Can AI uplift entrepreneurs that traditional banks reject? | Mercedes Bidart
Impact entrepreneur Mercedes Bidart explains how informal entrepreneurs across Latin America are highly trusted within their communities yet are excluded from formal banking because they lack conventional financial records. She describes an AI-driven approach that transforms alternative data from phones, telecom records, videos, and social media into financial identities and risk scores, enabling micro-business owners to access fair, tailored credit instead of relying on violent, predatory lenders. Over three years, these models have reached market-level accuracy and helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs gain access to formal loans, illustrating how AI can make finance more inclusive when designed intentionally.
Capitalism (Taylor's Version) (25-minute Podcast Version)
Planet Money hands the episode over to Vox's Today Explained to examine how Taylor Swift and other pop stars use album variants and sales strategies to game music charts and monetize superfans. Music reporter Elias Light explains the mechanics and incentives behind physical and digital variants, while critic Ann Powers unpacks the backlash to Swift's latest album, fans' discomfort with her extreme wealth, and how she uses her music to control her public narrative. The episode situates Swift within broader industry practices and compares her autobiographical approach to Beyoncé's more representative storytelling.
Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard. (Update)
This episode examines the troubled state of Macy's and the broader retail industry through conversations with Macy's CEO Tony Spring, retail veteran and academic Mark Cohen, and author-entrepreneur Jeff Kinney. Spring lays out his Bold New Chapter turnaround plan, including major store closures, real estate monetization, merchandise overhauls, and attempts to translate the marketing power of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade into better in-store experiences. Cohen sharply criticizes Macy's past strategies and questions the viability of the turnaround, while Kinney offers a contrasting example of place-based, community-focused retail through his unprofitable but culturally influential independent bookstore and downtown redevelopment project in Plainville, Massachusetts.
TIP772: How Great Compounders Turn Time Into a Superpower w/ Kyle Grieve
Host Kyle Grieve analyzes the book "The Compounders" and explores why a small group of exceptional businesses can compound capital at high rates for decades. He explains the central importance of maintaining returns on invested capital above the cost of capital, sustaining high reinvestment rates, and leveraging time, while highlighting the roles of decentralization, culture, incentives, and working capital discipline. The episode walks through multiple case studies, including Nvidia, Lifco, Indutrade, Bergman & Beving, AdTech, Constellation Software, Heico, Ametek, and Judges Scientific, to illustrate how great compounders turn time into a superpower.
Advice Line with Bill Creelman of Spindrift
Host Guy Raz and Spindrift founder Bill Creelman co-host an advice line, taking calls from three founders about their growth challenges. They discuss ingredient integrity and defensibility with a fast-growing pickle beer brand, hiring and marketing strategy for a flannel-aloha apparel startup, and focus and simplification for a kombucha company juggling multiple revenue streams. Bill also reflects on his own journey, emphasizing the importance of narrowing focus and solving the biggest problems rather than trying to do everything.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna: Creating Smarter Business with AI and Quantum
Host Malcolm Gladwell interviews IBM CEO and chairman Arvind Krishna in front of a live audience at IBM's New York City office about IBM's role in solving complex business problems through technology. Krishna reflects on his early technical career, his predictive bets on networking and streaming, his strategic decision to acquire Red Hat instead of chasing hyperscale cloud, and his views on how enterprises should pragmatically deploy AI. He also explains why he believes quantum computing is a third, fundamentally different form of computation on par with the semiconductor revolution and outlines a near-term timeline for impactful quantum applications.
Is Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset? (Update)
The episode investigates the hidden economics and logistics of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, focusing on how it is produced, who pays for what, and what value it creates for Macy's, NBC, and New York City. Executive producer Will Koss, NBC executive Jen Neal, city officials, and author Jeff Kinney describe the year‑round production process, brand sponsorships, balloon design and fabrication, helium supply, security, and sanitation. Despite assembling many details, the show concludes that the true costs and financial arrangements around the parade remain largely opaque, and it tees up a second episode on Macy's broader retail challenges.
