Dyson: James Dyson

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.8 • 31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2018

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1979, James Dyson had an idea for a new vacuum cleaner — one that didn't use bags. It took him five years to perfect the design, building more than 5,000 prototypes in his backyard shed. He then tried to convince the big vacuum brands to license his invention, but most wouldn't even take his calls. Eventually, he started his own company. Today, Dyson is one of the best-selling vacuum brands in the world, and James Dyson is a billionaire. PLUS for our postscript "How You Built That," how Theresa Stotesbury made a business out of fake blood — a synthetic material that helps create a realistic crime scene for police training. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to how I built this early and ad-free on Amazon Music.
0:07.0	Download the app today.
0:09.0	New Year's is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.
0:13.0	As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.
0:17.0	So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.
0:24.0	Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.
0:30.0	Well, I'd had the idea for the vacuum cleaner to replace the vacuum cleaner bag with a cyclane.
0:36.0	And I suggested the idea to the other director.
0:39.0	So let's make this vacuum cleaner.
0:41.0	Let's make this vacuum cleaner, then we can make some real money.
0:43.0	And they said, of course!
0:45.0	No, they didn't. What they said was, don't be so stupid.
0:47.0	If there was a better vacuum cleaner, who for electrolytes, or someone else would have made it.
0:56.0	From NPR, it's how I built this.
0:58.0	A show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
1:10.0	I'm Guy Ross, and on today's show, how James Dyson spent a lonely five years reinventing the vacuum cleaner in his backyard shed.
1:18.0	And how that persistence turned him into one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs.
1:28.0	Here's a question.
1:29.0	Who invented the light bulb?
1:31.0	Thomas Edison, right? That is the name that usually comes to mind.
1:35.0	Because Edison is probably the most famous American inventor in history.
1:40.0	And until recently, he held the record for the most patents by a single person.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Guy Raz | Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Guy Raz | Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.