How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs

by Guy Raz

Overview

WALL STREET JOURNAL #1 Bestselling Business Book

Based on the highly acclaimed NPR podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, this book offers priceless insights and inspiration from the world’s top entrepreneurs on how to start, launch, and build a successful venture.

Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips).
 
Award-winning interviewer and podcast creator Guy Raz has interviewed more than 350 highly successful entrepreneurs to uncover amazing true stories like these. In How I Built This, he shares tips for every entrepreneur’s journey: from the early days of formulating your idea, to raising money and recruiting employees, to fending off competitors, to finally paying yourself a real salary. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business or wondered how trailblazing entrepreneurs made their own dreams a reality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358216766
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	648,235
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

GUY RAZ—author of the New York Times bestseller How I Built This and coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller The How and Wow of the Human Body and Two Whats?! and a Wow! Think & Tinker Playbook—has been called “one of the most popular podcasters in history” by the New York Times. He is the co-creator and cohost of Wow in the World and Two Whats?! and a Wow! and is the host and creator of NPR’s How I Built This podcast and Wisdom from the Top on Luminary. Previously, Guy cocreated and hosted NPR’s TED Radio Hour and The Rewind on Spotify. He’s been on the radio for more than two decades and has served as a foreign and war correspondent and as a host of All Things Considered. Guy is the father of two boys and lives in the Bay Area where he can often be seen riding his bike in red pants.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction xiii

Part I The Call

1 Be Open to Ideas 3

2 Is It Dangerous or Just Scary? 13

3 Leave Your Safety Zone … but Do It Safely 23

4 Do Your Research 32

5 Find Your Co-founder 42

6 Fund the Business, Part 1: Bootstrapping 51

7 Get Your Story Straight 63

8 Fund the Business, Part 2: Other People's Money 74

9 Iterate, Iterate, Iterate 84

Part II The Test(s)

10 Go In Through the Side Door 97

11 It's All About Location 105

12 Get Attention, Part 1: Building Buzz 115

13 Get Attention, Part 2: Engineering Word of Mouth 126

14 Survive the Crucible 137

15 Fund the Business, Part 3: Professional Money 147

16 Protect What You've Built 159

17 When Catastrophe Strikes 169

18 The Art of the Pivot 180

Part III The Destination

19 It Can't Be All About the Money 193

20 Build a Culture, Not a Cult 203

21 Think Small to Get Big 214

22 Manage Partnership Tensions 222

23 Know Thyself 232

24 When to Sell and When to Stay 243

25 Be Kind 253

26 What You Do with Your Luck 265

Afterword 273

Acknowledgments 276

Notes 279

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

05/25/2020

NPR host Raz bundles insights from over 200 entrepreneurs into a breezy if not fully convincing compendium of advice. Drawing on interviews with successful businesspeople conducted for his podcast (from which this book gets its name), Raz distills lessons for aspiring founders, including tips on how to nurture an idea and win funding, and dispels some myths. For instance, despite the widespread fascination with lone-wolf geniuses, Raz finds that partnerships are the rule, not the exception, as demonstrated by such success stories as luggage company Away, the beauty product company Carol’s Daughter, or Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Unfortunately, apparent contradictions abound. Among them, Raz finds that Shopify’s founder defied advice by resisting Silicon Valley’s allure and instead building his e-commerce platform from offices in Ottawa; however, Stitch Fix’s founder did the opposite, moving from Boston to California to be near the engineers that could help her improve the company’s technology. Perhaps acknowledging the futility of understanding what precisely separates a successful business from the vast majority of failure, Raz titles the final chapter “What You Do with Your Luck.” Those with an entrepreneurial bent will be entertained by the shoptalk, but those hoping for concrete advice may have to look elsewhere. Agent: Byrd Leavell, United Talent. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

“Behind every great entrepreneur is a great story, and no one is better at identifying and telling that story than Guy Raz. After spending countless hours inside the heads of the world’s best founders, he’s written the mother of all entrepreneurship memoirs. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to start a business, grow a business, or be inspired by those who do.” - Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

“If you have dreams and ambition, and worries and woes—and you wonder how to take all of that and build something great, this book is for you. Guy Raz is supremely himself in this guide for aspiring entrepreneurs: brilliantly perceptive, incessantly curious, infectiously energetic and above all, a master storyteller.” - Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and founder and CEO of Character Lab

“Truly remarkable stories…about truly remarkable people. Imagine compiling thousands of hours of Guy's greatest hits from How I Built This into one how-to manual for starting a business. Well this is IT. Guy Raz captures their stories on the page to incredible effect.” - Jennifer Hyman, CEO and founder of Rent the Runway

“This book is all about inspiration – told with blood, sweat, and tears. You’ll come away refreshed. And ready to hit the ground running.” - Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, 'shark' on Shark Tank, and proprietor of the Dallas Mavericks

“Now more than ever we need visionaries leading the entrepreneurial charge. Through stories of passion, audacity and courage, Guy weaves together a shared business-building experience that’s both inspiring and real.” - Lara Merriken, founder of LÄRABAR

"Guy Raz has an extraordinary talent for not only unearthing the most powerful ideas in any story, but also translating those ideas into wisdom accessible for everyone." – Chris Anderson, head of TED

“A love letter to the idea of possibility. That’s exactly what this book feels like to me. It grabs you immediately, which is the beauty of Guy. His superpower is creating a conversation where people willingly illuminate both their brilliance and their private battles. This book explores all the discrete nooks and crannies of an entrepreneur’s voyage through success and failure.” – Alli Webb, Drybar founder 

