Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire

Advice Line with Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics

Today’s callers: Daisy in the United Kingdom looks to grow her barefoot shoe brand across the pond in the United States. Then Rachel in Pennsylvania considers private labeling for her protein-packed sprinkles. And Andrew in California wonders whether he should seek investment for his pleasantly-scented soil additive. Plus, Shazi discusses why entrepreneurship is one of the most creative outlets a person can have. Thank you to the founders of Freet Barefoot, SprinkleBites, and PlantAmika for being a part of our show. If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com [hibt@id.wondery.com] or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to Happy Family Organics’ founding story [https://art19.com/shows/831bd173-0992-41b7-b1eb-112db904d947/episodes/7c0de9e5-e9fc-4cd1-b3bc-bdec20831d04/embed] as told by Shazi in 2020. This episode was produced by Sam Paulson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. You can follow HIBT on X [https://x.com/HowIBuiltThis] & Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/] and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com [http://guyraz.com/] or on Substack [https://guyraz.substack.com/]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire

When Maxine Clark left a top job in retail to start a make-your-own stuffed animal store, people thought she’d lost her mind.  Investors doubted it. Friends questioned it. Retail experts couldn't understand how it would scale. But drawing on more than 20 years as a retail executive, Maxine built a massively  successful shopping “experience,”  where kids could stuff, dress and personalize their own stuffed animals.  Today, Build-A-Bear has generated billions in sales, survived the decline of malls, weathered the financial crisis, and become a global brand. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN  How a failed errand—and an offhand comment by a kid–inspired a business plan  How Maxine leveraged two decades of retail experience to launch Build-a-Bear  How Willy Wonka and Walt Disney were early inspirations  How she built a wedge against competitors  How she got through the financial crisis How she knew when to step down as CEO– and how to collaborate with her successor   TIMESTAMPS: * 05:52 - A mom Who Worked for Eleanor Roosevelt * 09:18 - The Impromptu Interview That Changed Maxine’s Career * 16:00 - Becoming One of the Few Female Fortune 500 Executives * 18:43 - Why She Walked Away From Payless * 21:27 - The Beanie Baby Disappointment That Sparked Build-A-Bear * 26:14 - Designing the First Store: “Make it Like Willy Wonka.” * 37:53 - Opening Day — and a Line Out the Door * 39:53 - Defending the Brand Against Copycats and Lawsuits * 45:53 - Scaling to Hundreds of Stores and Going Public * 58:25 - Letting Go: Stepping Down as CEO and Building a Legacy This episode was researched by Rommel Wood and produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant.  Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis [https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/] X → @HowIBuiltThis [https://x.com/howibuiltthis] Facebook → How I Built This [https://www.facebook.com/howibuiltthis] Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz [https://www.instagram.com/guy.raz/] Youtube → guy_raz [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSfrxNEmCruNtjIzxCBHjg] X → @guyraz [https://x.com/guyraz] Substack → https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/guyraz.substack.com__;!!Iwwt!RZoD751oWzUzoqqdJiqaoL6HdJfRHDUO1TKvYJ424d3Udn7-Pw9Nj6nEsauh9zcgEvLjUEc$guyraz.substack.com [http://guyraz.substack.com] Website → https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/guyraz.substack.com__;!!Iwwt!RZoD751oWzUzoqqdJiqaoL6HdJfRHDUO1TKvYJ424d3Udn7-Pw9Nj6nEsauh9zcgEvLjUEc$guyraz.com [http://guyraz.com] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar

Today’s callers: Whitney in Utah  wonders how to bridge the gap between pre-seed and institutional investment for her fitness/retail combo space. Then Chloe in the U.K. considers which markets to target for her at-home crafting kits. And Christy in Washington wants to convert gifters into repeat customers for her coffee flavoring brand. Plus, Christina’s take on why Milk Bar is better served with her as Chief Experimenter rather than Chief Executive.   Thank you to the founders of The Beau Collective, Cotton Clara, and Vashon Island Coffee Dust.  If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com [hibt@id.wondery.com] or call 1-800-433-1298.  And be sure to listen to the story of how Christina founded Milk Bar [https://art19.com/shows/831bd173-0992-41b7-b1eb-112db904d947/episodes/e30b17f9-3ecb-493a-8880-f30efd9290b0/embed] from our episode back in 2019. This episode was produced by J.C. Howard with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley. You can follow HIBT on Twitter [https://twitter.com/HowIBuiltThis] & Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis] and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com [http://guyraz.com/] and on Substack [https://guyraz.substack.com/]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Shopify: Tobias Lütke. How a snowboarder built a $150 billion business (2019)

In 2004, German programmer Tobias Lütke was living in Ottawa with his girlfriend. An avid snowboarder, he wanted to launch an online snowboard shop, but found the e-commerce software available at the time to be clunky and expensive. So he decided to write his own e-commerce software. After he launched his online snowboard business, called Snowdevil, other online merchants were so impressed with what he built that they started asking to license Tobi's software to run their own stores. Tobi and his co-founder realized that software had more potential than snowboards, so they launched the e-commerce platform Shopify in 2006. Since then, it has grown into a publicly-traded company with over 7,000 employees and $11 billion in revenue. Timestamps:  * 07:20 - Tobi discovers snowboarding–and meets his future wife–on vacation in Canada * 11:25 - Building a new kind of snowboarding company * 29:35 - Pivot point: skateboards or software? * 34:25 - The night before Tobi’s wedding, Shopify switches business models * 45:25 - The 2008 financial crisis hits… revealing a huge opportunity  * 58:55 - After a decade, Shopify goes public This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. This archive episode was produced by Katherine Sypher. Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis [https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/] X → @HowIBuiltThis [https://x.com/howibuiltthis] Facebook → How I Built This [https://www.facebook.com/howibuiltthis] Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz [https://www.instagram.com/guy.raz/] Youtube → guy_raz [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSfrxNEmCruNtjIzxCBHjg] X → @guyraz [https://x.com/guyraz] Substack → guyraz.substack.com [http://guyraz.substack.com] Website → guyraz.com [http://guyraz.com] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Advice Line with Tim Ferriss (August 2025)

Entrepreneur, author, and podcaster Tim Ferriss joins Guy on the Advice Line to answer questions from three early-stage founders. Plus, Tim shares the inspiration behind his latest venture, Coyote—a 10-minute card game that encourages time spent with friends and family. First, Lauryn from San Francisco asks about the best way to scale her biodegradable ear plugs in two very different directions. Then Emily from Kansas City weighs whether DTC or wholesale is where to focus her accessory brand after Taylor Swift wore one of her rings and sales exploded. And finally, Kimberly in Woolwich, Maine wonders how to incentivize her customers to pre-order her high-quality, sustainable, clothing.  Thank you to the founders of GOB, EB & Co, and K. Becker Designs for being a part of our show. If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com [hibt@id.wondery.com] or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to Tim Ferriss’s founding story [https://art19.com/shows/831bd173-0992-41b7-b1eb-112db904d947/episodes/ad5b84a9-ae91-450d-aee1-1e431d2bfa57/embed] as told by Tim on the show in 2020.  This episode was produced by Noor Gill with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo. You can follow HIBT on X [https://x.com/HowIBuiltThis] & Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/] and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com [http://guyraz.com/] and on Substack [https://guyraz.substack.com/]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].