Business Unusual

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 a smaller environmental footprint.But the 83-year-old did more than create a $1 billion brand known around the world from professional climbers to runway models. He created a company that has become synonymous with fighting climate change and supporting environmental issues.In our season 3 finale, the story of Patagonia that's as wild and beautiful as the landscape that inspired its name. 

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 in to a $20 million company. In this week's episode, we reveal how this former door-to-door fax machine saleswoman eclipsed ever her own goals, building SPANX to a $1.2B+ brand.

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 building her skills as a product developer, Shan-Lyn decided to optimize an industry she and  many of her friends took part in multiple weekends a year—weddings.In this week's episode we learn how Zola became a one-stop shop for wedding planning, honeymoon planning, and beyond. 

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 product development concepts and turned them upside down to create one of the world's leading online dating apps, and became the world's youngest self-made female billionaire.

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 ebullient chef, Spago catapulted Puck into worldwide stardom while his cookware, cookbooks, and regular television appearances made him a household name. In this week's episode, we learn how a boy from Austria, who never felt good enough, conquered the culinary world with hard work, perseverance, and a perfect partnership.