How I Built This

How I Built This is the podcast/show context for Justin’s Nut Butter: Justin Gold. He Was Waiting Tables, Then…He Reinvented Peanut Butter., Advice Line with Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation, e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant, Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products, Advice Line with Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics, Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire, Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar, Shopify: Tobias Lütke. How a snowboarder built a $150 billion business (2019), Advice Line with Tim Ferriss (August 2025), UGG: Brian Smith. How an epiphany, surfers, and $500 launched an iconic sheepskin footwear company., STARR Restaurants: Stephen Starr. How a Non-Foodie Built Thriving Restaurants on Gut Instinct, and Catalina Crunch: Krishna Kaliannan. From Homemade Keto Cocoa Puffs to Breakfast Aisle Breakthrough. In the Justin’s Nut Butter episode, Guy Raz interviews Justin Gold about the founding, growth, sale, and later ownership return of Justin’s Nut Butter. In the Jeffrey Hollender Advice Line episode, Guy and Jeffrey Hollender advise founders from 25 & Pine, Red Truck Orchards, and Petaluma on mission-driven consumer products, customer education, trial, and growth pace. In the e.l.f. episode, Guy interviews Joey Shamah about building e.l.f. Cosmetics through low-price beauty, media attention, retail validation, and private-equity transition. In the Susan Griffin-Black Advice Line episode, Guy and Susan Griffin-Black advise Yobi, Culture Wine Company, and Cane Dog Coffee on relationship-led, locally focused channel growth. In the Shazi Visram Advice Line episode, Guy and Shazi Visram advise Freit Barefoot, Sprinkle Bites, and Plantamica on category education, proof reuse, AI discovery, private-label risk, and retail validation. In the Build-A-Bear episode, Guy interviews Maxine Clark about building Build-A-Bear through Experiential Retail, Customer Co-Creation, mall expansion, concept protection, and CEO succession. In the Christina Tosi Advice Line episode, Guy and Christina Tosi advise The Beau Collective, Cotton Clara, and Vashon Island Coffee Dust on community expansion, repeat customers, gifting, packaging, and daily-use friction. In the Shopify episode, Guy interviews Tobias Lütke about building Shopify from Snowdevil’s internal storefront software into Entrepreneurship Infrastructure. In the Tim Ferriss Advice Line episode, Guy and Tim Ferriss advise Gob, EB&Co, and K Becker on focus, venue partnerships, wholesale testing, made-to-order apparel, and founder health. In the UGG episode, Guy interviews Brian Smith about turning Australian sheepskin boots into UGG through surf-culture credibility, seasonal inventory finance, and the later Deckers acquisition. In the STARR Restaurants episode, Guy interviews Stephen Starr about building STARR Restaurants through nightlife instincts, Restaurant Experience Design, Concept Led Hospitality, and constant restaurant operating risk. In the Catalina Crunch episode, Guy interviews Krishna Kaliannan about turning diabetes, epilepsy, keto eating, home cereal experiments, co-manufacturing limits, and Whole Foods Market retail timing into Catalina Crunch.

In the Ronnen Harary Advice Line episode, Guy and Ronnen Harary advise Yearly Co., Island Bee Company, and Wandering Soul Beer on gold-price exposure, milestone storytelling, family-business scale, B2B versus consumer-channel choice, and boundaries for emotionally personal founder-led brands.

In the Jeni Britton Advice Line episode, Guy and Jeni Britton advise Jesse and Ben’s, Jaju Pierogi, and Ube.co on taste-led frozen-food positioning, hot sampling, category-expanding retail proof, capital choices that protect founder control, and science-backed messaging before PR spend.

Connections

• Guy Raz - interviewer.
• Justin Gold and Justin’s Nut Butter - guest and company covered by the founder-story episode.
• Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation, 25 & Pine, Red Truck Orchards, and Petaluma - Advice Line guest and caller companies.
• Joey Shamah, Scott Vincent Borba, and e.l.f. Cosmetics - beauty CPG founder-story episode.
• Susan Griffin-Black, EO Products, Yobi, Culture Wine Company, and Cane Dog Coffee - Advice Line guest, company context, and caller companies.
• Shazi Visram, Happy Family Organics, Healthy Baby, Freit Barefoot, Sprinkle Bites, and Plantamica - Advice Line guest, company context, and caller companies.
• Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear, Adrienne Weiss, Barney Ebsworth, and Sharon Price John - experiential retail founder-story episode.
• Christina Tosi, Milk Bar, The Beau Collective, Cotton Clara, Vashon Island Coffee Dust, and Christy Clement - Advice Line guest, company context, and caller companies.
• Tobias Lütke, Shopify, Scott Lake, and Snowdevil - e-commerce platform founder-story episode.
• Tim Ferriss, Coyote, Gob, EB&Co, and K Becker - Advice Line guest, side project, and caller companies.
• Brian Smith, UGG, and Deckers - footwear founder-story episode.
• Stephen Starr, STARR Restaurants, The Continental, and Budokan - restaurant and hospitality founder-story episode.
• Ronnen Harary, Spin Master, PAW Patrol, Yearly Co., Island Bee Company, and Wandering Soul Beer - Advice Line guest, company context, franchise context, and caller companies.
• Krishna Kaliannan, Catalina Crunch, Escape My Bubble, and Doug Behrens - low-sugar cereal founder-story episode.
• Jeni Britton, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Flora, Jesse and Ben’s, Jaju Pierogi, and Ube.co - Advice Line guest, company context, and caller companies.
• CPG Distribution, Retail Shelf Placement, Sales Velocity, and Founder Role Transition - themes surfaced by the interview.
• Low Price Brand Perception, Retail Incrementality, Direct To Consumer Cash Flow, and Accidental Virality - themes surfaced by the e.l.f. episode.
• Purpose Driven Business, Mission Driven Customer Education, Relationship-Led Growth, Local Market Proof, and Sustainable Growth Pace - themes surfaced by the Advice Line format.
• Proof Point Reuse, Private Label Brand Risk, AI Discovery SEO, and Fast Product Validation - additional Advice Line themes from the Shazi Visram episode.
• Experiential Retail, Customer Co-Creation, Mall Based Retail Expansion, Retail Concept Protection, and Founder Succession - themes surfaced by the Build-A-Bear episode.
• Gift-To-Loyal-Buyer Loop, Pre-Product Selling, and Founder Role Transition - themes surfaced by the Christina Tosi Advice Line episode.
• Internal Tool Productization, Entrepreneurship Infrastructure, Product Led Willingness To Pay, and Startup Governance - themes surfaced by the Shopify episode.
• Channel Focus Experiments, Made-To-Order Commerce, and Founder Identity Diversification - themes surfaced by the Tim Ferriss Advice Line episode.
• Subculture Led Marketing, Seasonal Inventory Financing, and Consumer Brand Moat - themes surfaced by the UGG episode.
• Restaurant Experience Design, Concept Led Hospitality, and Restaurant Operational Fragility - themes surfaced by the STARR Restaurants episode.
• Commodity Price Exposure, Story Led Consumer Branding, Family Business Scaling, and Founder Work Boundaries - themes surfaced by the Ronnen Harary Advice Line episode.
• Dietary Constraint Product Insight, CPG Manufacturing Scale-Up, and Packaging As Product Experience - themes surfaced by the Catalina Crunch episode.
• Repeatable Customer Language, Retail Incrementality, In-Store Demos, and Startup Governance - themes surfaced by the Jeni Britton Advice Line episode.