4 hard truths about capitalism and climate | Steve Howard
Sustainability investor Steve Howard outlines four hard truths about capitalism and climate change, arguing that businesses, financial markets, and policies must be rewired to enable large-scale decarbonization. He explains how companies are structurally resistant to change, how short-term profit focus and unpriced environmental externalities distort markets, and why long, loud, legal climate policies are essential to drive investment into cleaner technologies. Drawing on examples from Temasek, IKEA, Singapore, and emerging climate-tech firms, he shows how better (cleaner, cheaper, higher-performing) solutions can scale quickly and calls on policymakers, asset owners, businesses, and individuals to actively redirect capital toward climate solutions.
Introducing Business History: How Free Whisky, Hot Pants and Low Fares Led to Southwest's Success
Hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith trace the rise of Southwest Airlines from a Texas intrastate startup sketched on a cocktail napkin to one of the most consistently profitable airlines in U.S. history. They explain how regulatory structures, low fares, aggressive legal battles, operational innovations, and a deliberately unglamorous business strategy gave Southwest a durable edge in a notoriously bad industry. The episode then examines how those same strengths later exposed vulnerabilities, culminating in the 737 MAX grounding, a holiday meltdown, activist investor pressure, and strategic changes like adding assigned seating.
TIP769: How Home Depot's Founders Built a $300 Billion Company from the Ground Up w/ Kyle Grieve
Host Kyle Grieve provides a narrative deep dive into the origins and growth of Home Depot, drawing heavily from the founders' book "Built from Scratch". He traces Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank's early careers, their firing from Handy Dan, the creation of the Home Depot concept, the role of key partners like Ken Langone and Pat Farah, and the company's early financing and expansion challenges. The episode then examines Home Depot's competitive strategy, supplier relationships, management philosophy, and long-term performance, extracting lessons for entrepreneurs and investors about culture, pricing, competition, and disciplined growth.
Why Following Your Dreams Isn't Enough
Host Shankar Vedantam first speaks with Stanford professor Hagi Rao about why bold visions and passion often fail without careful attention to operations, using examples like the Fyre Festival, North Korea's unfinished "Hotel of Doom," and the rollout of healthcare.gov. Rao introduces the contrast between "poetry" (inspiring visions) and "plumbing" (execution, routines, and details), and explores how good leaders and organizations cultivate plumbing through practices like field visits, premortems, and empowering unsung "Sherpas." In the second segment, sociologist Rob Willer answers listener questions about bridging political divides, explaining why debate-style arguing backfires, how empathy and correcting misperceptions can reduce partisan animosity, and how structured conversations and role modeling from leaders can support healthier democratic engagement.
Advice Line with Tariq Farid of Edible Arrangements
This advice-line episode features Edible Arrangements founder Tariq Farid joining host Guy Raz to answer real-time questions from three entrepreneurs. Tariq first shares an update on Edible Arrangements, including generational leadership transition, brand reinvention, and navigating the emerging "edibles" space. Callers then seek advice on educating consumers about Filipino banana ketchup, naming a highly sustainable polar expedition company, and scaling a service-focused screen printing business from $3M to $5M in revenue without losing its culture.
The High School Dropout Who Made $2B & Bought an NBA Team
Ryan Smith describes his journey from a 1.9 GPA high school dropout to building Qualtrics from his family basement into a multi‑billion‑dollar company and later becoming an NBA team owner. He recounts being effectively forced out of school, surviving a precarious stint in Seoul as a teen English teacher, founding Qualtrics with his father during a cancer scare, and eventually turning down a $500 million acquisition offer before raising major venture capital and selling the company. He also reflects on focus, long‑term thinking, buying the Utah Jazz, and his personal frameworks for parenting and career decisions.
Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? (Update)
Stephen Dubner revisits the question of whether companies run by co-CEOs perform better than those with a single chief, exploring both supportive evidence and strong skepticism. CEO advisor Mark Feigen and several current and former co-CEOs describe the benefits and pitfalls of shared leadership, while Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld critiques the model as creating role confusion and undermining decisive authority. Computer scientist Lori Williams adds evidence from pair programming, showing how working in pairs can improve quality and satisfaction, raising the broader question of when two leaders might truly be better than one.
