Business Unusual
The stories of successful entrepreneurs and leaders who don’t follow conventional business wisdom. From showing financial restraint to valuing people above profit, we tell the stories of mavericks who grew their empires the right way, leaving you inspired to do the same.
Episodes
19 episodes
S3 E6: Yvon Chouinard - Patagonia
When Yvon Chouinard started making climbing pitons in a chicken coop behind his parent's house, he had no interest in creating one of the world's most iconic outdoor brands. He and his fellow climbers just wanted higher quality tools that left ...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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29:31
S3 E5: Sara Blakely - SPANX
In 2000, no one would've expected that an industry like women's undergarments had room for breakthrough innovation, let alone one worth over a billion dollars. And despite people laughing in her face, Sara Blakely had dreams of building SPANX i...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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27:08
S3 E4 - How Zola Conquered the Wedding Industry
Growing up in Australia, Shan-Lyn Ma felt cut off from the excitement of the early 2000s tech boom in Silicon Valley. So she got there as soon as possible.After getting her MBA at Stanford, working at her dream company, Yahoo, and build...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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29:55
S3 E3: Whitney Wolfe Herd - Bumble
Sometimes you need to break the rules in order to create a new societal reality. And when Whitney Wolfe Heard created Bumble, that's exactly what she did.In this week's episode, we reveal how Wolfe Heard took traditional dating and<...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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24:43
S3 E2: Wolfgang Puck and the Rise of the Celebrity Chef
Before Wolfgang Puck, the words "celebrity" and "chef" were never found in the same sentence. That all changed in 1982 when Puck opened Spago in West Hollywood.With its open kitchen, delicious food, parade of A-list celebrities, and ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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31:15
S3 E1: Ingvar Kamprad - IKEA
IKEA is a $45.5 billion global conglomerate. But did you know this furniture empire was all started by a 17-year-old boy from a small Swedish town?In our kickoff to Season 3, we're diving into learn how Ingvar Kamprad, a small-town Swedi...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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27:44
S2 E6: How Kendra Scott is Designing a Better World One Piece of Jewelry at a Time
You don’t have to be a fashion insider to know the name Kendra Scott. It’s inscribed in gold letters over the door of more than 100 stores where customers not only find a perfect piece of jewelry but an experience like no other.But jewe...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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28:00
S2 E5: How Keller Williams Transferred Power to Their Agents to Become a Real Estate Giant
Being in an established industry doesn't mean that there's no room for innovation. And Gary Keller did just that when he left the real estate brokerage he worked for, partnered with Joe Williams, and launched Keller Williams Realty. In this epi...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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29:09
S2 E4: How Alamo Drafthouse Changed the Movie Theater Experience Forever
Before Alamo Drafthouse came along, the movie theater experience wasn't an experience at all. That all changed in 1997 when Tim and Karrie League opened the first Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. Now with dozens of locations across the country, the...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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39:08
S2 E3: How P. Terry's Became a Texas Favorite
Sometimes size does matter, and in the case of P. Terry's burger stand, smaller actually played in their favor. In this episode, we share the story of P. Terry's founder Patrick Terry, and how he was able to use their small size, to build one o...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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28:46
S2 E2: How Two Brothers Unleashed the Ice Monster
With Yeti, Ryan and Roy Seiders did more than build a billion dollar-brand. They created a lifestyle. In this week's episode, we go back to a time when durable coolers and stainless steel tumblers weren't synonymous with everyday life and revea...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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31:50
S2 E1: John Mackey and the Unconventional Rise of Whole Foods
In the first episode of our season focusing on Austin-based companies, we talk about the health-focused grocery store that took over the country. From showering with a kitchen dishwasher hose to building a quality food empire, John Mackey embod...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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27:40
Season Two Trailer: Keep Austin Unusual
Austin, Texas has a reputation for being "weird" so it's no surprise that many of its local businesses do things unusual. Zoho opened its Austin office almost 10 years ago and officially moved its corporate headquarters there in 2019. So ...
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Season 2
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Episode 0
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3:04
S1 E6: Soichiro Honda (Honda Motor Company)
Soichiro Honda wasn't afraid to dream big and didn't let adversity get in his way—including a violent race car crash and targeted opposition from his home country's government. In our season one finale, Austin tells us why Honda is a hero to CE...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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31:22
S1 E5: Daymond John (FUBU)
From selling hats on a street corner in Brooklyn, NY, to becoming a clothing icon, television personality, and highly sought after investor, Daymond John has experienced it all. In this episode, Arun details the "against the grain" decisions an...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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34:06
S1 E4: Chuck Feeney (Duty Free Shoppers)
Last year, the billionaire who's life goal was to die broke, finally did it—going broke that is. In this episode, Austin tells the story of Chuck Feeney, the very alive and well co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, and the man who inspired p...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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34:39
S1 E3: Kevin Systrom (Instagram)
The story of how Kevin Systrom did things differently to build Instagram and turn it into one of the most popular social media platforms of all time.
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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26:57
S1 E2: Ellen Bennett (Hedley & Bennett)
As the founder of the culinary lifestyle brand, Hedley & Bennett, Ellen Bennett built a multi-million dollar company thanks to her vision, tenacity, and unwillingness to accept "no" as an answer. In this episode, Austin tells Ellen's story ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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37:10
S1 E1: Arianna Huffington (HuffPost)
She became one of the most famous names in digital media, but how much do you really know about Arianna Huffington? In our inaugural episode, Arun tells us how Arianna built the Huffington Post and then walked away to change how people prioriti...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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24:04