The Empire Builders Podcast

By Stephen Semple and David Young

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Category: Entrepreneurship

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Subscribers: 7
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 270

Description

Reverse engineering the success of established business empires.

Episode Date
#270: Kraft Singles – Keeping Up With The Times
Aug 19, 2026
#269: Shopify – Born of Necessity
Aug 12, 2026
#268: Chanel – From Orphan to Empire
Aug 05, 2026
#267: Swiss Miss – Bye Bye Milkman
Jul 29, 2026
#266: Yoohoo – Means I Love You
Jul 22, 2026
#264: Ferragamo – Comfortable Luxury
Jul 08, 2026
#263: The Beauty Way – Part 2
Jul 01, 2026
#262: The Beauty Way – Part 1
Jun 24, 2026
#261: Scott Paper – Rolling With The Times
Jun 17, 2026
#260: Auntie Anne’s Pretzels – Rural Pennsylvania to 2000 Stores
Jun 10, 2026
#259: Cinnabon – Putting The Cart Before The Horse
Jun 03, 2026
#258: Xerox – An Empire By Necessity
May 27, 2026
#256: Hermes – Being Craftsmen
May 13, 2026
#255: Top Golf – Identity Crisis???
May 06, 2026
#254: Tiffany & Co – Pantone 1847 Is Their Color
Apr 29, 2026
#253: Foxy Box (part 2) – Becoming a Franchise
Apr 22, 2026
#252: Foxy Box (part 1) – Powerful & Energized
Apr 15, 2026
#251: Gatorade – Not Just A Sports Drink, Anymore.
Apr 08, 2026
#250: iPhone – To Save the iPod
Apr 01, 2026
#249: Drunk Elephant – Yep, A Skincare Company
Mar 25, 2026
#248: P.T. Barnum – You Must Capture Attention
Mar 18, 2026
#247: He-Man – I Have The Power
Mar 11, 2026
#246: Firestone & Goodyear – Innovation By Competition
Mar 04, 2026
#245: Gymboree – A 1.8 Billion Dollar Empire
Feb 26, 2026
#244: Pace Salsa – The OG American Salsa
Feb 18, 2026
#243: Doritos & Tostitos – A Risk That Paid Off
Feb 11, 2026
#242: Nintendo – Video Games Starting in 1889
Feb 04, 2026
#241: P.F. Chang’s – From Scottsdale To The World
Jan 28, 2026
#240: Wham-O – Meat Slingshot to Toy Empire
Jan 21, 2026
#239: Cup O’ Noodles – Same Ramen Different Name
Jan 14, 2026
#238: Google – Do No Evil…
Jan 07, 2026
#237: Chocolate Chip Cookies – An Empire???
Dec 31, 2025
#236: Porsche – From Inexpensive To Luxury
Dec 17, 2025
#235: The Home Depot – Inspired by Wal-Mart
Dec 10, 2025
#234: Ebay – Not That Kind of Auction
Dec 03, 2025
#233: Lowes – From Hardware to Home Repair
Nov 26, 2025
#232: Amazon – 8,000 Orders a Minute
Nov 19, 2025
#231: Lily’s Sweets – Sweeter Than Sugar
Nov 12, 2025
#230: French Florist (Part 2) – In The Business of Love
Nov 05, 2025
#229: French Florist (Part 1) – From Failing to Flourishing
Oct 29, 2025
#228: Saving Lego – The Amazing Turnaround
Oct 22, 2025
#227: AOL – You’ve Got Mail
Oct 15, 2025
#226: 7-Eleven – The World’s Biggest
Oct 08, 2025
#225: Movie Concessions – Let’s All Go To The Lobby
Oct 01, 2025
#224: Power Rangers – Japan Meets America
Sep 24, 2025
#223: Untuckit – Shirt. Problem. Solved.
Sep 18, 2025
#222: Avis – They Try Harder…
Sep 10, 2025
#221: Hertz – 10 Years After The Model “T”
Sep 03, 2025
#220: LeNoble Lumber (con’t) – 3 Generations Strong
Aug 27, 2025
#219: LeNoble Lumber – 3 Generations Strong
Aug 20, 2025
#218: Frappuccino – Not A Brand???
