasquez’s Shark Tank experience with Nopalera and the collaboration between Partake Foods and Ben & Jerry’s. It emphasizes the importance of resilience, storytelling, and direct outreach in scaling consumer brands.
Crowdfunding & preorders Fundraising & investors
10 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.

10 Years of How I Built This: A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention

What this episode covers

Most relevant to

Topics

Mentioned

Related episodes from other shows

Ep. 39 - Starting a Hardware Company

Founder + Funder: Fundraising, Founder-Investor Fit, and Building the Next Big Breakfast Brand with Emily Groden of Evergreen and Brian Bernstein of Rich Products Ventures

The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"

Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing

#100 Toasting to 100 Episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast with Our Favorite Moments