Masterclass: How to go from founder to CEO (without imploding)
Sam and Sean discuss how a startup's growth is constrained by the founder's psychology and development as a leader, especially after the brute-force phase ends around a few million in revenue. They contrast abdicating versus properly delegating, share concrete management frameworks (like RACI and feedback methods), and talk about building culture through real, lived values rather than slogans. In the second half, they examine how repeat founders exploit their edge talents by running the same proven playbook in similar industries, highlighting multiple examples of entrepreneurs who "speedrun" the same business model to build multiple large companies.
Nuts.com: Jeff Braverman. From Corner Store to Snacktime Powerhouse
Host Guy Raz interviews Jeff Braverman about how he transformed his family's small Newark Nut Company, founded in 1929, into the large e‑commerce brand Nuts.com. Jeff describes growing up in the store, his early experiments putting the business online, and eventually leaving a lucrative finance job to overhaul operations and focus on direct-to-consumer internet sales. He explains key inflection points, including aggressive use of Google Ads, quirky marketing stunts, a major rebrand to Nuts.com, navigating COVID-era challenges, and eventually transitioning from CEO to chairman while keeping the business family-owned.
Magnolia: Chip & Joanna Gaines. From House Flipping to Household Name
Guy Raz interviews Chip and Joanna Gaines about how they built Magnolia from a small Waco, Texas home goods shop and house-flipping operation into a large lifestyle brand. They trace their journeys from childhood and early scrappy businesses through near-bankruptcy during the housing crisis, the rise of Fixer Upper, and the creation of Magnolia Market at the Silos and their media ventures. They also describe hard decisions like closing Joanna's first shop and ending Fixer Upper, how their faith and partnership guided them, and how they're thinking about the next decade of their lives and business.
How two straight guys bought Grindr and made $2B
The hosts interview two entrepreneurs and operators who led the acquisition of Grindr from its Chinese owner under a forced divestiture and then took it public for a $2 billion valuation. They explain Grindr's origin, why U.S. regulators forced the sale, how homophobia and perceived risks created a buyer's opportunity, and the operational turnaround they executed across talent, tech, product, trust and safety, and monetization. The conversation broadens into how they approach private equity deals vs. startups, the use of leverage and risk reduction, opportunities and disruption in AI, crypto, and healthcare, and reflections on long careers in tech, investing, and choosing the right partners.
Brainstorming $100M Ideas with the $1B+ King of Brands
The hosts interview consumer brand entrepreneur Eric Ryan about how he repeatedly reinvents everyday product categories like soap, vitamins, and bandages into large, culturally resonant brands. Ryan explains his simple but disciplined model for spotting category white space, stealing inspiration from distant industries and geographies, and balancing familiarity with novelty, then applies that thinking in a live brainstorming session for new $100M+ brand ideas. He also discusses the challenges of execution, leadership, and funding, including a recent failed retail jewelry venture and his current shift toward incubating brands and investing via a new consumer fund.
Pressbox and Tide Cleaners: Vijen Patel. The $1.99 Gamble That Built a National Brand
Host Guy Raz interviews entrepreneur Vijan Patel about founding Pressbox, a dry cleaning and laundry startup built around 24/7 locker access in residential buildings. Patel explains how he and co-founder Drew McKenna bootstrapped the company, focused relentlessly on unit economics and quality, and expanded across multiple U.S. cities before being acquired by Procter & Gamble and folded into Tide Cleaners. He also describes the burnout of running a 24/7 service business, the competitive battles with venture-backed rivals and P&G itself, and his current focus on investing in "boring" but essential, asset-heavy businesses through his fund, the 81 Collection.
"Failure Is NOT THE END!" - Tony Robbins Full Intervention
Tony Robbins responds to a woman named Anna who asks how to deal with failures and stay positive, especially when she feels she is wasting time. He explains that highly successful people fail more often but interpret those experiences as learning rather than defeat, and that unrealistic expectations about timelines create unnecessary suffering. Robbins then teaches his RPM framework-focusing on clear outcomes, compelling reasons, and a selective massive action plan-and shares the story of producer Peter Guber to illustrate how embracing struggle and viewing failure as a speed bump leads to long-term success.
