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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Episode 31
When out-of-work coder Jens Rasmussen couldn’t find directions to a cafe in Copenhagen, he wound up changing navigation forever. Alongside his brother Lars (also an out-of-work coder), Jens developed…
Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago
🍑 Juicy Couture Tracksuit: How Cozy-Core Went Viral
Episode 30
In a high-end boutique between Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor met as fashion-obsessed shopgirls with dreams of entrepreneurship. But they had no obvious path to …
Published on 4 months ago
🥤Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Episode 29
The cream-topped, dome-lidded Frappuccino is the caffeinated crown jewel of the Starbucks empire. It helped the company break out from regional coffee chain to global lifestyle brand, made cold drink…
Published on 4 months, 1 week ago
🐢Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The “Dumbest” Best Idea Yet
Episode 28
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were just trying to get work. These two broke illustrators were scraping by on side hustles and instant ramen… until, one fateful night, Kevin drew a doodle to get Peter…
Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago
🔫Super Soaker: Invented by a Rocket Scientist (Literally)
Episode 27
Lonnie Johnson was already a brilliant Air Force engineer working on cutting edge, planet-saving inventions…when a surprise bathroom discovery (we’ve all been there) sparked an idea that changed wate…
Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago
🐣 Peeps: A Backroom Marshmallow Mystery
Episode 26
Roscoe Rodda was in the fight of his life. His candy factory was right down the road from Milton Hershey’s—yes, THAT Hershey’s—and he needed to set himself apart. So Roscoe embraced a single holiday …
Published on 5 months ago
📱iPhone: The Device Steve Jobs Didn’t Want to Build
Episode 25
Before 2007, mobile phones had tiny keyboards, crappy screens with internet so slow - you could finish a super burrito while waiting for your MySpace profile to load. Then Apple wowed the world with …
Published on 5 months, 1 week ago
🧀 Goldfish Crackers: The Most Romantic Snack
Episode 24
Margaret Rudkin’s family was in crisis. The Great Depression cleaned out their finances, her husband was bedridden after an accident, and her son was suffering from crippling allergies. Things were l…
Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago
📺 MTV: How Video Killed the Radio Star
Episode 23
In 1981, a scrappy ex-radio executive named John Lack had a wild vision: “What if there was a 24-hour television channel devoted entirely to music videos?” Back then, music videos weren’t really a th…
Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago
🌭 Costco’s Kirkland: How a $1.50 Hot Dog Changed Store Brands Forever
Episode 22
If you currently own a 12-pack of bath tissue, a 150-count bag of laundry pods, and/or a 48-oz jar of cashews, chances are they all have the same label: Kirkland Signature. Costco debuted this privat…
Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago