Stephen Semple and David Young
The Empire Builders Podcast
Reverse engineering the success of established business empires.
Author
Stephen Semple and David Young
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 8, 2026
Where to listen?
Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soonPodcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts
Episodes
#264: Ferragamo – Comfortable Luxury 08.07.2026 21:39
Salvatori Ferragamo didn’t make beautiful shoes, he made shoes that work with the human body beautifully. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Steph...
#263: The Beauty Way – Part 2 01.07.2026 21:15
Jyoti Lohman continues to tell us her business journey creating The Beauty Way experience and why it is important. Listen to part 1 first. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop ...
#262: The Beauty Way – Part 1 24.06.2026 19:04
Jyoti Lohman started The Beauty Way, a spa experience and product line to inspire women to pause and be taken care of. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major b...
#261: Scott Paper – Rolling With The Times 17.06.2026 1:01
The Scott brothers saw opportunity when the ‘Crapper’ started to become a household name. Thank you Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands.&...
#260: Auntie Anne’s Pretzels – Rural Pennsylvania to 2000 Stores 10.06.2026 17:31
Anne Beiler want to support her husband’s business by selling some homemade goods at the local food market. I guess it worked. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major...
#259: Cinnabon – Putting The Cart Before The Horse 03.06.2026 17:55
Rich and Greg Komen decided they wanted a empire and then went a built it. Not the normal path, but… Cinnabon! Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major bra...
#258: Xerox – An Empire By Necessity 27.05.2026 25:18
Joseph Wilson was loosing the battle to Kodak when he discovered the xerography machine. Then he made it sellable. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brand...
#256: Hermes – Being Craftsmen 13.05.2026 21:15
From the beginning, the Hermes Family knew they were in the craftsmen business. Making products that last for generations. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Step...
#255: Top Golf – Identity Crisis??? 06.05.2026 22:28
Steve and Dave Jolliffee realized that driving ranges lacked feedback. Golfers need feedback to improve, so they created a way to get feedback. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop&...
#254: Tiffany & Co – Pantone 1847 Is Their Color 29.04.2026 20:43
Tiffany & Co was one of the first companies to introduce fixed pricing. Then became the luxury brand of New York. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. ...
#253: Foxy Box (part 2) – Becoming a Franchise 22.04.2026 23:58
Sometimes you need to listen to the universe when it is trying to help you. Kyla Dufrense listened and survived. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Step...
#252: Foxy Box (part 1) – Powerful & Energized 15.04.2026 27:25
Kyla Dufresne built up Foxy Box from the dining room table to 24 locations by creating an experience and culture of comfort and trust. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to&#...
#251: Gatorade – Not Just A Sports Drink, Anymore. 08.04.2026 18:16
Coach Ray Graves has 25 young, physically fit players all go to the infirmary after practicing on a hot day. He needed to fix that. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands.&...
#250: iPhone – To Save the iPod 01.04.2026 25:45
iPod saved Apple from chapter 11 and there would be no iPhone with it either. Oh, and Jony Ive helped, a little, too! Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. ...
#249: Drunk Elephant – Yep, A Skincare Company 25.03.2026 19:26
Tiffany Masterson was a stay at home mom who wanted to help out the family. With grit and a willingness to be different she built an empire. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to ...
#248: P.T. Barnum – You Must Capture Attention 18.03.2026 16:35
P.T. Barnum realized very quickly that entertainment is currency and was one of the first to use outdoor mass media. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from Mom-and-Pop to major brands. Steven Sem...
#247: He-Man – I Have The Power 11.03.2026 13:28
After Mattel took a loss on the Clash of the Titans toys the almost did it again with Conan the Barbarian. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. ...
#246: Firestone & Goodyear – Innovation By Competition 04.03.2026 21:54
Two start-ups a couple of years apart became the inspiration for each other to get better and better and better. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from Mom-and-Pop to major brands. Stephen Semple...
#245: Gymboree – A 1.8 Billion Dollar Empire 26.02.2026 22:41
Joan Barnes wanted to meet new moms and that was the inspiration for a place for moms to hang out with other moms. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. St...
#244: Pace Salsa – The OG American Salsa 18.02.2026 17:16
In 1947 Dave Pace spiced up America with Salsa and this turned into a 90 Billion Dollar category. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen&#...
#243: Doritos & Tostitos – A Risk That Paid Off 11.02.2026 18:27
Arch West had the heart of an entrepreneur and liked to take risks. Unfortunately he worked for Frito-Lay and had bosses to convince. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to...
#242: Nintendo – Video Games Starting in 1889 04.02.2026 19:41
Mario Bros. is the biggest franchise of all time. Bigger than Star Wars, Marvel… bigger than Harry Potter. Nintendo is an empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen...
#241: P.F. Chang’s – From Scottsdale To The World 28.01.2026 16:40
300 hundred restaurants in 22 countries might not sound like a billion dollar empire, but you would be wrong. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and busines...
#240: Wham-O – Meat Slingshot to Toy Empire 21.01.2026 26:41
When no one wants your Meat Slingshot, what do you do? Make a better flying disc and name it after a pie plate, naturally. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick...
#239: Cup O’ Noodles – Same Ramen Different Name 14.01.2026 21:46
Momofuku Ando is the father of Instant Ramen. Feeding Japan after the war. But how do you get Americans to eat it? Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and bus...
Similar podcasts
Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.