Tyler Brooks
How I Built This is an American podcast hosted by NPR journalist Guy Raz that explores the journeys of innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists and their stories of building successful brands and businesses. The podcast, which began in 2016, has featured interviews with well-known entrepreneurs such as Isaac Larian, the founder of MGA Entertainment, and Tim Leatherman, the creator of the multi-tool bearing his name. It has also highlighted stories like that of Mei Xu, who emigrated from China and built the multi-million dollar candle company Chesapeake Bay Candle. With its engaging style, the podcast delves into the raw, personal, and surprising paths to success, offering a masterclass in innovation, creativity, and leadership.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | How I Built This |
| Host | Guy Raz |
| Format | Podcast |
| Theme | Stories of innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists |
| Release schedule | Mondays and Thursdays |
| Availability | Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms |
| Notable guests | Tim Leatherman, Tristan Walker, Ronnen Harary, Mei Xu, Isaac Larian |
| Notable episodes | Tim Leatherman, Tristan Walker, Maverick Carter and LeBron James |
| Awards and nominations | 13 podcast industry award nominations, including 4 wins |
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What You'll Learn
How Mei Xu started Chesapeake Bay Candle
Twenty-five years ago, Mei Xu emigrated from China to the United States. She loved going to Bloomingdale's to look at their housewares. This inspired her to start making candles in her basement with Campbell's Soup cans. This experiment eventually led to the multi-million dollar company Chesapeake Bay Candle.
Xu's interest in home goods began when she first moved to the U.S. She was fascinated by the variety of products available, particularly at Bloomingdale's. She started making candles as a hobby, experimenting with different waxes and fragrances in her basement. She would give her creations to friends and family as gifts, and their positive feedback encouraged her to consider turning her hobby into a business.
At the time, the candle market was dominated by plain, utilitarian designs. Xu wanted to create something different—candles that were not only fragrant but also aesthetically pleasing and elegant. She wanted to elevate the everyday candle into something special.
With this vision in mind, Xu began to develop her hobby into a business. She invested in better equipment and ingredients, and perfected her candle-making technique. She also started to build a network of suppliers and retailers. It was a challenging process, but Xu was determined to succeed. She persevered, and her hard work paid off.
Today, Chesapeake Bay Candle is a multi-million dollar company, selling a wide range of candles and home fragrance products. The company has stayed true to Xu's original vision, offering elegant, fragrant candles that elevate the everyday. The brand has become synonymous with quality and style, and Xu's story is an inspiring example of entrepreneurship and innovation.
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Tristan Walker's Bevel and Walker & Company
Tristan Walker's first experience with shaving was a disaster. He woke up the next morning with razor bumps all over his face and decided he would never shave again. However, this experience led him to discover that many men of colour shared his frustration with the lack of shaving products for coarse or curly hair.
Fifteen years later, after numerous meetings with doubtful investors, Walker launched Bevel, a subscription shaving system built around a single-blade razor. Bevel was geared towards men of colour and gained success through its subscription model, offering convenience and a full shaving system for ideal results. The company attracted investment from celebrities such as rapper Nas and venture capital firms like Google Ventures, with its products being sold in Target stores.
Over time, Walker's brand, Walker & Company, expanded to include 36 hair and beauty products used by millions of men and women across the U.S. In 2018, Walker & Company was acquired by Proctor & Gamble, and Tristan became P&G's first black CEO.
Tristan Walker has also been active in the tech industry, with stints at Twitter, Foursquare, and Andreessen Horowitz. He has also co-founded and chaired Code 2040, a nonprofit helping Black and Latino students find jobs at major tech companies.
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Tim Leatherman's multi-tool invention
Tim Leatherman, the 70-year-old inventor of the Pocket Survival Tool, created his namesake multi-tool nearly 40 years ago. The idea for the tool was born out of a 1975 trip across Europe and Asia with his wife, Chau, where he wished for a multi-tool with a pair of full-strength pliers, something that no Swiss Army knife included at the time. In Tehran, he sketched out a design that would eventually become his breakthrough product: a foldable pair of pliers with several other tools tucked into the handles.
Back in the US, Leatherman scavenged metal from old appliances and crafted a prototype in his brother-in-law's garage. However, he faced rejection from knife and tool companies, who felt that the product did not fit into their existing categories. Leatherman persevered and was eventually able to convince mail-order catalogs to sell his tool. Within a decade, he went from selling a single knife to selling a million every year.