Advice Line with Tony Xu of Doordash
This Advice Line episode of How I Built This features DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Hsu joining Guy Raz to coach three early-stage founders through strategic decisions. They discuss when to expand a product line beyond the core offering, how to think about raising capital versus using debt while maintaining control of a growing CPG brand, and how a small, mission-driven meat company can differentiate and educate consumers in a crowded "grass-fed" market. Tony also reflects on DoorDash's evolution, his approach to managing stress, and what he wishes he'd known as a first-time founder.
The Hospitality Principles That Build Billion-Dollar Startups
The host interviews restaurateur and author Will Gudera about the philosophy and practice of "unreasonable hospitality" that helped his restaurant Eleven Madison become a top destination. They discuss how small, highly personal gestures can matter more than perfect execution, how to build a culture of rigorous feedback and care, and how to operationalize hospitality through roles like the "Dreamweaver" and systems such as one-size-fits-all, one-size-fits-some, and one-size-fits-one experiences. The conversation also explores applications in other industries, the economics of restaurants, and the broader pursuit of excellence in life and business.
He turned a broke team into a billion dollars
The hosts profile Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas, tracing how he transformed a struggling summer-league baseball operation into a massively in-demand entertainment phenomenon. They describe his decade of experiments with the Gastonia Grizzlies, the all‑in risk he and his wife took to launch the Savannah Bananas, and the fan‑first innovations that led to Banana Ball and a huge touring live show business. Along the way they draw parallels to MrBeast, Steve Jobs, Will Guidara, Dan Porter, Monster Jam, and Feld Entertainment to explore strategy, hospitality, showmanship, and building AI‑proof live experiences.
TIP756: The Rise and Fall of Julian Robertson's Tiger Fund w/ Kyle Grieve
Host Kyle Grieve presents a solo deep dive into the career of hedge fund legend Julian Robertson and the rise and fall of his Tiger Fund. He covers Robertson's background, investment philosophy, famous trades such as the mid-1990s copper short, his use of networks and sentiment to find mispricings, and his seven core stock-picking themes. The episode also examines how leverage, fund size, market bubbles, and centralized decision-making contributed to Tiger's eventual closure during the dot-com era.
Advice Line with Randy Hetrick of TRX
Host Guy Raz speaks with TRX founder Randy Hetrick on an 'Advice Line' episode where they take calls from three founders seeking guidance on scaling their businesses. Randy first updates listeners on his journey selling TRX to private equity, starting a new outdoor fitness venture, and eventually buying TRX back in a turnaround. Together, Guy and Randy advise the founders of an emerging low-caffeine energy drink brand entering Target, an Australian meat pie franchise looking for strategic investment, and an adaptive apparel company debating how narrowly to focus its target markets.
The Side Hustle King: 11 Easy Businesses Anyone Can Start
The hosts bring back their "side hustle king" guest Chris to share a series of concrete, small-business and side-hustle ideas ranging from seasonal porch pumpkin decorating and backyard sport courts to in-ground trampolines, male "dollhouse" building kits, liquidation arbitrage, and mobile fuel delivery. They discuss how these seemingly simple service and niche product ideas generate substantial revenue, how Chris validates demand with short-form content and paid ads, and how he structures operations with subcontractors and partners. Later, Chris describes his RV park investments, his interest in AI automation services for small businesses, and his plans for an AI-enabled QuickBooks competitor.
Poppi: Allison and Stephen Ellsworth. From Farmers Market Vinegar Drink to $2B Soda Sensation
Allison and Stephen Ellsworth describe how a homemade apple cider vinegar drink that helped Allison's health issues evolved into Mother Beverage and ultimately the prebiotic soda brand Poppy. They walk through bootstrapping production in their house, early traction at farmers markets and Whole Foods, a pivotal Shark Tank deal with investor Rohan Oza, a complete rebrand and shift to cans, and rapid growth fueled by Amazon, Shark Tank exposure, and TikTok. The episode concludes with their creation of a new "modern soda" category, Poppy's sale to Pepsi for nearly $2 billion, and reflections on building a generational brand as a married co‑founder team.