An Open Letter To Guy Raz
Guy,
The first episode of How I Built This I ever listened to was your conversation with Sara Blakely. I was driving north on I-90 heading out of Chicago to my parents house in Northern, IL. It was the summer of 2017, likely soon after the episode was reshared in July.
In 2017, I was a year into starting my business, and as you so accurately depicted it in the How I Built This Book, I was experiencing the fall after taking the leap. Trying to build the plane as I was plummeting towards the ground. I had left the comfort of my career, was waiting tables to make ends meet, and was struggling every day to get the engine of the business running.
As Sara’s voice poured out of the speakers of my little compact Prius, I remember hearing in her telling the passion of what it took to get Spanx off the ground. Her sheer determination of not taking no as an answer, of relentlessly willing her product into the market, and pounding on doors of manufacturers, was, heroic. There was something in there, maybe the passion, or the story, that caught me off guard. My eyes welled up with tears, and there stuck in traffic near the O’hare airport, I knew that no matter what it took, I was going to get my business going.
I can confidently say that without How I Built This, eGuide would not be where it is today. Even episodes that seemingly have no parallels to the journey my business is taking, include insights that make me pause for reflection — Dang foods having a complete flop of a new product, Lynda and Bruce deciding to walk away from the company they so tirelessly built, the realization that Ben Chestnut didn’t create a sustainable culture. Each of these small but meaningful moments have influenced how I am thinking about the services we we provide, what it means to be “eGuide”, and where potential pitfalls will appear along the way.
You stated in your book that the archetype of an entrepreneur is often perceived as someone who is a gambler and risk taker. That to win big, you have to bet big. I, like you (it seems), am not risk adverse, but the risk has to be calculated. There has to be a slightly higher probability for success on the other end in order for me to set the goal and make the change. Like you also reflected, all the mistakes that I would and will ever make as an entrepreneur have already been made, it’s just learning from the missteps of others and trying not to fall into the same trap. How I Built This is a master class, a lecture hall that I actually want to sit in and soak up the teachings of the guest lecturers. The crafting of each narrative tells such an authentic telling of an entrepreneurial journey.
The quote that continues to stick with me is, “The only difference between them and you, at this moment, is that when opportunity presented itself, they went into the phone booth and put on the cape. They took the leap. That’s basically it.”
We grow up thinking there is such a huge difference between the head boss running the company and the person working in the mailroom. That somehow leaders have cracked some magical code, and that they are all-knowing. Thank you for pulling back that curtain and allowing everyone to see that we are all just humans trying to leave our mark on the world.
Thank you for being a story teller, an ethnographer, and for capturing these moments in time through both the podcast and the book. Your passion for sharing these stories so that others can continue to grow has been so impactful to me and my team, and I cannot thank you enough.
Sincerely,
Gregory Perrine
Owner
eGuide Tech Allies
Some of Our Favorite How I Built This Episodes:
Spanx: Sara Blakely
Why? Being an entrepreneur is trying until you break through, and it’s within you to keep trying.
Atlassian: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar
Why? This episode proves that you can settle business disagreements with Rock, Pape, Scissors.
reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis von Ahn
Why? Entrepreneurship can live in anyone, anywhere.
Ben & Jerry’s: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield
Why? Because you can be two guys who want to start an ice cream business without knowing anything about ice cream.
Tate’s Bakeshop: Kathleen King
Why? Resilience is never giving up, even after your new business partners fire you from your company.
FUBU: Daymond John
Why? There is no shame in waiting tables while your business grows enough to provide you a salary without going bankrupt.
The Life Is Good Company: Bert and John Jacobs
Why? Branding is evoking a state of being, and aligning yourself with the idea of where we all want to be.
Dave’s Killer Bread: Dave Dahl
Why? Struggles don’t have to define who we are, but can help shape an opportunity for you to be your authentic self.
Rent The Runway: Jenn Hyman
Why? There is privledge that comes from being white and male. What you do with that privilege is a choice.
Airbnb: Joe Gebbia
Why? There is learnings to be had in every pilot or pivot project that will shape the choices you make in the future.
