How I Built This with Guy Raz

Karissa Bodnar had a dream job at L'Oréal when a close friend died from cancer at age 24. It shook her up and made her reassess what she really wanted to do with her life. The answer? Build her own beauty business with a mission of “giving back.”
The problem? Nobody seemed to want to carry her products. She pitched Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta, and others—and kept hearing no.
She stuck it out, pouring tens of thousands of dollars of her own savings into it, and worked a full-time job to fund the formulation of new cosmetics.
Two years in, another life-changing event. Karissa posted a video of herself teaching make-up application to domestic violence survivors, and it went viral. Five years later, the company was making about $150 million a year!
In this episode Karissa explains why mission alone will never save a bad product, how scarcity helped her build a better company, why she resisted raising too much money, and how she turned a deeply personal loss into one of the most distinctive brands in beauty.

What You’ll Learn:
How Karissa's childhood experimenting with fruits and flowers led her to researching and formulating her own makeup
How Karissa’s experiences at Nordstrom and Sephora set her up for a plum job in product development
The importance of attracting an influential mentor or guide to career development, as Karissa did at L’Oreal
How Karissa developed her unique line — like false eyelashes for people who had lost their natural lashes during cancer treatment
Why the decision to keep sales DTC and ONLY online can be a great business move
Why Karissa believes “scarcity drives focus”
How to handle operations when sales explode
Why mission helps customer loyalty — but performance drives the initial and repeat purchases

Timestamps:
05:30 – Making makeup in the kitchen at age 10 and Karissa’s first steps into research
08:55 – Learning the beauty business from the ground up
11:22 – How Karissa landed her dream job in product development at L'Oréal
14:48 – The career lessons that got Karissa noticed at L'Oréal
22:03 – How a tragedy made Karissa leave a dream job to start a company “with purpose”
31:36 – The one-person-at-a-time marketing strategy
33:01 – The viral moment that changed Thrive Causemetics
37:06 – Why failing to raise money became an advantage
42:33 – Mission versus product: which really matters?
44:34 – Why Thrive Causemetics stayed direct-to-consumer

This episode was produced by Sam Paulson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce with research help from Chris Maccini. Our engineer was Jimmy Keeley.

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Today’s callers: Juliette in France wonders how to raise awareness of her “magical” cooling device—without a costly ad campaign. Then David in North Carolina looks to grow the wholesale channel of his engraved gifts business in light of thinning retail margins. And Kaitlin in California wants to leverage the virality of her supportive, bordered sheets and create an enduring sleep brand.
Plus, Kip reflects on The Container Store’s bankruptcy and acquisition, and plugs patience and persistence as the keys to sustainable growth.
Thank you to the folks at CoolaWand, Hazel Grove Customs, and Kaomi Sleep 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 or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to The Container Store’s founding story as told by Kip and his wife Sharon in 2024.
This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kim’s inspiration to launch a business came from an unlikely source: Her son’s Crocs. She thought the durable, washable material would make a great beach bag. So she designed one. But after investing her savings—inlcuding some of her kids’ college fund—Kim was crushed when her first major shipment of Bogg bags was defective. It knocked her so off balance, that she put the entire business on hold.
Then something unexpected happened.The few thousand customers who already had a bag….clamored for more. So Kim decided to start over. She borrowed $120,000, found another factory, shared trade show booths with four other founders, and slowly built Bogg Bag into a $100 million phenomenon.

What you'll learn:
How getting nowhere with Crocs gave Kim the motivation to make Bogg Bag herself.
Why her first $30,000 production run nearly killed the company.
Why a founder isn’t always the best judge of her product
How Superstorm Sandy gave new life to Bogg Bag
How Kim built Bogg Bag for years while keeping her full-time job and raising two kids.
How COVID turned Bogg Bag from a beach product into a “beach and beyond” product.
How Kim got a massive acquisition offer–and why she turned it down.
Why Kim thinks Bogg Bag can eventually become a billion-dollar brand.

Chapters:
06:36 - Growing up without financial security
08:17 - From high-school dropout to a six-figure career
17:19 - Reading “Mommy Millionaire” and dreaming of inventing something
19:41 - The Crocs-on-the-beach moment
24:56 - Kim hits a wall with Crocs, so she decides to make Bogg Bag herself
33:33 - The early prototypes and a nervous visit to a boutique: “I don’t know what this is, but I think I need it.”
41:16 - The first big shipment, a $30,000 defect, and a decision to pull the plug
47:13 - A massive natural disaster presents an opportunity
52:15 - “Now I gotta make this damn bag”
54:45 - A factory showdown in China
59:52 - Starting over with $120,000
01:01:51 - The trade-show “timeshare” in a tiny booth
01:07:12 - Finally quitting her day job
01:10:42 - COVID boosts the business
01:13:28 - The acquisition offer that could have changed everything
01:23:40 - Learning to lead a much bigger company
01:26:13 - The dream of a family legacy

This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Sam Paulson.

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

Today’s callers: Darin from North Carolina seeks guidance on consumer education as his ghee-based snack brand grows into major retailers. Then Sarah from Massachusetts explores scaling pathways for her ‘never-frozen’ gluten-free baked goods. And John from Ohio considers whether online sales can turn around his local food co-op.
Plus, Ben comments on the drivers of Olipop’s nearly $2 billion valuation, and critiques a common piece of business advice that often holds founders back.
Thank you to the founders of Gheelish, Sarah’s Gluten Free Goods, and Bexley’s Natural Foods 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 or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Olipop’s founding story as told by Ben in 2024.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineers were Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.

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

Nicole Bernard Dawes spent much of her childhood hanging out in her dad’s potato chip factory on Cape Cod.

She liked his kettle-cooked chips a lot more than the flavorless snacks in her mom’s health food store. But when she started her own business, she wanted the best of both worlds: a snack made with natural, organic ingredients…that still tasted good.

Nicole launched Late July Snacks in 2003, when most consumers barely knew what “organic” meant. For years, sales limped along. Then, in a moment of crisis, she made a company-saving pivot by launching a brand new product – organic tortilla chips. Within just a few years, Late July grew to over $100M in sales, and Nicole decided to launch a new brand in an even more challenging category: soda.

You Will Learn:
How growing up in a family business can help–and hurt–when you launch your own
The pros and cons of financial vs. strategic investors
When to cut a product that isn’t working
Why the fine print in a contract is so important
How the hardest decision might be the best one for your family and the business

Timestamps:
07:22 - The car crash that launched a potato chip company
21:00 - Pregnant and craving crackers: The birth of Late July Snacks
36:54 - The organic cookies that tasted great but nearly sunk the business
40:49 - Tragedy and crisis: a father’s death and a $3 million loan in default
50:31 - A tortilla chip Hail Mary
57:29 - Nicole’s first big sales call… and her last chance to save the company
1:08:49 - “The big fish eats the small fish.” A food giant acquisition
1:13:36 - Nicole launches a new brand, moving from a hard category–to an even harder one

This episode was researched and produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineer was Robert Rodriguez.

Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:
Instagram → @guy.raz
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.