Entrepreneurs Unite! The First Ever How I Built This Summit

What is NPR's How I Built This (HIBT)?

For those of you unfamiliar with NPR's "How I Built This" podcast, the host, Guy Raz, interviews the entrepreneurs behind some very successful businesses and delves deep into their back stories, the paths they traveled, their pitfalls, and their eventual success. *SPOILER ALERT "perseverance" is almost always the common denomenator.

Each episode ends with a smaller feature called "How You Built That." If you missed the original post, you can hear our feature here: https://www.wazoosurvivalgear.com/blog/interview-national-public-radio-how-i-built-this/ 

The First Ever How I Built This Summit

October 16, 2018 - Yerba Buena Center For The Arts - San Francisco, CA

NPR hosted an event gathering 600 entrepreneurs from around the world to share stories, knowledge, and learn from some of the most successful and memorable guests of the podcast. Because of our feature on the show, we were invited to attend!  

PHOTO: Dustin Hogard, Guy Raz, and Nick Blackman

Each of the 600 attendees was provided with a swag bag, the contents of which, were entirely provided by small companies like ourselves that were featured on the "How You Built That" section of the podcast. Our contribution was a custom HIBT Kindling Gift Card. Though the card was small and hard to find in the bag of swag, we were recognized by quite a few attendees that had found the card and wanted to learn more about Wazoo. 

Who Was At The How I Built This Summit? 

• Jennifer Hyman of Rent the Runway
• Joe Gebbia of Airbnb
• John Zimmer of Lyft
• Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan of method
• Katrina Lake of Stitch Fix
• Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter

Many of these individuals have taken their businesses to the multi-billion dollar (yes, that's billion with a B) level. It was such a pleasure getting to hear all of these successful entrepreneurs talking about their journeys, especially Jennifer Hyman because she was the headliner on the episode of HIBT that we were on! We also really enjoyed the discussions with Adam, the Engineer, and Eric, the Advertiser, of method home products because there was such a parallel with ourselves. It was really great seeing that a dynamic duo that pushed their business to full scale success. Who knows, maybe someday we can be up there too!  

What was the outcome?

We had a blast! We learned San Francisco really isn't a good spot for us, but that's why we are moving to Longmont, CO instead. Even though the city didn't fit us, it was certainly reinvigorating being surrounded by so many motivated people, passionate about what they do. These are the people that will be changing the world and it was a real honor being a part of it. 

A big thanks to Guy Raz and NPR for inviting us out! We can't wait to see you all again at the 2019 HIBT Summit.