How I Built This with Guy Raz

For decades, a dozen eggs was just… a dozen eggs.
No story. No real branding. No reason to care who produced them.
Then Matt O’Hayer came along and asked a question almost nobody in America was asking: what if store-bought eggs could be different? What if they tasted better, looked better, and came from hens raised in a much more humane way?
The business he launched– with 20 hens and some used trailers– is now the number-one pasture-raised egg producer in the US, with a network of 600 farms, and a projected revenue of nearly $1B this year.
When he started Vital Farms, Matt was in his 50s, living in an RV on the farm, and trying to convince people to pay premium prices for eggs.
Before that, his passion for business drove him to pursue an astonishing range of ideas: carpet-cleaning, a barter-exchange franchise, a stint as a charter-boat captain and broker. One of his businesses left him nearly broke after 9-11, and there were many other hard lessons along the way.
This is a story about metabolizing failure into success, and turning one of the most overlooked shelves in the grocery store… into a billion dollar opportunity.
What you’ll learn:
The hard lessons Matt learned from 3 (+) decades of founding businesses
How 9/11 changed his life
What 4 years as a boat captain taught him about leading–and serving
How “conscious capitalism” became the blueprint for Vital Farms
Why pasture-raised eggs were a branding opportunity hiding in plain sight
How Whole Foods became an early and critical partner
Why great products grow faster when customers do your work for you

Timestamps:
07:48 – “I didn’t have 300 dollars.” Matt starts a carpet-cleaning company with no real plan
11:31 – The barter business that taught Matt how to scale complex ideas
17:58 – Building a travel company, taking it public, and growing it to roughly $50 million in sales
22:57 – The morning of 9/11: Matt watches his business collapse in real time
25:59 – Starting over, Matt becomes a charter boat captain –plus chef, teacher, and toilet-fixer
31:16 – The blog essay that transformed how Matt thought about business
34:19 – The lightbulb conversation: pasture-raised eggs could become a real company
41:03 – Starting the farm in Austin: “I bought a thousand baby chicks.”
43:58 – The first eggs taste great, but nobody wants to pay for them
49:53 – Finally: The first Whole Foods pallet
50:52 – A label mistake gets Vital Farms pulled from shelves
1:03:09 – How the egg carton became one of Vital Farms’ most powerful branding tools
1:08:24 – Why humane eggs cost more—and why Matt believes they should

This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Casey Herman.
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In today’s special episode, Guy and four former show guests talk with callers about how they can prove the value of their products—and themselves.
First, Meagan from Vermont questions whether an experiential pop-up concept for her reusable gift wrap and bags is worth the effort. Then, Amanda from Wisconsin seeks new ways to explain her deck of dog enrichment activities to potential customers. And finally, Mark from New York looks for a complement to help grow his artisanal pesto business.

Thank you to the founders of Shiki Wrap, Woofsie, and In Mark’s Kitchen for coming on the show. Also thanks to WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey, Paperless Post co-founder Alexa Hirschfeld, and Chomps co-founders Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali.
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 [email protected] or call 1-800-433-1298.
This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.

To hear our returning guests’ previous episodes:
Miguel's original episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-wework-miguel-mckelvey/
Miguel's HIBT Lab episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-hibt-lab-wework-miguel-mckelvey/
Miguel's Advice Line episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-advice-line-with-miguel-mckelvey-of-wework/
Alexa's original episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-paperless-post-james-and-alexa-hirschfeld/
Alexa's Advice Line episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-advice-line-with-alexa-hirschfeld-of-paperless-post/
Pete and Rashid's original episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali/
Pete and Rashid's Advice Line episode: https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-advice-line-with-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali-of-chomps/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Aaron Krause did not set out to reinvent the kitchen sponge. He was a car detailer, building buffing pads and the machines that made them. To clean his greasy hands, he made a makeshift hand scrubber out of extra-rough foam, and it worked so well he decided to sell it.

But nobody wanted it.

He shelved the product for years. Then one day while cleaning up around the house, he accidentally discovered the foam’s “magic” properties and realized it would make the perfect kitchen sponge. Scrub Daddy was born.

