I'm a huge fan of the "How I Built This" podcast, and this is a great episode.
I think the concept of "scratching your own itch" is incredibly powerful, and is the genesis for many successful products. Yvon's story of "growing too fast" is also relevant in this era of excessive VC funding for early startups. He describes "going for growth" and hitting 50% year-over-year for a while, but hitting massive problems that near-killed the company when they did well, but underperformed expectations (only growing ~25%). Settling down and focusing on a sustainable model with longevity certainly paid off, but it's tough to "go back" when startups take VC funding, as those investors will push for a strategy that maximizes the possibility of an outsized return.
Dev Rel & Live Coding Streamer. Obsessed with using code, inclusion, & design thinking to bring big ideas to life and tell digital stories worth sharing.
I'm also big "How I Built This" fan and this is by far my favorite episode. Yvon seems incredibly grounded and decisive. I also love that the stimulation for him to start building pitons was rooted in environmental responsibility and sustainability. Based on this podcast my friend and I bought his autobiography "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman".
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I'm a huge fan of the "How I Built This" podcast, and this is a great episode.
I think the concept of "scratching your own itch" is incredibly powerful, and is the genesis for many successful products. Yvon's story of "growing too fast" is also relevant in this era of excessive VC funding for early startups. He describes "going for growth" and hitting 50% year-over-year for a while, but hitting massive problems that near-killed the company when they did well, but underperformed expectations (only growing ~25%). Settling down and focusing on a sustainable model with longevity certainly paid off, but it's tough to "go back" when startups take VC funding, as those investors will push for a strategy that maximizes the possibility of an outsized return.
I'm also big "How I Built This" fan and this is by far my favorite episode. Yvon seems incredibly grounded and decisive. I also love that the stimulation for him to start building pitons was rooted in environmental responsibility and sustainability. Based on this podcast my friend and I bought his autobiography "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman".