How I Built This

Recent Episodes

1. Advice Line with Michelle Wahler of Beyond Yoga

   Sep 17, 2026

   Michelle Wahler, co-founder and former CEO of Beyond Yoga (acquired by Levi's in 2021 for $400M), returns to the Advice Line to help early-stage founders solve business challenges. She discusses her post-exit work as an investor and mentor through Quince Hill, and advises three founders: Carrie on converting interest into bookings for adult study abroad programs, Grace on rebuilding relationships with interior designers after a rocky launch, and Angel on translating emotional product appeal into online sales for her self-care soap kits.

2. Thrive Causemetics: Karissa Bodnar. How a Beauty Business Made Millions for a Mission

   Sep 14, 2026

   Karissa Bodnar founded Thrive Causemetics, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand with an integrated giving-back mission, after the death of her close friend from cancer inspired her to leave her product development role at L'Oréal. Starting with self-formulated false lashes designed for cancer patients who had lost their natural lashes, she bootstrapped the company with her own savings while working full-time elsewhere, eventually achieving profitability and $30M+ in revenue without external funding. The brand grew through word-of-mouth and a viral moment of Bodnar teaching makeup to domestic violence survivors, and remains privately held with a lean team of ~70 employees.

3. Advice Line with Kip Tindell of The Container Store

   Sep 10, 2026

   Kip Tindell, co-founder of The Container Store, returns to the Advice Line to discuss retail's evolution, the company's recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Bed Bath & Beyond, and his philosophy on sustainable growth. He fields calls from three early-stage founders: Juliette Bruce (Coolawind, a cooling device for children), David Hyam (Hazel Grove Customs, personalized engraved gifts), and Caitlin Kale (Kaomi Sleep, bordered fitted sheets), offering counsel on viral marketing, wholesale channel growth, and building lasting brands from viral products.

4. Bogg Bag: Kim Vaccarella. The $100 Million Business She Almost Abandoned

   Sep 7, 2026

   Kim Vaccarella, founder and CEO of Bogg Bag, discusses building a $100+ million beach bag business from scratch. Starting from a high school dropout working as a waitress and bartender in New Jersey, Kim was inspired by Crocs material to design a durable, washable beach bag. After an initial manufacturing disaster nearly killed the company in 2011, she abandoned the business—until existing customers demanded more. She borrowed $120,000, found a new manufacturer, and bootstrapped Bogg Bag for seven years while keeping her full-time job, eventually turning down a nine-figure acquisition offer to maintain control and build it into what she envisions as a billion-dollar legacy brand.

5. Advice Line with Ben Goodwin of Olipop

   Sep 3, 2026

   Ben Goodwin, co-founder of Olipop (a pre-biotic soda brand valued at over $2 billion), returns to advise three early-stage consumer food founders. He discusses Olipop's recent rebrand and national ad campaign, then provides tactical guidance to Darren Alpert (Gheelish, a ghee-based snack brand), Sarah Godfrey (Sarah's Gluten Free Goods, fresh gluten-free baked goods), and John Groner (Bexley's Natural Foods, a local food co-op facing post-COVID sales decline).

6. Late July Snacks: Nicole Bernard Dawes. Crackers and Cookies were Failing… Tortilla Chips Saved Them

   Aug 31, 2026

   Nicole Bernard Dawes, founder of Late July Snacks and Nixie Beverage Company, discusses her journey building two organic snack and beverage brands. Growing up between her father's Cape Cod Potato Chips factory and her mother's health food store, Nicole launched Late July in 2003 with organic crackers, but the business nearly failed until a pivotal pivot to tortilla chips saved the company. She later sold Late July to Campbell's and founded Nixie, an organic sparkling water and soda brand, applying lessons learned from building multiple businesses through crisis and growth.

7. Advice Line with Daymond John of FUBU

   Aug 27, 2026

   Daymond John, founder of FUBU and judge on Shark Tank, joins the Advice Line to help early-stage founders solve business challenges. The episode features three founder callers: Christopher Navarro from Sabor a Mexico seeking guidance on scaling his family salsa brand beyond farmers markets; Darcy from Raised Nutrition navigating whether to maintain his jiu-jitsu brand positioning as his protein bars attract a broader health-conscious audience; and Seema Sangavi of Cooks Who Feed exploring B2B sales strategies for her ethical, handcrafted kitchen linen company. Guy Raz and Daymond discuss what makes compelling founder pitches, the attributes of successful entrepreneurs, and the 10-year history of How I Built This as a platform for entrepreneurial storytelling.

8. YETI: Roy and Ryan Seiders. How Two Brothers Turned a $400 Cooler Into a $2 Billion Brand

   Aug 24, 2026

   Roy and Ryan Seiders, brothers and co-founders of YETI, discuss how they built a $2 billion cooler brand from scratch. Starting with frustrations about durability in existing coolers while outfitting fishing boats, they bootstrapped YETI by improving upon imported roto-molded designs. The brothers survived manufacturing crises, rejected venture capital for years, and unexpectedly found mass-market success through an affordable $30 insulated drinkware line that transformed the brand from a niche outdoor product into a lifestyle status symbol.

9. Advice Line with Carlton Calvin of Razor

   Aug 20, 2026

   Carlton Calvin, founder and CEO of Razor USA, returns to the Advice Line to mentor three early-stage founders. Sean Barossa seeks guidance on scaling his party game Youlogy from 1,000 units sold; Shireen Tippet asks how to transition her stationery business from Etsy to direct-to-consumer channels; and Mark Ganner discusses refocusing his craft spirits brand around premium espresso and chocolate martinis. Carlton draws on his decades of toy industry experience and trend-spotting expertise to advise each caller on product-market fit, distribution strategy, and brand focus.

10. Bobbie: Laura Modi. How a Baby Formula Startup Took Market Share From Two Industry Giants

    Aug 17, 2026

    Laura Modi left her role at Airbnb to build Bobbie, an infant formula startup challenging the duopoly of Enfamil and Similac. After struggling with breastfeeding and discovering that U.S. infant formula standards hadn't been updated since the 1980s, Modi spent nearly $200,000 of her own savings to develop a European-quality formula. Despite early setbacks including an FDA shutdown and manufacturing constraints, Bobbie has grown to over $100 million in annual revenue and captured nearly 4% of the U.S. infant formula market in just over five years.