The Growth Show

The World’s Only Curious George Store sits in the heart of Harvard Square. It’s been there, in some form, since 1995. But behind the bright colors and the cheery facade, there’s been a fight raging to keep the store open since day one. In today’s episode, we tell the dramatic and little-known story of literature’s most mischievous monkey.

Nintendo is known for constantly reinventing the video game landscape. But a few years ago, they had just released their slowest-selling product of all time. Sales were so bad that the president of the company cut his salary in half. And for the first time since entering the video game market, they were operating at a loss. In today’s episode, we look at how they got there. And how they managed to...

Before it was banned for nearly a century, absinthe used to be one of the most popular drinks in the world. But somewhere along the way, it got a reputation for making people hallucinate and even go insane. How did it get such a bad reputation? Why was it made illegal in countries around the world for so long? And how did an entire industry come back from such dire straits?

Mark Hellendrung visited a local pub in his home town in Rhode Island. He was just looking for a drink, but he found himself on a journey to bring back the 125-year-old beer brand locals call ‘Gansett. But how do you balance tradition with innovation? With the weight of an entire community (and generations more) behind him, Mark finally brought The Narragansett Beer Company back home.

Our new season -- The Turnaround -- is right around the corner, but we wanted to give you a little preview of what’s to come. In this mini-episode, Dan Pink and Steve Blank both return to the show, and we ask them about a turnaround from their own lives. Have a turnaround story of your own? Record a voice memo, and send it to hello@thegrowthshow.com. You could end up on a future episode of the sho...

After nearly three years, The Growth Show is officially taking a break. But we’re not stopping, by any means. We’ve already begun production on our next season. We’ll be back in 2018 with all new episodes, telling all new stories of companies bringing themselves back from the brink. Until then, subscribe to the podcast and we’ll see you in the New Year!

We spend so much of our life in school -- with classes, teachers, tests, and papers. So when structured learning isn’t around anymore, it can be jarring. Like your training wheels just got removed. Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo at Sumo.com, has trained himself to keep learning new things all the time. Today on the show, he tells us how he manages to keep learning new skills, whether it’s marketing, m...

If you’ve ever applied for a job in tech, you know just how painful it can be. Technical tests consume hours of your time, brain teasers leave you baffled, and culture fit questions juice your stress levels. On top of all this, you’re likely still trying to hold down your current position. Jason Shen, CEO and Co-Founder of Headlight, has spent months asking around to see how companies are hiring t...

When you’re one of the most recognizable companies on the planet, how do you decide on your next big idea? If you’re Michael McNally, you think about it all the time. Michael is the Senior Director of Brand Relations at LEGO, and he’s gone from building LEGO cities in his basement to rolling the world’s largest LEGO model into downtown Manhattan. Michael tells us how he approaches partnerships, ge...

Every single day at 9:15 AM, Molly Beck reaches out to a new person in her network. And if you’re trying to get to the next level in your career, you might want to consider doing the same thing. Molly is an entrepreneur and the author of a book called ‘Reach Out: The Simple Strategy You Need to Expand Your Network and Increase Your Influence.’

Check out HubSpot’s latest podcast, called Weird Work! Each week, host Sam Balter talks with folks who work some of the weirdest jobs out there. The new show features guests like a dinosaur erotica writer, a professional bridesmaid, and an ASMR artist. In this episode, Meghan talks with Sam about what listeners can expect, and why the people with the strangest jobs are actually a lot more normal t...

Innovation is great when it’s in an iPhone. But is it something you want to put inside your mouth? Well get ready, meat industry. Because your days are numbered. Ethan Brown at Beyond Meat is hoping his company’s mission of sustainable, plant-based protein will convert even the most hardcore carnivore. Lofty goals, but he tells us how you too can evolve your own company’s mission to create real ch...

There’s the hype. Sure. But there’s also the hysteria. For most, bots are either the thing that’ll carry our companies into the future, or they’re a skip away from subjugating the entire human race. Today, we’re talking to Adelyn Zhou, CMO of TOPBOTS. She gives us her take on companies using these technologies successfully, how you can build a AI or machine learning team yourself (if you really ne...

