How I Built This with Guy Raz

NVIDIA is one of the most valuable companies in human history. Its chips run the AI systems transforming everything from entertainment to warfare. But for years, almost nobody believed in co-founder Jensen Huang’s vision. Jensen spent nearly a decade pouring billions into a technology called CUDA, long before AI made it profitable.
In this deeply personal conversation, Jensen tells Guy why NVIDIA’s very first chip was a catastrophic failure … and how at one point, the company was 30 days away from going out of business.
Jensen also explains why he thinks fears about AI are overblown, and why he believes the next generation will have more opportunity — not less — because of AI.

What You’ll Learn:
Why NVIDIA nearly collapsed before becoming an AI giant
How researchers sparked the AI boom using NVIDIA gaming chips
How to lead through uncertainty when a huge bet hasn’t yet paid off
How Jensen approaches hard decisions like an engineer
We’re “doing ourselves a disservice” by being afraid: Jensen on AI and job loss
How Jensen defends his demanding management style
Why past failures still haunt him

Key Moments From the Interview:
00:07:51 — Jensen Huang’s childhood at an unusual Kentucky boarding school
00:14:50 — Why Jensen left a stable career to help start NVIDIA
00:17:14 — NVIDIA’s first failure: the NV1 disaster
00:19:51 — The desperate trip to Japan that gave the company a lifeline
00:23:11 — “The only idea we had” for prototyping: the emulator Hail Mary
00:30:53 — The book that shaped Jensen’s thinking about innovation
00:35:04 — Why NVIDIA kept investing in CUDA while Wall Street lost faith
00:41:38 — The moment AI researchers discovered the power of NVIDIA’s chips
00:53:17 — Jensen on fear of job loss from AI, and why America risks falling behind
01:01:56 — Knowing what he knows now, would he do it again? Yes — and no

This episode was researched and produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Robert Rodriguez.

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Today’s callers: Kristina in Florida wants to take her local pottery workshops nationwide. Then Jim from Colorado wonders if retail is right for his quick release camera straps. And Will in Ohio hopes his business will change what consumers expect from tool rental services.
Thank you to the founders of Seagrass Pottery, Lemur Strap and Tool Club 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 [email protected] or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to our episodes with Chieh Huang of Boxed, Hernan Lopez of Wondery and David Neeleman of Jet Blue.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack

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John Gabbert built a massive furniture brand. But in order to do it, he had to defy his family.

John grew up working at his dad’s furniture store in the suburbs of Minneapolis. It sold classic, American-made furniture, with flowery prints and curved legs. But in 1972, John took a life-changing trip to Sweden, where he discovered an obscure store called IKEA. It was selling an entirely different type of furniture: simple, modern, and inexpensive, with a manufacturing process they controlled. To John, it looked like the future of furniture. The only problem, his dad didn’t agree.

That disagreement led to a 10-year family rift—but also a new business.

In 1980—zafter a deal to buy out his dad broke down—John spun out his own furniture brand, Room & Board. Today, it sells hundreds of millions of dollars of furniture in its own classic designs, mostly made by small American manufacturers.

This is the story of how John did it, without outside investors, and without chasing growth for growth’s sake.

What You’ll Learn

Why the right thing for your business might be the hardest thing for your family
How John connected with young boomers—not their parents
The key to long-term success: growing slow and saying “no”
Why John refused private equity money
Why Room & Board transitioned to employee ownership

Timestamps:
00:06:10 - Gabberts: flowery furniture in a fake living room
00:09:41 - Becoming president of the family business at age 23
00:13:33 - A fateful trip to IKEA in Sweden: “That's what the future needed to be”
00:18:36 - John tries to buy out the family business… until his dad backs out
00:35:47 - Design inspiration from modern art—and steel frames
00:46:38 - Why making furniture in America makes sense
00:55:27 - Investors come to call… and John says no
01:01:48 - The decision that transferred ownership to employees

This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research help from Rommel Wood. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Kwesi Lee.

Follow How I Built This:
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Today’s callers: Anthony from Miami considers the best method to grow his pop-up outdoor movie theater business. Then Andrew in San Francisco asks how to set his cat wrestling toy apart from competitors. Finally, Melissa in Massachusetts seeks strategies for getting busy parents excited about her healthy frozen muffins.
Plus, Jonah shares what’s next for Buzzfeed as the company marks 20 years of business.
Thank you to the founders of Motion Flix, CATSUMO, and Unrefined Foods 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 Buzzfeed’s founding story as told by Jonah on the show in 2017.
This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Casey Herman. 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.

Gregg Renfrew started a movement by making better-for-you cosmetics, then enlisted an army of women to build the business through direct sales. But after selling Beautycounter, she was pushed out of the company she created.
Then she got to do something almost no founder gets to do:
She bought her company back. Then lost it again. Then took the risky step of rebuilding it into a new brand, now called Counter.
This is a story about ambition, humility, and second chances.
Gregg learned her first lessons by launching an early online wedding registry and selling it to Martha Stewart. She briefly led a clothing company and was summarily fired—by messenger.
In this candid conversation, Gregg talks about the bold innovation she brought to the beauty industry, and the lessons she learned from working with difficult people—including, at times, herself.

What You’ll Learn:
How to build a movement—not just a product
The hidden risks of “growth at all costs”
Why direct sales (done right) can outperform traditional DTC
The emotional toll of being fired from your own company
How to rebuild your identity after losing your business
What it takes to come back—and do it differently the second time

Timestamps:
(00:06:15) – Selling Xerox machines and getting doors slammed in her face
(00:08:09) – The early inspiration for an online wedding registry.
(00:16:44) – The brutal lesson of the dot-com crash: “growth at all costs”
(00:21:58) – Standing up to Martha Stewart: “I was cocky.”
(00:23:51) – Getting fired as CEO… by messenger… in front of her team
(00:32:47) – The moment she realized the beauty industry had a massive gap
(00:35:25) – “Clean beauty didn’t exist”—and why that made it so hard
(00:47:04) – Building a 60,000-person sales force, scaling to hundreds of millions in sales
(00:46:40) – Selling Beautycounter for $1B… and losing control months later
(01:00:13) – The emotional aftermath of being pushed out—and what came next

This episode was produced by John Isabella with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research help from Noor Gill. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Jimmy Keeley.

Follow How I Built This:
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Follow Guy Raz:
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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.