Aug 13, 2025
#217: Sesame Street – Breaking Boundries
Aug 06, 2025
#216: Oliva Gibbs Law – Part 2
Jul 30, 2025
#215: Oliva Gibbs Law – Part 1
Jul 23, 2025
#214: Mr. Coffee – So Easy a Man Can Do It
Jul 16, 2025
#213: Folgers – The Best Part of Waking Up
Jul 09, 2025
#212: Red Bull – Powerful Branding Works
Jul 02, 2025
#211: Alienware – Computing Power Empire
Jun 25, 2025
#210: Tesla – Changing the Auto Industry
Jun 18, 2025
#209: Hexclad – From Auditions to Non-Stick
Jun 11, 2025
#208: 4 Years of Learning – What this Podcast Has Taught Us
Jun 04, 2025
#207: Dr. Gross Skincare – Yes, A Real Doctor
May 28, 2025
#206: Transformers – More Than Meets The Eye
May 21, 2025
#205: Specialized Bikes – Staying Ahead of the Trends
May 14, 2025
#204: Levis – Did NOT Invent Denim
May 07, 2025
#203: Parker Brothers – Their Monopoly Story
Apr 30, 2025
#202: Sour Patch Kids – Gummy Bears Meet Cabbage Patch Kids
Apr 23, 2025
#201: Cabela’s – From Furniture to Fishing Flies
Apr 16, 2025
#200: Happy Meal – 35 Billion Served
Apr 09, 2025
#199: Supergoop – A Cancer Scare Jumpstarts An Empire
Apr 02, 2025
#198: Wizard Academy – Magical Communication
Mar 26, 2025
#197: James Bond – Shaken Not Stirred
Mar 19, 2025
#196: Swatch – Saving the Swiss Watch Makers
Mar 12, 2025
#195: PEZ – Part 2 – From Loophole to Pez Outlaw
Mar 05, 2025
#194: Pez – Part 1 – The Mint that Became a Collectable
Feb 26, 2025
#193: Jacuzzi – Propellers to Propellers
Feb 19, 2025
#192: Polaroid – Instant Idea, Instant Pic, Instant Empire
Feb 12, 2025
#191: Three Levels of Trust – From Surface to Deep
Feb 05, 2025
#190: Care & Repair – A True Empire Building Story
Jan 29, 2025
#189: Birkenstock – Went Public At 7 Billion
Jan 22, 2025
#188: Walmart – Big Dreams for Small Towns
Jan 15, 2025
#187: Willy Wonka – More Than A Movie!
Jan 08, 2025
#186: Rolex – How To Promote a Premium Brand
Jan 01, 2025
#185: Dirty Dough (part 2) – No Money? Invest Time.
Dec 26, 2024
#184: Dirty Dough (Part 1) – A Chairman’s Story
Dec 20, 2024
#183: Talking A.I. – Terminator or Jetsons
Dec 11, 2024
#182: Twitter – Not “X”
Dec 04, 2024
#181: Rebecca Cassel – Part 2 – Partnerships Take Work
Nov 27, 2024
#180: Rebecca Cassel – Part 1 – Helping Contractors Succeed
Nov 20, 2024
#179: Banana Ball – Frictionless Baseball
Nov 13, 2024
#178: Spin Master – Yep, The Toy Company
Nov 06, 2024
#177: Lip Bar – All Natural Happy Place
Oct 30, 2024
#176: Mars – Part 2 – The Best Chocolate Union
Oct 23, 2024
#175: Mars – Part1 – Like Father Unlike Son
Oct 16, 2024
#174: Daniel Whittington – The Chancellor, The Myth, The Legend
Oct 09, 2024
#173: Scrabble – Strategic Crossword Empire
Oct 02, 2024
#172: Marriott – Creating the Future of Hotels
Sep 25, 2024
#171: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Cowabunga, Dude
Sep 18, 2024
#170: Connect 4 – Tic Tac Checkers
Sep 11, 2024
#169: Hilton – Unlucky???
Sep 04, 2024
#168: Uno – Say My Name, Say My Name
Aug 28, 2024
#167: Clue – When Murder Becomes a Game
Aug 21, 2024
#166: Rocky – Not Just Another Bum in the Neighborhood
Aug 14, 2024
#165: Costco – 900 Stores vs 10,000
Aug 07, 2024
#164: Howard Johnson’s – He Saw The Future
Jul 31, 2024
#163: Lite Beer – Diet or Less Filling
Jul 24, 2024
#162: Avon – Ding Dong Avon Calling
Jul 17, 2024
#161: How To Create A Strategy – Let’s get real.
