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How I Built This with Guy Raz

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How I Built This with Guy Raz

By: Guy Raz | Wondery
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Guy Raz interviews the world’s best-known entrepreneurs to learn how they built their iconic brands. In each episode, founders reveal deep, intimate moments of doubt and failure, and share insights on their eventual success. How I Built This is a master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership and how to navigate challenges of all kinds.

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©2026 Guy Raz | Wondery (P)2026 Guy Raz | Wondery Economics
Episodes
  • diapers.com: Marc Lore. The ecommerce visionary who lost to Amazon but still made billions (2021)

    diapers.com: Marc Lore. The ecommerce visionary who lost to Amazon but still made billions (2021)
    Mar 23 2026
    Back in the early days of ecommerce, Marc Lore took a classic retail loss leader–diapers– and turned it into a DTC giant– Diapers.com. It did so well that it attracted the attention of Amazon, which slashed prices on its own diapers until Marc was forced to sell them his business. It was not a happy moment, but it was a galvanizing one: Marc went on to launch another ecommerce company, jet.com. Within a year, it was bought by Walmart in a deal valued at $3.3 billion. This is a story about a devastating corporate surrender, a multi-million dollar comeback, and a founder with a relentless ability to re-invent himself. Timestamps: 10:04 – Marc’s “boost-your-grades” bet with his college coach 14:21 – A job on Wall Street and a Master Plan: 8 figures by age 48 16:28 – How a lunchtime lark turned into a spot on the U.S. Bobsled Team 27:44 – How random Google searches led Marc to diapers 35:29 – Guerilla tactic: Buying all of P&G’s diapers to get their attention 40:07 – The simple packaging hack that boosted sales 45:53 – Building a retail empire (and getting on Amazon’s radar) 47:52 – Amazon’s scorched earth strategy forces Marc to sell 1:00:11 – Raising $750M to take on Jeff Bezos 1:03:02 – A brand new business and a $3.3 billion exit: Walmart’s record-breaking deal This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
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  • Advice Line with Marcia Kilgore of Beauty Pie (June 2025)

    Advice Line with Marcia Kilgore of Beauty Pie (June 2025)
    Mar 19 2026
    Serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore — founder of brands like Beauty Pie and Soap & Glory — joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three early-stage founders managing uncertainty and risk. Today, we meet Victor in Fort Worth, the co-founder of a Mexican-style sweets and treats venture who wonders if he should focus on expanding brick-and-mortar operations, retail presence, or both. Then Lydia in Seattle, a former disease researcher who is ready to grow her small batch botanical skincare line, but needs help overcoming her fear of failure to get to the next step. And Jack in San Francisco, the founder of a custom bike bag and accessories brand who’s trying to figure out how to maintain customer excitement throughout the entire purchasing process so as not to lose momentum. Thank you to the founders of Sol Dias, Clērstory, and Wompy Bikes for being part of our show. And stick around to hear a brief update on all three callers at the end! If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to Marcia Kilgore’s original How I Built This episode as told by Marcia on the show in 2018. This episode was produced by Carla Esteves with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo. You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com.
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    40 mins
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  • Vital Farms: Matt O’Hayer. How a serial entrepreneur re-branded the egg

    Vital Farms: Matt O’Hayer. How a serial entrepreneur re-branded the egg
    Mar 16 2026
    For decades, a dozen eggs was just… a dozen eggs. No story. No real branding. No reason to care who produced them. Then Matt O’Hayer came along and asked a question almost nobody in America was asking: what if store-bought eggs could be different? What if they tasted better, looked better, and came from hens raised in a much more humane way? The business he launched– with 20 hens and some used trailers– is now the number-one pasture-raised egg producer in the US, with a network of 600 farms, and a projected revenue of nearly $1B this year. When he started Vital Farms, Matt was in his 50s, living in an RV on the farm, and trying to convince people to pay premium prices for eggs. Before that, his passion for business drove him to pursue an astonishing range of ideas: carpet-cleaning, a barter-exchange franchise, a stint as a charter-boat captain and broker. One of his businesses left him nearly broke after 9-11, and there were many other hard lessons along the way. This is a story about metabolizing failure into success, and turning one of the most overlooked shelves in the grocery store… into a billion dollar opportunity. What you’ll learn: The hard lessons Matt learned from 3 (+) decades of founding businessesHow 9/11 changed his lifeWhat 4 years as a boat captain taught him about leading–and servingHow “conscious capitalism” became the blueprint for Vital FarmsWhy pasture-raised eggs were a branding opportunity hiding in plain sightHow Whole Foods became an early and critical partnerWhy great products grow faster when customers do your work for you Timestamps: 05:23 – “I didn’t have 300 dollars.” Matt starts a carpet-cleaning company with no real plan09:06 – The barter business that taught Matt how to scale complex ideas15:33 – Building a travel company, taking it public, and growing it to roughly $50 million in sales20:32 – The morning of 9/11: Matt watches his business collapse in real time23:34 – Starting over, Matt becomes a charter boat captain –plus chef, teacher, and toilet-fixer28:51 – The blog essay that transformed how Matt thought about business31:54 – The lightbulb conversation: pasture-raised eggs could become a real company36:23 – Starting the farm in Austin: “I bought a thousand baby chicks.” 39:18 – The first eggs taste great, but nobody wants to pay for them45:13 – Finally: The first Whole Foods pallet 46:12 – A label mistake gets Vital Farms pulled from shelves56:59 – How the egg carton became one of Vital Farms’ most powerful branding tools1:02:14 – Why humane eggs cost more—and why Matt believes they should This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Casey Herman. —----------------- Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com
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    1 hr and 8 mins
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