meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Next Big Idea

Best Of: Tony Fadell’s Guide to Building Products, Startups and Careers

The Next Big Idea

Next Big Idea Club

Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Education, Science

4.41.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Thermostat. In his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, he shares everything he’s learned about building great companies and game-changing products. (This episode first aired in September 2022.) The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Follow Rufus on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, subscribe to our ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠, or send us an email at ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠. The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at ⁠⁠nextbigideaclub.com⁠⁠, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off). Sponsored By: Fabric — Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family at ⁠⁠meetfabric.com/nbi⁠⁠ Factor — Head to ⁠⁠⁠factormeals.com/idea50off⁠⁠⁠ and use code idea50off to get 50% off your first box Granola — Get three months free at ⁠⁠granola.ai/idea⁠⁠ Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shopify.com/nbi⁠⁠⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The other day, Caleb and I sat down with David Pogue.

0:03.9

The tech guy. You may have read his New York Times column back in the day or seen him on CBS Sunday morning.

0:09.7

He's got a new book out called Apple, the first 50 years.

0:13.4

It's a meticulously reported and lavishly illustrated chronicle of, let's face it, the greatest company ever.

0:21.0

Here's a little taste.

0:22.4

I don't know how the next big idea thinks about four-letter words, but...

0:27.1

Have that.

0:27.8

When they come from Steve Jobs, we feel good about them.

0:31.5

He called me that night, and his secretary comes on, assistant, says, like, I have Steve on the line.

0:37.2

Can you take the call? Sure. He goes, like, I have Steve on the line. Can you take the call?

0:38.3

Sure.

0:39.1

He goes, you don't have any idea what the fuck we do here at Apple, do you?

0:45.6

We're going to be posting that episode on Monday.

0:48.6

But in the meantime, to get you in the mood, we thought we'd reshare one of our personal favorites, our conversation

0:55.8

with the legendary entrepreneur, Tony Fidel. Tony led the teams that created the iPod, the iPhone,

1:04.1

and we had him on the show to discuss his book, Build, an unorthodox guide to making things

1:09.5

worth making. As a serial entrepreneur myself, I've read a lot of business how-to books.

1:15.6

This is the best I've ever come across.

1:19.6

It also tells the inside story of the development of the products that have transformed our world.

1:25.6

Whether you're an intern or a CEO, I think you're likely to find

1:30.5

this pretty interesting.

1:38.3

Today's episode of The Next Big Idea is sponsored by Fabric, Factor, Granola, and Shopify.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Next Big Idea Club, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Next Big Idea Club and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.