From Scratch with Jessica Harris

By Jessica HarrisBusiness Entrepreneurship Marketing Careers

From Scratch with Jessica Harris episodes

February 01, 2018 Dan Widmaier
Bolt Threads is a materials innovation company. Using proprietary technology and revolutionary bio-engineering concepts, Bolt Threads seeks to deliver high-performance materials focused on sustainability. Their first project is spider silk, using the DNA of a spider’s silk to manufacture clothes. Dan speaks with Jessica Harris about how he is innovating new materials from nature, from […]
19 min
February 01, 2018 Essie Weingarten
Essie started her eponymous brand in 1981 with $10,000 after working in the hosiery business. When Essie launched, there were very few companies making nail polish, and nail salons were rare. Essie nail polish is now available in roughly 25,000 salons in more than 100 countries. The company was bought by L’Oreal in 2010. Essie […]
32 min
January 25, 2018 Jon Oringer
Shutterstock is an online marketplace for photos, graphic images, video clips and music. The content is crowdsourced, with photographers, artists and other contributors uploading their content in exchange for a percent of revenue when their work is purchased. Jon started Shutterstock in 2003, and the company went public in 2012.
Jon speaks to Jessica Harris about how he built Shutterstock, from scratch.
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19 min
January 18, 2018 Mike Krieger
Instagram is a photo sharing app that was released through the Apple App Store in October, 2010 and reached one million users in just three months. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for one billion dollars. Mike and his partner, Kevin Systrom, are both graduates of Stanford University. Mike speaks with Jessica Harris about how he […]
32 min
January 11, 2018 Fred Bass
Strand Book Store in New York City was founded by Fred’s father Benjamin in 1927. Fred was born in 1928 and has been working in the family business since he was thirteen years old. The Strand has roughly 2.5 million used, rare, and new books—the equivalent of roughly 18 miles of books.
Fred spoke to Jessica Harris about how he and his father turned the Strand into one of New York’s literary landmarks, from scratch. Fred died in January, 2018 at 89 years old, a few months after celebrating the Strand’s 90th birthday.
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32 min
January 05, 2018 Fred Bass
Strand Book Store in New York City was founded by Fred’s father Benjamin in 1927. Fred was born in 1928 and has been working in the family business since he was thirteen years old. The Strand has roughly 2.5 million used, rare, and new books—the equivalent of roughly 18 miles of books. Fred spoke to […]
32 min
January 04, 2018 Luis von Ahn
Luis is an inventor and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon. He is one of the creators of CAPTCHA, a system that allows websites to determine whether you’re a human or a computer. CAPTCHAs are wavy, distorted words that people need to type out when they’re submitting a form to a website. Luis’ company ReCAPTCHA […]
32 min
January 04, 2018 Jonathan Cedar
Biolite is a company that produces clean, portable stoves for cooking off the grid in developing countries as well as for camping. The stove reduces toxic smoke emissions by 90 percent by using its own heat waste to generate energy. Biolite is targeting a global public health challenge of smoke pollution caused by cooking over […]
19 min
December 28, 2017 Sam Goldman
One third of the world population does not have access to reliable electricity. D.light sells solar lighting and power to consumers in developing countries. The company’s lamps are healthier, cleaner, and cheaper than the traditional kerosene lamp alternatives. Sam speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched d.light, from scratch. Listen to the interview
19 min
December 21, 2017 Mark Morris
Mark started the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) in 1980. Headquartered in Fort Green, Brooklyn, the company is on tour more than 20 weeks per year. MMDG collaborates with leading artists, including the cellist Yo Yo Ma, the pianist Emanuel Ax, the designer Isaac Mizrahi, and the dancer Baryshnikov.
Mark speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched his choreography career, from scratch.
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32 min