Today, Leatherman's company is worth over $100 million, and his last name has become synonymous with the multi-tool. The company produces more than 25 items, including knives, accessories, a wearable watch with 20 tools, and shears called the Raptor. The multi-tool has also been redesigned multiple times, with the latest version debuting in April, featuring the classic folding design and incorporating the tools on the outside of the folded-up unit.
Leatherman's story and his impact on the industry are so significant that he was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2007. The Leatherman Tool Group also manufactures a line of multi-tools for military and law enforcement personnel, showcasing the versatility and adaptability of his invention.
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Maverick Carter and LeBron James' SpringHill Company
Maverick Carter and LeBron James were just two kids from Akron, Ohio who loved playing basketball. Over the past two decades, their friendship and ambitions have grown stronger as they have defied assumptions of what athlete-driven business ventures can be. They built one of the biggest athlete-driven business empires in the world, with Carter as the CEO of SpringHill Company.
The SpringHill Company, an entertainment and development brand recently valued at $725 million, was formed after raising $100 million. It is described as a media company aiming to give a voice to creators and consumers who have been ignored or underserved. The company is named after the Akron apartment complex where James lived in the sixth grade.
Carter and James' business ventures include marketing, branding, and content creation. They own a part of the Boston Red Sox and have produced shows like "The Shop," an HBO talk show featuring NBA stars and celebrities. SpringHill recently secured funding from investors like Nike and Epic Games.
Carter's journey began when he interned at Nike's basketball sports marketing department after playing college basketball. He then co-founded LRMR Ventures with James, which included companies like SpringHill Entertainment and Uninterrupted. Carter has been instrumental in negotiating endorsement deals and partnerships for James, including a $1 billion Nike deal and partnerships with Cannondale and Beats Electronics.
The pair's success is a testament to their friendship and their ability to challenge the status quo, stay true to themselves, and defy assumptions about athlete-driven businesses.
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Ronnen Harary's Spin Master toy company
Ronnen Harary built a 4 billion dollar toy company, Spin Master, without relying on market research or focus groups. Instead, he trusted his intuition and believed in the "ah-hah" moment that comes from thinking like a 7-year-old. Over a 25-year period, he and his partners launched numerous successful toys and entertainment products, including Air Hogs, Bakugan, and the incredibly popular PAW Patrol franchise. Spin Master's journey began in the mid-1990s when Ronnen and his friend Anton Rabie started selling the Earth Buddy, a chia-pet-like novelty gift made of pantyhose, sawdust, and grass seed.
Spin Master has since diversified its product offerings through strategic acquisitions. In 2016, they purchased Swimways Corporation, a water and outdoor sports company, and in 2018, they acquired GUND, a premium plush toy brand. Spin Master also expanded its digital presence by acquiring digital game and mobile app developers Toca Boca and Sago Mini in 2016. To further enhance innovation, Ronnen and Anton established Spin Master Ventures (SMV), which focuses on facilitating growth in the company's three creative centres: Toys, Entertainment, and Digital Games.
Spin Master has received numerous accolades and awards over the years. In 1999, the company's partners were named Canada's Top 40 Under 40, and Spin Master was recognised as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies from 2000 to 2004. In 2010, Fast Company named Spin Master the Most Innovative Consumer Products Company, and in 2014, Walmart named them Toy Supplier of the Year. Spin Master has also been recognised as one of the Growth 500 winners by Canadian Business magazine in 2018 and was included in the "Best Workplaces for Innovators List" by Fast Company in 2022.
Spin Master is committed to giving back and has invested in numerous charitable initiatives. They donate toys to organisations supporting children in need and have contributed to educational programs in over 18 countries. In 2019, Ronnen Harary launched the Toy Invention Program (T.I.P.), which offers students professional toy invention training in collaboration with universities. Spin Master also has a partnership with Futurpreneur Canada, where they support young entrepreneurs through the Spin Master Innovation Fund, providing financing, mentorship, and access to their Toronto head office.
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Frequently asked questions
'How I Built This' is an American podcast about innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists and the stories behind the iconic brands and businesses they built.
The host of 'How I Built This' is Guy Raz, an NPR journalist.
You can listen to 'How I Built This' on the Wondery App or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
