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 hibt@id.wondery.com 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.

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:

(00:03:50) – Selling Xerox machines and getting doors slammed in her face

(00:05:44) – The early inspiration for an online wedding registry.

(00:14:19) – The brutal lesson of the dot-com crash: “growth at all costs”

(00:19:33) – Standing up to Martha Stewart: “I was cocky.”

(00:21:25) – Getting fired as CEO… by messenger… in front of her team

(00:28:07) – The moment she realized the beauty industry had a massive gap

(00:30:45) – “Clean beauty didn’t exist”—and why that made it so hard

(00:42:24) – 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

(00:54:03) – 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.

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Website → guyraz.com

Today’s callers: Barbara in Massachusetts wonders how her nutrition education theater company might live on past her own involvement. Then Jeff in Illinois looks to carry the momentum from his Ninja Warrior-inspired gyms to form a professional league around the sport. And Vince in Virginia weighs the risks from introducing new SKUs for his men’s organic underwear brand.

Plus, David breaks down the resource management necessary to keep an airline aloft as rising fuel prices grip the industry.

Thank you to the founders of FoodPlay Productions, Ultimate Ninjas, and Gotchies for being a part of our show.

If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, 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 hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.

And be sure to listen to JetBlue’s founding story as told by David in 2019.

This episode was produced by Sam Paulson 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 or on Substack.

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