Jul 10, 2024
#160: Hires Root Beer – The Origin Of Root Beer
Jul 03, 2024
#159: Calendly – Made It Simple
Jun 26, 2024
#158: Yahtzee – Part Myth Part Real
Jun 19, 2024
#157: Pictionary – Followed a Path To Success
Jun 12, 2024
#156: Liquid Death – 99% Marketing
Jun 05, 2024
#155: StretchMed – Starting a Franchise During a Pandemic
May 29, 2024
#154: Slinky – It’s Slinky, Oh What a Wonderful Toy
May 22, 2024
#153: Dunkin Donuts – Giving People What They Want
May 15, 2024
#152: Social Media & Recruitment – A Case Study with No Bull RV
May 08, 2024
#151: Anacin – Unique Selling Proposition or Feelings?
May 01, 2024
#150: United Parcel Service – Delivery by Model “T”
Apr 24, 2024
#149: History of Franchising – Making Millionaires
Apr 17, 2024
#148: Kodak – They Captured Their Own Moment
Apr 10, 2024
#147: Cabbage Patch Kids – Popular ‘Til Everyone Had One
Apr 03, 2024
#146: Etsy – The Online Craft Show
Mar 27, 2024
#145: Xero Shoes – Invisible Shoes You Can See
Mar 20, 2024
#144: FedEx – When it has to be there the next day.
Mar 14, 2024
#143: Xerox – Oops, Just Missed.
Mar 06, 2024
#142: Kinko’s – Kinky Red Hair to Copy Company Empire
Feb 28, 2024
#141: Bubble Wrap – Fidget Toy or Packing Safety?
Feb 21, 2024
#140: Building Trust – Using Social Media
Feb 14, 2024
#139: Trivial Pursuit – Hard, But Not Too Hard
Feb 07, 2024
#138: Trip Advisor – Because Real Matters
Jan 31, 2024
#137: How To Recruit Good People
Jan 25, 2024
#136: Silly Putty – From War Effort To Childs Play Thing
Jan 17, 2024
#135: Herschel – Established by Design
Jan 10, 2024
#134: Krispy Kreme – Word of Mouth Masters
Jan 03, 2024
#133: Pepperidge Farm –
Dec 27, 2023
#132: Adventures in A.I. – Left, Right and Connected
Dec 20, 2023
#131: Michael Kors – Brave, Bankrupt and Brilliant
Dec 13, 2023
#130: Poinsettia – Mexican Shrub to Christmas Icon
Dec 06, 2023
#129: Angie’s List – From Intern to Internet
Nov 29, 2023
#128: Behind The Scenes – Dave Young
Nov 22, 2023
#127: Wonder Bread – The best thing since…
Nov 15, 2023
#126: Best Practices – Are they though???
Nov 08, 2023
#125: Clairol – Challenged everyone.
Nov 01, 2023
#124: Harry’s – 0 To $1.4 Billion in 7 Years
Oct 25, 2023
#123: CHOMPS – A meat stick empire?
Oct 18, 2023
#122: Sun Bum – People Surf in Frickin’ Michigan?
Oct 11, 2023
#121: G.I. Joe – The First Action Figure
Oct 04, 2023
#120: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox – On to the cars…
Sep 27, 2023
#119: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox – Very Very Connected
Sep 20, 2023
#118: Rubik’s Cube – Teaching Device or Toy?
Sep 13, 2023
#117: Maker’s Mark – A story of doing what you’re supposed to.
Sep 06, 2023
#116: Smirnoff – What a roller coaster ride…
Aug 30, 2023
#115: Singer – Built a Better Sewing Machine But Nobody Bought It Until…
Aug 23, 2023
#114: Patreon – Spotify Kickstarted Patreon
Aug 16, 2023
#113: Joseph Rosefield – Father of Peanut Butter
Aug 09, 2023
#112: Tetris – Digital Anxiety or Awesome Game?
Aug 02, 2023
#111 Marlboro Man – Mild as May to Rugged Cowboy
Jul 26, 2023
#110: Samuel Adams – Trailblazing Craft Beer
Jul 19, 2023
#109: Wolfman Jack – The Man, The Myth, The Howl
Jul 12, 2023
#108: Zamboni – Really? Invented in L.A.?
Jul 05, 2023
#107: Griffin Service – Pt. 2 – Turd buckets beware!
Jun 28, 2023
#106: Griffin Service – Pt. 1 – Tom Casey is an S.O.B.
Jun 21, 2023
#105: Just Do It – Nike – The everyday athlete anthem
Jun 14, 2023
#104: Jenga – J…J…J…Jenga. Take a block from the middle…
Jun 07, 2023
#103: Kayak – The lifetime value of a customer
May 31, 2023
#102: PIT – Pit Crew Training to Business Training
May 24, 2023
#101: Poo Pourri – 100,000 5 Star Poops
May 17, 2023
#100: Brand & Branding – Feeling and Supporting that Feeling.
