How I Built This with Guy Raz Wondery

There’s a new car coming to market that will probably make its owners search out the sunniest spots in the parking lot…Aptera Motors is designing and manufacturing this car: a plug-in electric hybrid that can run up to 40 miles on a single, solar-powered charge. This week on How I Built This Lab, Steve Fambro shares how he and his co-CEO revived their once-defunct auto company thanks to the promise of solar energy. Plus, Steve’s take on why today’s vehicles require so much energy, and how Aptera’s novel design could change the way we think about cars forever…

This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson and edited by John Isabella, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.

You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz founded Magic Spoon to create a sugary breakfast cereal without the sugar. If that sounds daunting, consider their first business: protein bars made with cricket flour. Riffing on an idea that began as a college assignment, the founders ordered live crickets to roast at home, and worked with a top-rated chef to perfect their recipes. The only problem: getting people to eat a snack made of ground-up bugs. When Exo protein bars eventually stalled, the pair pivoted to another ambitious idea: breakfast cereal that tasted like the Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs of childhood–but minus the sugar and grains. Drawing on their roller-coaster experience with Exo, Gabi and Greg revisited winning strategies, and scrapped the plays that didn’t work, eventually building Magic Spoon into a nationwide brand.


This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei

Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Sam Paulson.


You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

Cutting emissions alone will not be enough. To avoid the worst effects of global climate change, Heirloom CEO and co-founder Shashank Samala believes we’ll also need to pull a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere...

This week on How I Built This Lab, Shashank’s leap into climate entrepreneurship, launching the company that, in just four years, built North America’s first operational carbon capture facility. Plus, Heirloom’s novel approach to carbon removal—one tray of limestone at a time.

This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

It was edited by John Isabella with research help from Carla Esteves. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

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

In 2012, Ariel Kaye saw a tantalizing opportunity, but wasn’t sure she was the one to seize it. She’d never started a brand and didn’t think of herself as an entrepreneur, until she noticed how frustrating it was to buy bed linens in a big box store. Taking inspiration from Warby Parker and Everlane, Ariel quit her day job to launch a brand of DTC luxury sheets, made in Europe but exuding a California vibe, with photos of models lounging in semi-rumpled beds. As a solo founder, Ariel had to figure out everything herself, from manufacturing to supply chains to how to get through to investors. Today, Parachute Home offers a wide range of home goods and has expanded beyond its website to 26 physical stores across the U.S. 




This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

Edited by Neva Grant, with research from Katherine Sypher.

Our engineer was Josephine Nyounai.

You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.




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

“If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, then we’re going to get what we’ve got—and what we got ain’t working.”

ICON Co-founder/CEO and proud Texan Jason Ballard believes that a radically different approach to construction holds the key to creating affordable housing and solving homelessness for the entire globe. 

This week on How I Built This Lab, Jason’s venturesome path to inventing advanced technology that prints disaster-resilient homes from concrete—at a fraction of the traditional time and cost. Plus, a look at the Moon for more of Earth’s building solutions... 




This episode was researched and produced by Carla Esteves, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

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

Tiffany Masterson was a stay-at-home mom in her 40s when she launched her skin care brand, Drunk Elephant, in 2013. Six years later, she sold it for $845 million to the Japanese beauty giant Shiseido. Just six years! And she did it all with little to no experience in skin care, retail, or business. The professional branding and skin care world thought she was making huge mistakes: They panned her brand's name, product design, and strategy of focusing on only one high-end retailer. But Tiffany proved them wrong with great strategic instincts, incredible determination, and an unwavering belief in her products - and herself.




This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

Edited by Andrea Bruce, with research from Katherine Sypher.

Our audio engineer was Josephine Nyounai.




You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

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