StartUp Podcast

In episode 2 of this season of StartUp, producer Molly Messick followed producers Eric Mennel and Ngofeen Mputubwele, who were working on creating a new Gimlet show called Twice Removed. That show has now launched. In this special bonus episode, Alex Blumberg catches up with Eric and Ngofeen, to see how things have been going since Molly spoke with them this past summer. Enjoy this update from the Twice Removed team and then listen to the first half of a new episode, which features Alex's wife Nazanin Rafsanjani as a special guest. 

Following his ousting from American Apparel, Dov Charney has been eager to restart and launch his new venture—Los Angeles Apparel. He has assembled the fabric, the equipment, and the people to help make his new clothing line. Now he needs to find his customer base.In this, the season finale of StartUp, Charney debuts his product to a group of people that knows his history well. But will his past prove to be an obstacle, or become part of what leads his new business to success?

In the spring of 2014, the American Apparel board offered Dov Charney two options: forfeit your position as CEO and stay on as a creative consultant or be removed from the company entirely. Charney chose the latter, and it became big news. It’s a story that has followed Charney as he starts his new business. But there are two accounts of what happened at American Apparel: Dov’s and the board’s. In this episode, we explore the moments that led up to Charney’s ousting, and the fallout from a founder’s firing.

In 2007, Dov Charney took American Apparel public, placing the company under heightened scrutiny. This meant Charney lost the privacy and autonomy he’d grown accustomed to.  And, as more stories emerged from inside the company, some began to reevaluate the man they’d chosen to work with.

While Dov Charney was running American Apparel, he didn’t shy away from unconventionality. And for many entrepreneurs, breaking convention is an essential part of growing an innovative company. But pushing boundaries is one thing. Completely ignoring them is another.In this episode, we explore the nebulous lines between Charney’s professional and personal relationships. We ask the the women of American Apparel what it was like to work for the former CEO and how, in a company where the boundaries aren’t clear, they could determine what was—and wasn’t—appropriate in the workplace.

Alex Blumberg interviews Pat Walters, Eli Horowitz, Marc Smerling, and Zac Stuart-Pontier — the creators of Gimlet’s three newest shows. Hear how Gimlet developed these projects and what they are all about. And enjoy some favorite clips as well as sneak peeks from upcoming episodes. StartUp Theme by Mark Phillips.

In this episode, we trace American Apparel’s rise from the early wholesale days in South Carolina to the booming retail behemoth that the company eventually became. We speak with some of the people closest to Dov Charney along the way, in order to figure out how his past informs the present.We also begin to explore how sexuality came to define the American Apparel brand, and how Dov’s unorthodox business practices and questionable personal behavior led to widespread scrutiny about what was really going on at the company.  

Dov Charney is trying to rebuild a multi-million dollar apparel company from the ground up. But he can’t do it alone. In this episode, we’ll hear from the people who have signed on to work with Charney, the people who have remained loyal to him since the early days of American Apparel, and those who have been inspired to join him in his new venture.The commitment Charney receives from his workers feels like a double-edged sword—the more they devote their time and energy to his new company, the more they depend on its success. This time around, the pressure to succeed feels much, much higher.To learn more about Undone and the other shows Gimlet is launching this fall, go to gimletmedia.com/fallseason.

Season 4 of StartUp continues with the story of a well-known entrepreneur who built a widely recognized business, lost it all, and is now starting over—from scratch.Over the next several episodes, we’ll hear as this founder makes his second attempt at success, and creates an entirely new company in the shadow of his controversial past.

This week, Alex receives feedback about his job performance from his co-workers, friends, and family. Some of it is good, some less so. But there is something else that comes up during the review process that shocks him.We explore what happens when you unpack your emotional baggage—or someone unpacks it for you—and you realize the unexpected effect that it has been having on your team.In this final Gimlet-focused episode of season four, we take a raw and intimate look at a defining moment in the trajectory of a CEO.

Growth. It can be exciting, it can be motivating, and it can be really stressful. In this week’s episode, we take a look at the tensions that Gimlet’s growth spurt is creating. We speak with the team producing one of our upcoming shows to see what it’s really like to build a podcast from the ground up. Each of them is being asked to step up to the plate in a way that they never have before, and some are realizing that the support they expected, it just isn’t there. People are pushed to their limits, emotions run high, and things that have remained hitherto unsaid are finally aired.

StartUp is back! And we’re kicking Season 4 off with an update on what’s happening here at Gimlet Media. Since the start of the year, Gimlet has more than doubled in size. And while growth is often the goal for a startup, it also costs a lot of money. In this episode, Alex and his team ask themselves some very scary questions: How are they going to pay for all this growth? And what will happen if they can’t? With a larger staff and six new shows launching in the fall, this feels like a particularly pivotal moment at the company. There are big decisions to be made, with potentially even bigger consequences.

Season 4 of StartUp is almost here. Here's a sneak peek of the fourth season, which kicks off with some episodes about the company that makes this podcast: Gimlet Media.Since we last checked in on Gimlet HQ, the company has grown a ton. And with growth, come the growing pains. Season 4 of StartUp premieres on October 6.

Alex Blumberg sits down with Jonathan Goldstein, host of Gimlet Media's newest show, Heavyweight. They talk about working at This American Life, about Jonathan's previous show, WireTap, about Kermit the Frog. And, they play an excerpt from a Heavyweight episode: Gregor.StartUp will return with a full season on October 6th.StartUp Theme by Build Buildings.Heavyweight Info:20 years ago, Gregor lent some CDs to a musician friend. The CDs helped make him a famous rockstar. Now, Gregor would like some recognition. But mostly, he wants his CDs back.CreditsHeavyweight is hosted and produced by Jonathan Goldstein, along with Wendy Dorr, Chris Neary, and Kalila Holt. Editing by Alex Blumberg & Peter Clowney.  Special thanks to Emily Condon, Jackie Cohen, Paul Tough, Stevie Lane, Michelle Harris, Dimitri Erlich, Sean Cole and Jorge Just. The show was mixed by Haley Shaw. Music for this episode by Christine Fellows, with additional music by Takstar, The Eastern Watershed Klezmer Quartet and Haley Shaw, who also did our ad music. Our theme song is by The Weakerthans courtesy of Epitaph Records.

Alex Blumberg interviews Wendy Zukerman, host of Gimlet Media's newest show, Science Vs. Hear how Wendy found her way to Gimlet and enjoy the first half of the latest episode: Science Vs Attachment Parenting.