**Guy Raz** (0:01)
Before we get into the episode, thanks to our presenting sponsor, Anthropic. They make Claude an AI built for the problems that take real thinking, research, strategy, planning, and making sense of a lot of moving pieces. Give it a try for the next thing you can't quite stop turning over in your head. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at claude.ai/hibt.
Support for today's episode comes from Square, the easy way for business owners to take payments, book appointments, manage staff, and keep everything running in your business, without running yourself into the ground. In my neighborhood, there's a shop that sells incredible locally made food, fresh breads, prepared meals, sauces, jams, all from producers within an hour's drive, and they use Square. As a customer, I love the seamless payment, quick checkout, and easy receipts. Square's intuitive software and hardware simplifies everything. You can sell anywhere, in store, online, or mobile, while managing inventory and tracking sales in real time. With Square, you get all the tools to run your business, with none of the contracts or complexity. And why wait? Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at square.com/go/built.
That's square.com/g-o/built.
Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today.
**SPEAKER_2** (1:33)
Every day, shareholders meet to discuss important matters about the companies you invest in. Now Vanguard is making it easy to have your voice heard in those decisions.
**Guy Raz** (1:42)
Alexa, take me to Vanguard Investor Choice. Got it.
**SPEAKER_2** (1:45)
Texting you a link where you can set your proxy voting preference for your Vanguard index funds, and be heard by the companies you invest in. Just say, Alexa, take me to Vanguard Investor Choice, and make your voice heard. Vanguard Investor's own shares of our index funds, which own shares of the companies they invest in. Available for Vanguard index funds that participate in Investor Choice. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor.
**Guy Raz** (2:03)
Do you want clear, transparent information about the ingredients in your favorite beverages? I do too. That's why today's sponsor, American Beverage, launched Good to Know, a website with tons of information about your favorite beverages. No spin or judgment, just the facts, so you can decide. Juices, sodas, even seltzers. Sometimes, I look at the ingredients and say, what is that? I can't even pronounce it. That's when I go to goodtoknowfacts.org. At goodtoknowfacts.org, you can check out more than 140 common beverage ingredients. You can find out what they're called, how they're used, and how they're reviewed for safety. Now, you can get the facts about what's in your drinks without the chaos of random Google searches. All of this puts you in control because you know what's best for you and your family. So if you want information about the ingredients in your favorite drink without any spin, goodtoknowfacts.org is a great place to start. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org for more information.
Hello, and welcome to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab. I'm Guy Raz. This is the place where we help try to solve your business challenges. Each week, I'm joined by a legendary founder, a former guest on the show, who will help me try to help you. And if you're building something and you need advice, give us a call, and you just might be the next guest on the show. Our number is 1-800-433-1298.
Leave us a one minute message that tells us about your business and the issues or questions that you'd like help with. All right, let's get to it.
Joining me this week is Ronnen Harary, co-founder of Spin Master, which started out as a toy company back in 1994 and has since gone on to become a multinational, multimedia entertainment empire. Spin Master is the company behind the mega hit franchise PAW Patrol, as well as Air Hogs, Bakugan, and so many more toys, including Rubik's Cubes now. Ronnen, it's so great to have you back on the show.
**Ronnen Harary** (4:13)
Oh, great to be here, Guy. Thanks for having me on.
**Guy Raz** (4:16)
So you were first on the show back in 2021, when of course you told me the story of Spin Master, which we will put a link to in the show notes. And I know I always say this, but it is a phenomenal episode. You've got to listen to this one.
Ronnen, before we get to our callers, I'd just love to get an update from you since you were last on. You were, at that time, I think you'd recently transitioned from being co-CEO of Spin Master, which you've done for like 25 years, to becoming chairman of the board. What is your involvement with Spin Master these days?
**Ronnen Harary** (4:48)
44 more minutes of transcript below
Try it now — copy, paste, done:
curl -H "x-api-key: pt_demo" \
https://spoken.md/transcripts/1000651996090
Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any agent that makes HTTP calls.
From $0.10 per transcript. No subscription. Credits never expire.
Using your own key:
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
https://spoken.md/transcripts/1000775119446