May 10, 2023
#099: Beauty Blender – A million little sponges.
May 03, 2023
#098: Birdseye Frozen Food – Always Looking for a Better Way
Apr 26, 2023
#097: Daniel Whittington – The growth of a Whisk(e)y Empire
Apr 19, 2023
#096: MIT – Media Lab – Humanizing Technology
Apr 12, 2023
#095: Thomas Cook Travel – The First Travel Agent
Apr 05, 2023
#094: Martha Harper – The Mother of Franchising
Mar 29, 2023
#093: Liquid Paper – One Secretary’s Secret
Mar 22, 2023
#092: Naugahyde – The Nauga is Ugly, but the Hyde is Beautiful
Mar 15, 2023
#091: Famous Dave’s – I met that guy at the Dave convention. He was from the middle of nowhere, Wisconsin.
Mar 08, 2023
#90: Behind the Scenes – How and why The Empire Builders Podcast got started
Mar 01, 2023
#89: McKee Bakery – Innovatively embracing change
Feb 22, 2023
#88: MTV – I want my Emmm Teee Veee
Feb 15, 2023
#87: Culver Restaurant – Family business to successful franchise
Feb 08, 2023
#86: Schlitz – Discover the Schlitz Maneuver
Feb 01, 2023
#085: American Tobacco Company – The origin of the smoke break
Jan 25, 2023
#084: Entenmann’s – Creates a packaging revolution
Jan 18, 2023
#083: Tempur-Pedic – Seeing an idea and being open to it.
Jan 11, 2023
#082: Budweiser – The King? of Beers
Jan 04, 2023
#81: Vice Media – Heroin, Failure, Grit… and Disney????
Dec 28, 2022
#080: Warby Parker – Losing your glasses sucks! Replacing sucks more.
Dec 21, 2022
#079: Instagram – The day Obama joined, they new it was a big deal
Dec 14, 2022
#078: AirBnB – Airbed and Breakfast dot com
Dec 07, 2022
#077: Kodak – The fall of an Empire
Nov 30, 2022
#076: Captain Pabst – Could I ever use a cold beer!
Nov 23, 2022
#075: Hershey’s – Milton Hershey – How do I make Milk Chocolate?
Nov 16, 2022
#074: Milwaukee Tools – The Hole Shooter
Nov 09, 2022
#073: Black Pearls – A new gem is born
Nov 02, 2022
#072: Wendy’s Dave Thomas – Dave Thomas’s ideas grew KFC
Oct 26, 2022
#071: Apple 1984 Ad – Most impactful commercials of all time
Oct 19, 2022
#070: PODS – What do you have in your storage?
Oct 12, 2022
#069: Kenners Star Wars Toys – Thinking outside the empty box.
Oct 05, 2022
#068: Sleemans – John Sleeman – My Aunt had the original beer recipe book
Sep 28, 2022
#067: RX Bars – Could you fire your Mom?
Sep 21, 2022
#066: Famous Amos – We hope he made $100M in the last sale
Sep 14, 2022
#065: Dyson – It sucks, but not enough.
Sep 07, 2022
#064: The Jet Business – Close to the money, not close to the airport
Aug 31, 2022
#063: Black & Decker – Making a better drill.
Aug 24, 2022
#062: Price on website?  We answer the question.
Aug 17, 2022
#061: Mrs. Fields – Why does the mall smell so delicious?
Aug 10, 2022
#060: Leatherman – Is it a tool?  Is it a knife?  That was the problem.
Aug 03, 2022
#059: Demographics – Why there is such a shortage of workers
Jul 27, 2022
#058: Shreddies – Good good whole wheat Shreddies
Jul 20, 2022
#057: Heinz – his favorite number was 5, and hers was 7
Jul 13, 2022
#056: Oldsmobile – launched the car industry by outsourcing, creating spinoffs like Dodge
Jul 06, 2022
#055: Uncle Nearest – Story trumps almost everything
Jun 29, 2022
#055.1 – Uncle Nearest Bonus – After listening to the story – you know you want to know how it tastes.
Jun 28, 2022
#054: M.M. Lafleur – High Function, High Style
Jun 22, 2022
#053: Hallmark – When you care enough to send the very best.
Jun 15, 2022
#052: Don’t Mess with Texas – Don’t do it.