“If only this book would have come out years ago, building my business would have been so much simpler. At least we have it now!” - Simon Sinek, optimist and New York Times bestselling author of Start with Why and The Infinite Game

“The harsh truth is that the great majority of people who chase their start-up dreams fail. But there’s so much to be learned from their stories of struggle, survival, and the few who manage to succeed! If you’re determined to reach for your dream, read this book.” -Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and ‘shark' on Shark Tank

“What’s so remarkable about Guy’s book is not so much that all these individuals saw their dreams come true, but that as their stories of overcoming frustrations and hurdles unfold, you end up cheering for them to succeed. That’s the magic of Guy Raz.” -Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com

“If you enjoy the How I Built This podcast, you’ll love this book.  You'll identify with the ups, downs, and pivots that make up the proverbial roller coaster ride of entrepreneurs.” – Stacy Madison, founder of Stacy’s Pita Chips and BeBOLD Bars

“Guy is clearly a person who is tapped into this community of entrepreneurs and shares stories of relevance to our community. Now, more than ever, entrepreneurs and small businesses need a curator of stories and Guy is that ‘guy.’” - Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter

“These stories of founders and their companies are told with the same energy and openness it takes to be an entrepreneur. They're about raising money, taking chances, failing, succeeding, and forging a culture of caring for people while doing it. From more recent upstarts to brands that have been around for decades, each one shows how to build a company that will last for generations to come through informed decisions fueled by true passion.” - Eric Ries, CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange and author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way

“I love Guy Raz’s How I Built This podcast and the book was just as great. There’s probably nobody else who could tell these inspiring stories as well as Guy. From page one I was fully invested.” – Logic 


"This was a delightful read. As someone who's had the privilege of being on Guy Raz's podcast, I've experienced firsthand his knack for capturing entrepreneurs' journeys and quickly getting to the core of our stories. This book was no exception. Career trajectories rarely follow a straight line—they're a zig zag of unexpected opportunities, unplanned stops and pivots. Guy captures it all perfectly while offering relatable, genuinely helpful advice along the way. It's so inspiring it almost makes me want to start another business." – Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO, M.M.LaFleur

“If you’ve ever dreamed of starting a business, How I Built This is a must-read.” – Michael Dubin, co-founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club

“I've long been a fan of Guy's podcast (even before he interviewed me) because he gets into the human stories behind the CEOs who build these business empires. Now, more than ever, we need dreamers and builders - this book is full of them and their stories of inspiration.”  - Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Initialized

"Guy Raz has seen inside the brains of more founders and hyper-growth entrepreneurs than anyone I've ever met! What an incredible buffet of how-to-build-it-right-wisdom. Thank you, Guy!" -Brian Scudamore, founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and O2E Brands
“Guy interviews innovators but he is also one himself. He upended the traditional ‘business’ podcast by telling the less told story before the story, all while creating something engaging and digestible for his listeners. The subtlety of these insights demonstrates his thoughtfulness and creativity but also the idea that big ideas are often versions of what we know coupled with a whole lot of hard work rather than bolts of lightning. I can't think of a better placed person to tell us if starting and growing a company is really about hard work or good luck!” - Tim Brown, co-founder and co-CEO of Allbirds

“Anyone who reads How I Built This will have an incredible advantage. Guy provides the compass, the map and the headlamp you need to navigate the wilderness of entrepreneurship.” - Joe Gebbia, entrepreneur and co-founder of Airbnb

“This book, like the podcast that spawned it, makes entrepreneurship broadly accessible by showing how the quest to innovate is one of humanity’s most defining qualities. At a time when our need for breakthrough ideas is stronger than ever, How I Built This is an indispensable guide for anyone eager to challenge the status quo in pursuit of some new and better version of the world. Highly recommended.” - Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and co-author of Blitzscaling   

From the Publisher

2020-07-14
The book version of the popular NPR podcast.

As Raz explains it, his titular radio show, which features in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs from across the business landscape, is less a how-to-succeed-in-business program than a storytelling hour. Lectures have their place, but a good story will keep listeners tuned in. Featuring his probing yet welcoming narrative voice, Raz presents stories that serve as solid lessons in entrepreneurship. While the syntheses of the lessons are useful, it is the learning curve—the story-by-story building of business acumen—that imparts the most wisdom. The comments from the entrepreneurs are consistently candid and practical. For example, begin with a concrete, unique idea that lies “at the intersection of personal passion and problem solving.” From dozens of on-the-ground stories, Raz gathers countless business pearls: Don’t quit your day job; do your homework; find a co-founder since humans thrive when we work together; prioritize the funding of the business, whether through bootstrapping or other people’s money, such as a relative’s or venture capitalist’s. The narrative then moves on to business-building—all the tests that you will have to confront and overcome with a new business—and Raz introduces new characters and continues to follow entrepreneurs we have met in the earlier chapters, thus enabling readers to grasp the path to their success. In the concluding part of the book, the author tackles what he feels most profoundly about: passion and decency. Kindness, generosity, and respect are critical to a long-lasting business (plus a shared purpose and values); without passion—“it’s about finding and fulfilling a deeper purpose”—look forward to a lifetime of disgruntlement. Among the businesses included in the book: Dell Computer Corporation, Boston Beer Company, FUBU, Method cleaning products, Chicken Salad Chick, Allbirds, Stacy’s Pita Chips, and Carol’s Daughters.

Years of business wisdom distilled into an entertaining and useful narrative.

Kirkus Reviews