Angie and Dan Bastian weren't trying to disrupt an industry or build a massive company – they just wanted to put aside some money for their kids' college fund. In 2001, Dan stumbled across an internet ad touting kettle corn as a lucrative side-business, so he and Angie decided to take the plunge, investing $10,000 in equipment. At first, they popped kettle c ... Show More
Oct 6
Pressbox and Tide Cleaners: Vijen Patel. The $1.99 Gamble That Built a National Brand
What if the best startup isn’t sexy at all? In 2013, Vijen Patel left private equity to pursue “the least-worst idea”: dry cleaning. No patents. No app wizardry. Just laundry lockers in high-rises, ruthless unit economics, and a $1.99-a-shirt price that was seared into America’s ... Show More
1h 6m
Oct 2
Advice Line with Tony Xu of Doordash
Tony Xu, founder of DoorDash, joins Guy on the Advice Line to answer questions from three early-stage entrepreneurs. Plus, Tony updates Guy on his latest ventures: expanding into grocery and retail delivery - and taking on international markets.First, we hear from Ron in Portland ... Show More
49m 13s
May 2021
Sponsored: Small Business Stories | Columbia Sportswear | 2
This episode is brought to you by Wondery in partnership with Dell Technologies. In honor of small businesses, we're featuring inspiring stories of successful companies that started out small.It’s 1970 and Gert Boyle’s life is in ruins. Her husband’s just died, and now, as a midd ... Show More
31m 23s
Sep 2021
🐳 “It’s the ripple, not the splash” — Evergrande’s crisis. Hotel Peloton. The Emmys’ real winner.
Stock markets had their worst day in months because China’s got a brewing real estate crisis (cue the Lehman Brothers vibes). We noticed that Peloton’s website has a curious “Hotels” tab, so we clicked further. And the Emmy awards follow the money: Tech’s got the ca$h, legacy med ... Show More
19m 1s
Aug 2022
🧀 “1 Veltini with 2 olives” — Velveeta’s stunt strategy. Los Angeles’ savior stock. Walmart’s Spongebob halo.
Velveeta is the one Pandemic product that keeps on winning because the melty cheese pivoted from ads to stunts. Walmart’s earnings pulled up the entire stock market yesterday, but the real story is Walmart’s happy halo of MTV, Nickelodeon, and Star Trek. And Los Angeles is runnin ... Show More
19m 24s
Nov 2022
🍸 “Liquor before Beer (literally)” — Bacardi’s beating Bud. Big Tech’s hoodie slump. The 3 P’s of Election Inflation.
For the 1st time since the saloon was invented, spirits are about to beat beer in America — and it’s thanks to innovations in Daiquiri deliveries. Twitter, Lyft, Stripe, and Amazon all just announced hiring firings or freezes, yet America added 261,000 new jobs last month? We’ve ... Show More
19m 42s