School of Hard Knocks Podcast

Eric Spofford is an entrepreneur, investor, and founder who overcame heroin addiction before building and selling his treatment business for $115 million. After dropping out of high school at 15 and getting sober with almost nothing, he launched his state’s first sober living house and scaled it into a major operation.In this episode, Eric breaks down addiction, entrepreneurship, building a...

Go try Agent Opus and start making your own videos today! Get 600 free credits using our link: https://agent.opus.pro/home?special_credit=SOHK Lucy Guo is the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world and the co-founder of Scale AI, one of the most important infrastructure companies behind the artificial intelligence boom. After dropping out of college through the Thiel Fellowship, she...

Go try Agent Opus and start making your own videos today! Get 600 free credits using our link: https://agent.opus.pro/home?special_credit=SOHK RJ Jain is the founder of Price.com, an AI-powered shopping platform valued at around $200 million, and previously sold his last startup to Google for nine figures. In this episode, he shares his journey from growing up in India and studying in Michigan to...

Richard built HomeServe into a £4.1 billion global company operating in 10 countries, starting with just £50,000 and multiple early failures.In this episode, he breaks down the near-collapse moments, the pivot that changed everything, and the exact business model that scaled globally.He also shares his 9-step framework for building a billion-pound company, insights on bootstrapping vs. raising...

Simon Squibb is a self-made entrepreneur worth hundreds of millions who has invested in over 80 companies. After becoming homeless at 15, he built his first business with just £200 and no formal education in business. In this episode, he shares the raw truth about failure, survival, and building from nothing. He breaks down why traditional education fails, why purpose matters more than money, and...

Alison and Stephen Ellsworth, founders of Poppi, share how they went from early-stage struggles and personal health challenges to building and exiting a $2 billion beverage company. They discuss risking financial stability, validating their product through real customers, leveraging viral content for growth, and navigating the realities of scaling a business as a married couple. This episode...

Bill Gurley, legendary venture capitalist and early investor in Uber and Zillow, shares the principles behind identifying billion-dollar companies. He reflects on missing the Google opportunity, lessons from evaluating thousands of founders, and why execution consistently beats ideas. The conversation explores network effects, founder psychology, venture capital decision-making, and how young...

John Caudwell, founder of Phones 4u, built a billion-pound empire from scratch and exited for £1.5 billion after two decades of relentless growth. Starting with monthly losses and facing near collapse after losing 95% of his supply, he rebuilt through sharp commercial instincts and strategic hiring.In this episode, he shares lessons on scaling to 10,000 employees, hiring elite talent, navigating...

Robert Croak is the founder of Sillybandz, the global toy brand that exploded into one of the biggest product crazes of the 2010s, selling billions of units worldwide. In this episode he shares the story behind discovering the idea in China, scaling from 17 to over 3,000 employees, and building a brand that reached hundreds of thousands of retail stores. Croak also breaks down lessons on...

Ben Pogue is the CEO of one of America’s fastest growing construction companies, generating over $1.5 billion in annual revenue. After unexpectedly taking over the business at age 29, he navigated personal hardship, public industry controversy, and massive leadership pressure. In this episode, Ben shares how culture, faith, and people-first leadership transformed his company into a powerhouse...