Jun 08, 2022
#051: Creemore Springs Brewery and the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516
Jun 01, 2022
#050: Phone Number Rant – We don’t need them anymore?
May 25, 2022
#049: Kool-Aid – Owning the customer from every angle
May 18, 2022
#048: Rolls Royce – Selling just the Brand.
May 11, 2022
#047: Whole Foods – How passion became an empire
May 04, 2022
#046: Nespresso – 400 Nespresso’s drunk every second
Apr 27, 2022
#045: KFC – The secret 11 herbs and spices
Apr 20, 2022
#044: James Watt – The marketing story of horsepower
Apr 13, 2022
#043: Fox 40 – From referee to whistle entrepreneur
Apr 06, 2022
#042: Wrigley’s Origin – You buy the baking powder you get the gum
Mar 30, 2022
#041: Nike – It took them seven years to break $1M in revenue
Mar 23, 2022
#040: IMG – International Management Group. Who are these people?
Mar 16, 2022
#039: Advertising Candy Bars – Why spend millions to gain 1% more market share?
Mar 09, 2022
#038: Amazon Style – WTF? Opening a brick-and-mortar clothing retail store?
Mar 02, 2022
#037: Inov-8 -Forged in the Fells #GetAGrip 
Feb 23, 2022
#036: Hathaway Shirts and the most interesting man in the world, coincidence?
Feb 16, 2022
#035: Ford Model T – I can’t get the pig slaughter house out of my mind.
Feb 09, 2022
#034: Springfree Trampoline – I’m a bad dad; I never got my kids a trampoline.
Feb 02, 2022
#033: Chiclets – Candy-coated gum or tree sap?
Jan 26, 2022
#032: Warren Buffett – His investing strategy needed a new business model
Jan 19, 2022
#031: Intel – What would a new CEO do?
Jan 12, 2022
#030 De Beers – Shiny rocks, engagement rings, world wide dominance.
Jan 05, 2022
#029: David and Goliath – Don’t play Goliath’s Game
Dec 29, 2021
#028 Lego – 6 billion pieces stepped on
Dec 22, 2021
#027 Michelin – A tale of content marketing circa 1900, how fine dining sells more tires
Dec 15, 2021
#026 Doordash – Ding, dong, your food is here; how food delivery became an app
Dec 08, 2021
#025: Supercuts – Find out what Big Macs and haircuts have in common.
Dec 01, 2021
#024: Spider-Man – Saved by a real Super Hero
Nov 24, 2021
#023: Dr. Brinkley – Way ahead of his time or complete quack?
Nov 17, 2021
#022: Listerine – How to get the girl, by Listerine. Oh, and Axe.
Nov 10, 2021
#021: VW Beetle – Hippies Endorse THE German MAN
Nov 03, 2021
#020: Burt’s Bees – The accountant was only?!?
Oct 27, 2021
#019: Dollar General – What 75% of Americans won’t believe
Oct 20, 2021
#018: Netflix – known for one thing; twice.
Oct 13, 2021
#017: Coke – they already had an empire, but…
Oct 06, 2021
#016: Gaggia Espresso Machines had a problem
Sep 29, 2021
#015: An interview with a small business that applied the Wrigley formula from episode 4
Sep 22, 2021
#014: The birth of Play-doh. A cleaning agent becomes a toy.
Sep 15, 2021
#013: Get rid of all the bells and whistles. The Birth of the Sony Walkman
Sep 08, 2021
#012: How to marry brick and mortar with online retailing. The Canada Goose way.
Sep 01, 2021
#011: Retailers Beware!
Aug 25, 2021
#010: Who is JD Power? Is he a real person? Find out.
Aug 18, 2021
#009: Armed with Scissors and an Idea a Billionaire is Born. The Spanx Story.
Aug 11, 2021
#008: What delivering newspapers taught me about pizza – The story of Domino’s.
Aug 04, 2021
#007: How $1,500 of Flea Market Garb became Banana Republic
Jul 28, 2021
#006: Pat Weaver Changed the Face of Advertising Forever
Jul 21, 2021
#005: A Trip to Italy Changes Everything for Starbucks
Jul 14, 2021
#004: How to Build an Empire in Uncertain Times. The story of Wrigleys
Jul 07, 2021
#003: Trump Decoded
Jun 30, 2021
#002: HBO Magic
Jun 23, 2021
#001: The Story of the Dry Bar Blow Out
Jun 16, 2021
#000: What is the Empire Builders Podcast?
Jun 09, 2021