From Scratch with Jessica Harris

Jack is a serial entrepreneur who has started two companies — Twitter and Square — that, on the face of it, seem entirely different. Twitter is a social networking service; Square is a mobile payments company. But Jack believes that their shared purpose is to make each of their related tasks — communicating and transacting — easier. Twitter gets messages from point A to point B just as Square gets money from point A to point B. Twitter has over 500 million users and gained global recognition when it facilitated the Iranian protests of the presidential election in 2009. Users type messages to followers using a maximum of 140 characters. Square is a financial services company that allows any merchant to accept credit card payments through a device that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack. One of the company’s services, called Square Wallet, allows customers to buy products without having to use their actual credit card. Jack speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched both Twitter and Square, from scratch. This interview was conducted before Jack returned to Twitter and became CEO in 2015. Listen to the interview

Nest Labs is focused on helping to create the next-generation home by making energy-saving smart digital assistants. Tony calls Nest’s first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, “a smartphone in disguise.” Prior to launching Nest, Tony worked at Apple where he led the team that developed the iPod and iPhone. He was a special advisor to Steve Jobs until late 2009. Nest was sold to Google in January, 2014 for $3.2 Billion. Tony speaks with Jessica Harris about his leadership role at Apple, and his vision for Nest, from scratch. Listen to the interview

Marc and Vinnie have been close friends since they were elementary school classmates in New Jersey. Mark and Vinnie spent their earlier careers in finance and law respectively, before becoming business partners in their late twenties. In addition to Diapers.com, the online retail site specializing in baby products, they have started a number of other e-commerce businesses including Soap.com, focused on cleaning supplies, Wag.com, focused on pet products, and Yoyo.com, specializing in toys. Amazon bought the parent company, Quidsi, for $540 Million in 2010. Quidsi is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Marc and Vinnie speak with Jessica Harris about how they built their e-commerce businesses, from scratch. Listen to the interview

IEX is an alternate trading platform whose mission is to ensure fair trading in the US equity capital market system. IEX was launched specifically to counter the behavior of high frequency traders who take advantage of the information arbitrage made possible by electronic trading. Prior to starting IEX, Brad worked at Royal Bank of Canada where he first discovered the market imbalance generated by certain high frequency traders. Brad and IEX are featured in Michael Lewis’ book, Flash Boys, about high frequency trading. Brad speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched IEX, from scratch. Listen to the interview

Chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller bought the French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa Valley California, and turned it into one of the leading fine dining establishments in the world.  The French Laundry and Per Se, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City, have both been awarded three Michelin Stars.  Thomas has won consecutive “Best Chef” awards from the James Beard Foundation and “Chef of the Year” award by the Culinary Institute of America, among other accolades.  He is the author of multiple cookbooks, including The French Laundry, Bouchon, Under Pressure, and Ad Hoc at Home. Thomas speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched his collection of restaurants, from scratch. Listen to the interview

Have you ever had a creative project you were eager to get off the ground but you didn’t have the funding to make it happen? Yancey Strickler, co-founder of Kickstarter, has helped to develop an online solution that involves the crowd’s participation. Kickstarter connects artists and innovators with potential funders who simply learn about projects by visiting the website. Yancey, a former music critic, tells Jessica Harris the story of how he and a friend hatched their crowd-sourcing idea in a Brooklyn restaurant, from scratch. Listen to the interview

“Hands which help are better than the lips that pray” are the words that hang in Dr. Devi Shetty’s office with a picture of Mother Theresa, a former patient of his. Dr. Shetty is a cardiac surgeon who pioneered low cost cardiac surgery for India’s poor population. Dr. Shetty founded the Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in Bangalore India in 2001. Doctors at Narayana Hrudayalaya perform over 7,000 heart surgeries per year without comprising quality. Through its scalable, low cost model, the hospital is able to treat patients who otherwise could not afford health care. Dr. Shetty is now expanding his vision globally– through another low cost hospital in the Cayman Islands. Jessica Harris speaks to Dr. Devi Shetty about his new model for treating patients cheaply, yet effectively, from scratch. Listen to the interview

Bre co-founded Makerbot Industries in 2009 after working as a public school teacher in Seattle, Washington. Makerbot makes 3-D printers that make actual objects. Instead of producing ink on paper, a Makerbot makes items ranging from bottle openers and toys to homes for hermit crabs(!). Bre talks to Jessica Harris about how he launched Makerbot Industries, from scratch. After this interview was recorded, Makerbot was acquired by the 3D Printing company Stratasys in a stock deal worth approximately $400MM in Spring, 2012. Listen to the interview

Yelp provides user-generated reviews of local businesses through its website and mobile app. Its contributors provide their opinions on a variety of businesses, ranging from clothing stores to restaurants. Prior to launching Yelp, Jeremy worked at Paypal. Yelp went public in 2012. Jeremy speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched Yelp, from scratch. Listen to the interview

Rob Kalin initially started Etsy—the online marketplace for handmade goods—as a way to sell his own furniture in 2005. The company has become a vehicle for more than one million artisans who sell their products—ranging from knit-wear to musical instruments to clocks—through the site. Rob speaks with Jessica Harris about how he built Etsy, from scratch. Listen to the interview