When we look for leadership characteristics, are we really building a workplace made for extroverts? We look for leaders to constantly speak up, network, and think on their feet. But what are we missing by excluding the strengths of introverts? Today on the show, we’re talking with Amma Marfo, a speaker, writer and editor, who thinks that we can do better. And she has a good idea of where we can s...

Four years ago, Karen Millsap’s husband was shot and killed in the gym they co-owned. There was no warning. No response manual. What followed was a time of immense hardship, struggle, and reinvention. Karen joins us to talk about the importance of creating a psychologically safe work environment and the importance of building a culture of empathy and compassion. She offers ways you can ready your...

Companies have great stories to tell, but they’re being drowned out by thousands of low-quality messages that journalists receive each day. Ricky Yean and his team at Upbeat realized that the problem is one of coordination. Journalists getting way too much of what they don’t need, and not enough of what they do. In this episode, Ricky talks about his solution, the increasing role of influencers in...

When Payal Kadakia quit her job at Warner Music Group, she didn't have a backup plan. She knew she wasn't happy in her job, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do next. After a few weeks of soul-searching, she decided on her next move: She was going to start a fitness membership to help people uncover new classes in their area. Five years, and a few business models later, ClassPass is helping h...

Not long ago, men’s shorts were long, with as many pockets as possible. But these days, they’re shrinking. And we can trace it all back to four friends with one simple idea. Today, we’re talking with Tom Montgomery, a co-founder of Chubbies, a men and women’s clothing company. Tom tells us what it’s like to bear the “bro” stereotype and sell a product that no one was asking for at the time.

To Jerry Colonna, accepting leadership means accepting to work on yourself. Because if you’re struggling personally, your company is probably struggling as well. Jerry is the founder of Reboot, a coaching company that’s helped some of the tech industry’s most well-known leaders. In this episode, he tells us the first step he takes with all of his clients, how he got into this industry, and where h...

Projects fail. Side-projects fail even more. But every once in awhile, a project comes along that shatters expectations (and maybe even a Google Sheet in the process). Yet all too often, we’re left wondering why? Mikael Cho, the CEO and founder of Unsplash, knows the answers to this question. Unsplash was once a side project itself. In today’s episode, Mikael explains which signs to keep a sharp e...

When did working 100 hours become the banner for success? And worse, when did it become so damn cool? Luckily, not everyone thinks so. David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails and the founder and CTO of Basecamp. David believes this type of workaholism starts at the top and quickly trickles down to your employees. He tells us why we need to change the narrative and stop thinking th...

Tech has a diversity problem. And in recent years we’ve seen a wave of programs aimed at teaching young people of color to code. But the reality is that addressing the diversity problem is about much more than just teaching kids how to code. Brandon Nicholson is the founding executive director of the Hidden Genius Project, an organization that teaches engineering skills and equips students with le...

Amanda Spann is a serial entrepreneur, and after seeing major judgment errors like Pepsi's tone-deaf Kendall Jenner ad, she launched the site youneedablackperson.com. She meant it as a joke, but it’s rooted in a much larger issue. On today’s episode, Amanda explains how rapid growth and groupthink can poison a company’s better judgment, and how she’s avoiding having the same issues with her own pr...

For years, the pace of everyday work has been increasing. But Kathie Sever’s company is a good example of why the future may not be faster. Kathie owns Fort Lonesome, a custom chain stitching outfit in Austin, Texas. After witnessing first hand the unsustainable practices of the garment industry, she wanted to change the way we all think about clothing. And she’s doing just that. One stitch at a t...

More than a decade ago, Steve Blank helped lay the groundwork for The Lean Startup movement. Instead of innovating in a vacuum, he told entrepreneurs they needed to get outside and talk to customers. In this episode, Steve explains why innovation is fundamentally different in startups, how the Lean Startup can be applied almost anywhere, and what you should do if your company’s innovation engine s...