I've been a long-time fan of the podcast How I Built This with Guy Raz, so when I was given the opportunity to read and review his new book by the same name, I was thrilled! How I Built This is full of entrepreneurial, business, and marketing thoughts from Guy Raz, as well as entertaining stories about how the companies and organizations that surround us every day started out and got built from just an idea...brick by painstaking brick.

Growing up, I always assumed that people who started companies and organizations were the best of the best business people with lifetimes of experience and plenty of money. After listening to (and now reading!) How I Built This, I realize that that is not always the case. Yes, experience and money sure can help, but the real determining factor of success is PURE GRIT.

Whether you're searching specifically for a book on entrepreneurship, a book to inspire you, or just a dang good read, check out How I Built This.

How I built this is one of my favorite podcasts. I listen, every week, inspired by the incredible stories and gumption of everyday people who followed their interests, passions and curiosities and truly changed the world. Reading about the same inspiring tales was equally as delightful. I love the way the book is set up topically, weaving together thematic similarities among businesses. My only complaint is that I felt like it was a reframing of the podcast instead of brand new stories. I understand that most if not all of the material made it’s way to the podcast, the original platform, but I would’ve liked to read more unique stories to the book. None the less, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting some of the greats from the podcast.

I love the How I Built This podcast and was anticipating that same tone, energy level, and inspiration from this book. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me - the magic wasn't there. Guy Raz is a talented interviewer, who draws out interesting life stories and helpful advice on his podcast, but perhaps is not as capable a writer. The chapter titles are interesting and their promise drove my enthusiasm for the content, but the stories weren't as translatable to strategy as I'd hoped. The podcast is far superior to this publication.

I received a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Guy Raz uses his unique story telling skills to share the heroes journey of several entrepreneurs. Through the pages Raz goes from early steps of a new venture up to the exit and legacy of the entrepreneur. This is an inspiring book for those who are starting a business, as well as a notebook of vicarious experiences that can speed up their learning curve.

Great book, shows a plethora insights on how founders built their companies, would highly recommend, Can't wait for more books from this author.

As a fan of the podcast I thought this would mostly be recycled clips from interviews. Raz could have easily done that and sold more than a fair share of book. He didn't. this book is a gem of insights and categorized very effectively by topic. Read it!!

Really enjoyed the stories and hearing how people made it. My favorite story has to be chicken salad chick. Definitely recommend! Also, seems like a great option for those who have not heard the podcast before. Inspiring stories, especially, during this time.

If you've listened to the How I Built This podcast, it's likely that you'll come to the end of the book and think "Well, I'm pretty sure I've already heard the vast majority, if not all, of those stories." There's certainly a gift in having them organized, though.

While I think the book will be much more beneficial and interesting to those who want to start a business but haven't listened to the podcast, it's easy to see that any reader could closer the book and have at least one takeaway to carry with them.

Super informative and interesting read. I loved the lessons from hundreds of podcast interviews and the author's style. I'll definitely be checking the podcast out!

I enjoy Guy Raz, but I don't have much of a mind for business. Because of this, I was worried about my impulsive decision to request this book and was worried it would be too technical; however, Raz deviates from the formula of concrete business tactics for success and imbues the start-up process with a sense of warmth and humanism that other business manuals gloss over or avoid all together. True, there are tons of anecdotes stuffed in there, but I think that's part of the charm of this book. I'd recommend it both for business enthusiasts and for folks who just like reading "hero's journey" stories.

Guy Raz has built quite a following with his highly acclaimed NPR podcast, How I Built This. With his exhaustive research and in-depth interviews with over two hundred entrepreneurs, he has amassed a treasure of success stories. His book with the same name is just as valuable. This book is easy and fun to read because of the case study approach. It's inspiring to hear about how others navigated their 'hero's journey' to success and deeply motivating to learn how to cope with struggles and self-doubt. Even if you don't want to start a business, it's perfect for those who want to tap into creative ways to tackle a new project or make an impact in their personal or professional lives. I recommend reading the book and keeping up with Guy on his podcast. Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

This is an essential book for anyone who is interested in business and personal growth. Guy Raz has put together an awesome book. It reminds me a lot of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. I would definitely gift this to those graduating highschool/ college or retiring, but it is suitable for all ages. This is a book you can go back to at different points in your life and pull lessons out you didn't see the first time.

How I Built This
The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
by Guy Raz
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
You Like Them
Business & Investing
Pub Date 15 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 15 Oct 2020

I've listened to the author on NPR many times and I love this presentation. The book is a great summary of interviews with entrepreneurs. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to start a business. Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC.

4 star.

This book is based on the NPR podcast, also called How I Built This, and discusses the important steps of an entrepreneurs journey to create a successful business. The author has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs on his podcast and he shares their stories in this book, which makes it a fascinating read. Each chapter is illustrated with the stories of these successful entrepreneurs, some well known and some not so well known. There were lots of nuggets of information about companies I patronize that I had never heard before. Really interesting. Definitely worth a read if you're thinking of starting a business.

