By Gimlet
A series about what it's really like to start a business.
4.8
77077,707 ratings
Following his ousting from American Apparel, Dov Charney has been eager to restart and launch his new venture—Los Angeles Apparel. He has assembled the fabric, the equipment, and the people to help make his new clothing line. Now he needs...
In the spring of 2014, the American Apparel board offered Dov Charney two options: forfeit your position as CEO and stay on as a creative consultant or be removed from the company entirely. Charney chose the latter, and it became...
In 2007, Dov Charney took American Apparel public, placing the company under heightened scrutiny. This meant Charney lost the privacy and autonomy he’d grown accustomed to. And, as more stories emerged from inside the company, some began to reevaluate the...
While Dov Charney was running American Apparel, he didn’t shy away from unconventionality. And for many entrepreneurs, breaking convention is an essential part of growing an innovative company. But pushing boundaries is one thing. Completely ignoring them is another. In this...
In this episode, we trace American Apparel’s rise from the early wholesale days in South Carolina to the booming retail behemoth that the company eventually became. We speak with some of the people closest to Dov Charney along the way,...
Dov Charney is trying to rebuild a multi-million dollar apparel company from the ground up. But he can’t do it alone. In this episode, we’ll hear from the people who have signed on to work with Charney, the people who...
Season 4 of StartUp continues with the story of a well-known entrepreneur who built a widely recognized business, lost it all, and is now starting over—from scratch. Over the next several episodes, we’ll hear as this founder makes his second attempt...
This week, Alex receives feedback about his job performance from his co-workers, friends, and family. Some of it is good, some less so. But there is something else that comes up during the review process that shocks him. We explore what...
Growth. It can be exciting, it can be motivating, and it can be really stressful. In this week’s episode, we take a look at the tensions that Gimlet’s growth spurt is creating. We speak with the team producing one of our...
StartUp is back! And we’re kicking Season 4 off with an update on what’s happening here at Gimlet Media. Since the start of the year, Gimlet has more than doubled in size. And while growth is often the goal for a...
Season 4 of StartUp is almost here. Here's a sneak peek of the fourth season, which kicks off with some episodes about the company that makes this podcast: Gimlet Media. Since we last checked in on Gimlet HQ, the company has...
Something is amiss at 2680 Madison Road. In the thriving Cincinnati neighborhood of Hyde Park, the property is sandwiched between several decades-old Cincinnati staples, and a stone’s throw away from an upscale shopping center. The space is huge, the parking...
Edgar Diaz has dedicated his life to dairy. He sees an incredible beauty in milk and the things that can come from it: soft cheese, rich dulce de leche, and creamy yogurt. He knows that to produce a really good yogurt,...
Coss Marte went from running a multi-million dollar drug operation to sitting in solitary confinement. And it’s here, alone in his cell, where he gets the idea for his next business: a fitness company inspired by his time behind bars....
Coss Marte is getting ready to pitch his company to a panel of prominent entrepreneurs and an audience of hundreds. He’s competing against five other startups for a chance at $100,000. With this money, Coss hopes to grow his small...
Two men decide to start a company. Everything is going well... until it’s not. That’s the moment they decide to start recording their conversations—painful, awkward, emotional conversations. Jason and Vincent launched Bento about a year ago. Their goal was to make...
It’s not uncommon for shoppers to walk out of Mary Going’s store feeling on top of the world. Mary runs Saint Harridan, a company that makes custom suits for the gender non-conforming. With her store, Mary has created a space...
When a group of college kids in Florida set out to change the music industry, they did not anticipate quite how disruptive they would be. Their mission was a noble one: bring an end to online piracy by offering cheap,...
Mike is on a mission to bring his customers something they desperately want. Every week, he embarks on a long and unpredictable journey across international borders and smuggles back some highly sought-after goods. And though what he’s doing is technically...
We pick up where we left off in the last episode, and hear how Justin, Emmett, Michael, and Kyle try to extend the life of their video-streaming company by making some risky but important decisions. In the process, their scrappy...
Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! This season, we’re doing something new. Instead of following one company over many episodes, we’ll be telling the stories of a bunch of different companies. This season, you’ll meet entrepreneurs from different parts...
Season 3 launches Thursday, April 14th
As we wrap up this mini-season, Lisa Chow comes back from maternity leave and notices some big changes at Gimlet. And these changes... they aren't all for the better. Lisa talks to Gimlet employees about concerns over power, accountability, and...
If you were to walk into Gimlet HQ, there are a few things you’d probably notice right off the bat. First, it’s crowded - like a grungy dorm room. Second, the lighting… it’s not great. Not many windows. Third, it’s...
Gimlet is growing fast. We have four shows on the air, and several others in pre-production. If we want to grow faster, though, we could use some more cash. Matt and Alex head back into the world of venture capital,...
Gimlet is starting a new line of business, and it’s a complicated one: Branded content. Branded content is a piece of media (a video, a story, a podcast, etc.) paid for by a company that then has editorial control over...
Gimlet is making a big, expensive bet. The kind of bet that could make or break the company. And it’s a bet that comes down to one factor: What is Gimlet’s competitive advantage? As the company launches its fourth new...
We return to the offices of Gimlet for the start of a new mini-season. It's been a year since the company launched and things are changing... fast. In this episode, Alex and his wife, Nazanin, wrestle with a huge decision...
A Gimlet update and a special announcement
Lessons learned in business and love
Under pressure, the Dating Ring founders make a big decision
Lauren and Emma visit the CEO Whisperer
A golden opportunity sows seeds of doubt
In online dating, love is not blind
Inside Dating Ring's Matchmaking System
Save The Date (S2 Ep4) by Gimlet
Welcome to fundraising
Inside the Startup School Y Combinator
First comes love...then comes equity StartUp is a podcast series about what it’s really like to get a business off the ground. In Season 1, Alex Blumberg told the story of launching this business, Gimlet Media, a podcast network. In Season 2,...
An end and a beginning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 13 addresses a question that has been dogging us since the company’s beginnings: Are we a technology company or a content company? This question led to months of debate. Many voices weighed in on either side, including Marco Arment, the...
Recovering from a breaking point Thanks to everyone who took our listener survey last week. To see the results, visit: https://hearstartup.typeform.com/report/ofUGcO/wheU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lessons on building an audience While working on this episode, we realized we want to know more about our audience. So, we created a survey. It takes about two minutes to complete, and you can find it at startuplistener.com We would...
Lessons on outgrowing your business plan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gimlet Media addresses a company mistake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome, Reply All Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Are you ready to invest in Gimlet Media? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's all about your story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Choosing a favorite is only the beginning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
StartUps are a risky business, but there's lots of reasons to write a check. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices