During its formative years in the late 1990's, Paypal attracted an extraordinary group of young entrepreneurs, who then went on to build some of the best known companies in tech. They became known as The PayPal Mafia—and Max Levchin was one of the leaders. A computer genius from Soviet Ukraine, Max joined Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and others as they grew PayPal into a massively successful online payment service. Along the way, they encountered almost every start-up challenge imaginable, including the emotional ouster of Elon Musk as CEO. After PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002, Max couldn't sit still, so he launched a startup lab that eventually led to another successful fintech company: Affirm. Guy will talk to Max about Affirm next week, in the second episode of this two-part series. 

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Drive. Docs. Chrome. Maps. Gmail. Android. What do these products have in common? Of course, they’re all Google, but what you may not know is that they all came to fruition under the management of the same person: Sundar Pichai. This track record in product development ultimately landed Sundar the CEO role at one of the biggest, most innovative companies in the world.  

This week on How I Built This Lab, Sundar reflects on the unique journey that led him to Google, and the values that inspire and drive his leadership today. He and Guy also discuss Google’s recent advances in artificial intelligence, and how the company is reimagining the workplace as offices across the globe reopen.

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While working at his local record store at age 20, Ryan Schreiber dreamt that his scrappy music review webpage might one day grow into an influential music publication. Working out of his parents’ house, he wrote about indie music because he loved it, and recruited like-minded friends to do the same. In 2000, a rhapsodic review of Radiohead’s “Kid A” got huge attention online, and soon Ryan’s site began to attract tens of thousands of users—building a reputation for pointed reviews that could make or break careers. In 2015, Pitchfork joined The New Yorker and Vogue when it was acquired by Condé Nast, one of the most prestigious magazine publishers in the world.

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When Aryé Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck met in 2011, they had no intention of starting a business. Aryé was a cardiologist, and Justin was a diplomat who had lived in countries all over the world. But their chance meeting at a dinner party led to a deep friendship focused on working together to change the world. Through regular Saturday morning brainstorming sessions, they settled on pursuing a scientific approach to growing meat for human consumption.

This week on How I Built This Lab, Aryé and Justin discuss the problems with modern seafood production and how their company, Wildtype, hopes to revolutionize the industry by using stem cells to cultivate real, sushi-grade salmon...without harming any actual fish.

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When Adi Tartako and her husband started the home design and renovation website Houzz in 2009, they had no expectation that it would grow into a global business. In fact, Adi was a hesitant entrepreneur, preferring to foster Houzz as a lifestyle business and pushing back when experts told her it could grow into something much bigger. But as Houzz morphed into a go-to site for users to get ideas for home improvement and connect with industry professionals, Adi decided to go all-in. She walked away from a promising career in finance to become the CEO of Houzz, helping lead it to a platform that now has 65 million users worldwide. 

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From the outside, it seemed like Andy Dunn was living the dream. His menswear company, Bonobos, was acquired by Walmart for $310 million in 2017 — the same year he married the love of his life, Manuela. Of course, Andy’s entrepreneurial journey wasn’t without its challenges. Under the surface were much darker struggles that he largely kept hidden…

This week on How I Built This Lab, Andy returns to the show to talk to Guy about his new book, Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind. In this radically honest memoir, Andy finally opens up about the struggle with bipolar disorder that nearly cost him everything. 

Check out Andy’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Rate-Launching-Startup-Losing/dp/0593238265 

Listen to Andy’s How I Built This interview from 2019: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/18/686640146/bonobos-andy-dunn 

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Starting a business with your spouse can either bring you closer together or tear you apart. For Arran and Ratana Stephens, their business has lasted for nearly 40 years, and their marriage has thrived for much longer. As business partners, they seem perfectly matched: he’s the hard-charging visionary, she’s the practical, business-minded one who sometimes has to talk him out of a bad decision. But in 1985, Arran made a very smart move: seeing how organic food was starting to take off, he mixed up his first batch of Manna bread in a bathtub and started selling it, eventually expanding to national distribution. From there, he and Ratana pivoted to breakfast cereal, initially purchasing a factory that couldn’t make a single cornflake. Today, Nature’s Path sells organic cereals, tortilla chips and other snacks in more than 50 countries around the world. 

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Like so many of us, author Johann Hari noticed that the more time he spent looking at screens and switching from device to device, the harder it became for him to concentrate and achieve his goals. After talking to more than 200 doctors, researchers, and neuroscientists around the world, Johann came to a sobering conclusion: the human race is in the middle of an attention crisis. He examines this societal challenge in his new book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again.

This week on How I Built This Lab, Johann and Guy discuss the factors chipping away at our ability to focus, and what we can do to reclaim our attention. They also talk about flow states – how we get into them, and why everyone in the business world should be working to achieve them. 

Check out Johann’s book here: https://amzn.to/3L3wsMC

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Eric Liedtke spent 26 years at Adidas, working his way up from an entry level position to Executive Board Member and Global Brand President. During that time, he helped revitalize the Adidas brand through high profile partnerships with celebrities like Kanye West and Beyonce. But he was also known for his focus on sustainability. It was Eric who pushed Adidas to commit to using only 100% recycled polyester in its clothing by 2024. 

This week on How I Built This Lab, Eric joins Guy to talk about the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Eric shares why he left Adidas and started his own apparel brand, UNLESS Collective, which makes 100% plant-based, biodegradable clothing.

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When Payal Kadakia first appeared on How I Built This in June of 2020, the future of ClassPass, a subscription service for in-person exercise classes, seemed very uncertain. The pandemic had shuttered gyms and fitness studios across the world, and ClassPass was relying on virtual events and wellness offerings in order to stay afloat. 

This week on How I Built This Lab, Payal returns to talk with Guy about leading ClassPass through the worst of the pandemic and eventually selling the company to Mindbody in October 2021. Plus, Payal discusses her unique method of goal setting and her new book, LifePass: Drop Your Limits, Rise to Your Potential.

Listen to Payal's original How I Built This episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-classpass-payal-kadakia/

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