AI Summary
5 min read"You don't need to raise money"
Michelle Wahler, co-founder and former CEO of Beyond Yoga, joined Guy Raz on the Advice Line to help three founders with real business problems. Wahler built Beyond Yoga slowly over two decades, sold it to Levi's for roughly $400 million in 2021, and stepped away in 2024. She now runs an investment and mentorship platform called Quince Hill and teaches a course on company culture at USC.
Her most direct piece of startup advice: ignore the pressure to raise venture capital. "I don't think you need to raise money, and I feel like everybody tells you that you have to," she said. "You need to think about what is motivating you, why are you starting this, and really lean into that and build a sustainable business and not focus on the exit. Once people start bringing on investors, that becomes the focus and that changes the trajectory of your company." She added that there is nothing wrong with building a smaller business that gives you freedom rather than chasing a mammoth exit.
Selling an experience, not a product
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:50) **Opening & Michelle's Update** - Guy introduces Michelle Wahler, co-founder of Beyond Yoga, and she shares what she's doing post-exit.
- 2 (04:41) **Counter-Intuitive Startup Advice: Don't Raise Money** - Michelle challenges the common startup gospel that you must raise venture capital.
- 3 (06:05) **Call 1: Carrie – Elective Study Abroad** - Founder of a boutique adult study-abroad program asks how to convert excitement into bookings.
- 4 (08:23) **Advice: Filtration & Visuals** - Michelle and Guy diagnose the conversion problem and offer specific fixes.
- 5 (14:35) **A Counterintuitive Channel: Print Ads** - Guy suggests an offline marketing experiment for an older, intellectually-curious demographic.
- 6 (19:57) **Call 2: Grace – Grace Ann Upholstery** - A solo upholsterer in Nashville wonders if she can win back designers she disappointed when she was overwhelmed.
- 7 (20:41) **Advice: The Second First Impression** - Michelle and Guy give a masterclass in rebuilding professional trust.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Today's callers: Carrie from Paris wants to turn interest into bookings for her boutique study-abroad programs for adults. Then, Grace from Nashville considers how to re-build relationships with interior designers she may have let down early on in her furniture upholstery business. And Angel from Indiana explores how to translate the emotional appeal of her self-care soap kits into stronger online sales.
Plus, Michelle explains why founders don't always need to raise outside capital, and why they shouldn’t go into business with an exit plan.
Thank you to the founders of Elective Study Abroad, Grace Ann Upholstery, and Sacred Pause Soap Company for being part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to [email protected] or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Beyond Yoga’s founding story as told by Michelle in 2025.
This episode was produced by Carla Esteves with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Annlie Huang.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from this podcast
How I Built This with Guy Raz →