As a friend advised him, nobody goes to the supermarket to discover new innovations in sponges. So Aaron did a furious round of in-store demos and eventually wound up on QVC (where he nearly got kicked off) and finally Shark Tank, where he made $1M the night it aired.
In this episode, Aaron breaks down the unglamorous mechanics of building a consumer brand—negotiation, patents, and the obsession needed to keep going when no one believes in your vision.

You’ll learn:
How Aaron’s many patents helped drive his car-detailing business
The hidden downside of “great” deals: exclusivity traps and corporate bureaucracy
How Aaron forced 3M to rethink value during acquisition negotiations
How to sell a product no one is shopping for
How Scrub Daddy built a brand block (Scrub Mommy & more) to become a category leader
How to defend against copycats—patents, trade dress and aggressive enforcement

Timestamps:
07:24 — “You get to buy your own sneakers”—the childhood lesson that shapes Aaron’s hustle
09:03 — The brutal factory internship that sends him back to washing cars
17:50 — The mirror snaps off a Mercedes… leading to a buffing pad breakthrough
19:58 — The parable of the DIY patent: “If you had a toothache, would you drill your own tooth?”
27:36 — Dirty factory hands inspire Aaron to invent a special hand scrubber… which no one wants
41:35 — Aaron hangs up on a corporate powerhouse: refusing to sell to 3M based on EBITDA
51:16 — The shelved scrubbers come out of storage and Aaron discovers their “magical” properties
1:02:31 — Retail won’t bite—so he demos in ShopRite and sells 100 sponges a day
1:13:43 — Shark Tank → $1M in one night… and retailers suddenly call back

Follow How I Built This:
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Today’s callers: Heather from Ontario talks through a DTC strategy for her retail pain relief tape and patches. Then Nawal in Michigan considers a rebrand for her uniforms designed for Muslim students. Finally, Casey in Idaho seeks new revenue streams for her farmer and worker-owned seed cooperative.
Plus, Hernan’s take on the future of podcasting and the sweet relief of vindication...
Thank you to the founders of Heali Medical, Studyous Monday, and Snake River Seed Cooperative for joining us on the 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 [email protected] or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Wondery’s founding story as told by Hernan on the show in 2023.
This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bobo’s: Beryl Stafford. A Single Mom Turns a Baking Project into a $100M Business
At 40, Beryl Stafford’s life cracked open. Her marriage ended, she hadn’t worked in years, and she had two daughters to raise. She needed income—fast.
So she did the only thing that felt real: she baked.
What started as 4-ingredient oat bars— hastily placed in a Boulder coffee shop—became Bobo’s, a national brand built in the Silicon Valley of natural foods.
In this episode, Beryl walks us through the scrappy early days: buying ingredients at full retail, a risky $25K packaging machine, the Whole Foods breakthrough, the burnout, and the pressure shift that comes with outside capital—and Costco.
It’s a story powered by community support, relentless demos, and a founder who kept saying “yes” before she knew how.
What you’ll learn:
Why “survival” can be a powerful founder advantage
How to sell your product before you feel ready (and why that’s often the point)
The unglamorous truth of early CPG: shelf life, shared kitchens, endless demos
In a trend-driven category, the value of sticking to a recipe “your grandmother could have made.”
The two faces of Costco: growth rocket and operational trap

Timestamps:
08:35—Divorced at 40… “I was trying to survive.”
12:02—The baking project with her daughter… and the unexpected product-market signal
17:21—The first sale: snack bars in cellophane; making up a price
28:38—Sharing a kitchen with Justin’s Nut Butters: scrappy collaboration + conflict
31:49—The first-time founder playbook: sell first, learn the rest later
33:54—Whole Foods says yes… before she knows what “freezer safe packaging” even means
39:10—Getting into national distribution: “What just happened?”
46:34—Burnout, hiring a CEO, raising outside money—and what changes when investors arrive
54:31—The Costco conundrum: huge upside, real downside
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This episode was produced by Noor Gill, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Alex Cheng.
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Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This
Follow Guy Raz:
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Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz
Substack → guyraz.substack.com
Website → guyraz.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.