Disclosure - I received a digital Advance Readers Copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

HOW I BUILT THIS

The allure of the How I Built This podcast no doubt lies in its subject matter. For an hour (give or take), host Guy Raz interviews founders of prominent companies or products about their entrepreneurial journeys. Everyone loves origin stories, and who wouldn’t want to learn more about the likes of Zappos or Airbnb or Ben & Jerry’s from the people who started it all?

Yet it may be argued that the real appeal lies in Raz’s uncanny ability to stand in for his listeners and ask precisely the questions they would were they in his shoes. That he comes across as an affable host is a given; however it’s his knack for teasing out for his listeners’ benefit the most interesting aspects of his guests’ stories that keeps me coming back to the podcast, eager for more.

After nearly four years of doing so, Raz certainly has heard more than his fair share of things that entrepreneurs ought to take to heart. Now, he distills those lessons in How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs, a book derived from his popular podcast.

The obvious thing Raz could’ve done in writing a book based on his show was to document in longform the “best of the best” of the interviews he’s done. But this is not what How I Built This (the book) is like. It’s not a companion guide to the show in the sense celebrating the podcast’s first four years. Instead, it is a thoughtful reflection about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur that relies upon insights he’s picked up from people who l’ve achieved great things on their path to entrepreneurship.

Raz is a staunch believer of the power of storytelling in business, but in this book he takes a step back to convey the many lessons he’s learned about doing business from the many people he’s interviewed throughout the years. His purpose is not to write yet another business biography—if that’s what you’re after, you can always get caught up on the podcast—but rather to show readers that everyone desperate to build a business goes through many of the same things, and would do well to heed the lessons of people who’ve already made the same mistakes, or came to the same brilliant conclusions, or were just downright lucky.

As such the book How I Built This is one of breadth rather than depth, which works fine to the extent that it strives to convey to readers what entrepreneurship is like since it isn’t one monolithic experience. Occasionally, Raz is guilty of fitting in one too many anecdotes from different interviews just to drive home a point, which has the effect of making the book come across like a supercut of the podcast. Even in such instances, however, the message is on point, and for a book aimed squarely at aspiring entrepreneurs there isn’t much wrong in erring on the side of enthusiasm.

So much of entrepreneurship entails going it alone, which is why it can be such a challenging journey to undertake. With How I Built This making the leap from podcast to printed page, aspiring entrepreneurs have another worthwhile resource to help them along their way.

I'm definitely a fan of Guy Raz but because I haven't had a long commute the last few years, I fell off from listening to his interviews and podcasts. Not having listened to any of his popular NPR series "How I Built This," in which he interviews various founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs, I didn't know what to expect. I am far from being an entrepreneur but reading this I am definitely inspired to be more confident. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be or is an innovator or entrepreneur, or to anyone who simple enjoys Guy Raz's narrative voice (be it on radio or on paper), openness, and understanding. My review of this book is based on an uncorrected electronic proof provided for free by Netgalley.

Guy Raz’s podcast is a must listen to & this book is equally as interesting informative and entertaining.Inreally enjoy reading about the path these interviewees took to get to where they are today.Well written eye opening highly recommend,#netgalley#Howibuiltthis

The How I Built This podcast has long been one of my favorites so I had expectations for this book and Guy Raz was actually able to exceed them. This book is a must-read for anyone running a business, interested in starting a business, or really for anyone interested in great stories of hard work and perseverance. Mr. Raz did an outstanding job of compiling the best stories from the How I Built This podcast, distilling them down to the essential lessons at their core, and then organizing them in such a way that a cohesive thread ties them all together. In short, one of the best business books of 2020.

https://4lifsgud.com/2020/08/30/how-i-built-this-my-key-takeaways-from-this-new-book-from-guy-raz/

Wonderful book. Have been a big time listener to the podcast and Guy Raz does not disappoint. Unique concept in looking at the business stories in the prism of the heroes journey. I have outlined my key takeaways in my blog

Guy Raz is probably one of the most popular podcasters out there. Between "How I Built This" and previously "TED Radio Hour," Raz has established himself as a go-to speaker. He asks interesting questions and presents us with scenarios we often have little daily contact with--it's quite the long way up to the entrepreneurs of fortune 500-type companies. These are millionaries, visionaries, and the like, but we get a very personal and introspective account from these daring businessmen.

The book is very much an organic collection of his many podcasts, from Jeff Bezos of Amazon to the AirBnB co-founders. The companies are varied, but themes about starting a business emerge from the weeds, about tenacity and luck and resiliency. All important notions that end up feeling not so alien to us normal citizens after all. <i>How I Built This</i> provides a wide berth of examples to satisfy our curiosity about what's going on in those minds and how our most familiar of technologies, products, and services came to fruition. The podcasts are easier to digest in short snippets, but this book nonetheless does a great job of piecing them together in a smooth-flowing narrative. Especially if you've never checked out Guy Raz before, I'd send you to this book and Raz's podcast!