May 29, 2025 · 47m · how-i-built-this
Advice Line with Steve Holmes of goba Sports Group
Guy Raz · 17m spoken Steve Holmes · 11m spoken Kenesha Lewis · 4m spoken Ikechukwu (Ike) Agwebu · 4m spoken Cody Johnson · 4m spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Guy Raz teams up with Goba Sports Group founder Steve Holmes on How I Built This Lab's Advice Line to counsel emerging entrepreneurs on navigating inventory pitfalls, seasonal demand fluctuations, and transforming viral media spikes into sustainable long-term business growth.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 41.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 1.9 Guest disagreement 0.3 Guy pushing back 1.1
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 24:38 Cody counters the seasonal business model premise
Cody politely rejects Guy's suggestion to accept seasonality, explaining that retail ad algorithms and ROAS crash if ad spend is completely turned off.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 23:56 Guy challenges the need to force year-round salesGuy firmly challenges Cody's premise by citing successful seasonal businesses like pumpkin patches and toy lines that plan year-round for a few months of profit.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 20:22 Cody educates on picaridin vs DEET formulationCody details the chemical differences between EPA-registered picaridin, DEET toxicity trade-offs, and ineffective essential oils.
Guy holds their own ▶ 36:20 Guy delivers direct marketing masterclass on owned channelsGuy clearly articulates why relying on social platforms is renting space compared to owned email and SMS channels that drive recurring enterprise value.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Holmes and Green Bar Innovation | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Guy opens with background on Spring Free Trampoline and prompts Steve to explain how the fiberglass rod technology was repurposed into composite rebar. The dynamic is completely collaborative and explanatory. | |
| Strategies for Navigating Global Tariffs | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Guy presses Steve on how difficult it is to relocate supply chains overnight amid rising tariffs. Steve details his proactive strategy of front-loading inventory and expanding international channels. | |
| Veii Apparel: Cultural Identity and Brand Expansion | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Ike from Veii Apparel asks how to expand his customer base without alienating his core audience. Guy and Steve offer actionable strategic guidance around universal brand values and warning against consignment inventory. | |
| The Perils and Essentials of Inventory Management | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | Cody from Grand Tongo asks how to balance ad spend for a highly seasonal bug spray. Guy directly challenges the premise by asking why it cannot simply operate as a high-margin seasonal business, prompting a discussion on retail algorithms. | |
| One More Cocoa: Converting Viral Buzz into Customer Retention | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Kenesha seeks advice on turning a viral Oprah feature into sustainable growth. Guy demonstrates deep marketing knowledge regarding direct SMS/email ownership versus rented social media audiences, while Steve suggests geo-targeting and packaging promotions. | |
| Reflections on Health, Resilience, and Entrepreneurship | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Guy invites Steve to share his personal experience managing chronic cancer and the mindset of self-honesty required for entrepreneurs. The tone is deeply reflective and supportive. | |
| Episode Conclusion and Submission Guidelines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Standard monologue outro covering newsletter signups, submission instructions for callers, and production credits. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Goba Sports Group manufactures fiberglass rebar in a North Carolina facility
“We've built a very, very large facility in North Carolina and focused on, on Build America and Buy America, and we make rebar out of glass.”
Glass rebar is twice as strong as steel and sold in Lowe's
“Yeah, rebar for buildings, for driveways, for, and it never rusts. It's twice as strong as steel, and it's one quarter the weight, and it's available in every Lowe's store in America.”
Goba Sports Group aggressively loaded US inventory ahead of expected tariffs
“We had enough cash that we loaded the U S market with product. So much so we were bursting at the seams and everybody was saying to me, are you nuts? Do you know how much inventory we have? I said, we don't have enough. Keep shoving it in. And so we got a lot …”
Goba Sports Group refuses to abandon Chinese manufacturing despite US tariffs
“Look, I'm, you know, we've invested so heavily and their family, like, I'm not running away from China. It's not that easy. We've done too much.”
Holmes: Cash-strapped businesses will become casualties of rising tariffs
“Now, those people who don't have cash and are unable to preserve cash, we will see them as casualties in this marketplace.”
NFL running back Ty Johnson modeled and invested early in Veii Apparel
“Literally my best friend and my position mate, he now plays for the Buffalo Bills. His name is Ty Johnson, and he was my first model when I started the brand, and then he got drafted when I started the business, and now he's, like, one of my, you know, my firs…”
Guy Raz: Saturated markets do not exist when a brand is strong
“I don't believe in saturated markets. I believe in really good branding”
Guy Raz: Zumiez's success is driven by obsessive inventory management
“And the secret to the success of that store is inventory management. They're just obsessive about inventory management.”
Holmes: Consignment retail traps critical working capital in unsold inventory
“The scary part for me there was the word consignment, you know, like, cause you can get a sizing or an item. That'll sit on that shelf for a long, long time cause there's nobody moving it and you've got your, you know, your costs stuck in there.”
Grand Tongo launches DEET-free bug spray in 1,180 Target stores
“My name is Cody Johnson, and I'm the founder of Grand Tongo, which is the great-smelling, powerful DEET alternative bug spray, which just launched in Target in 1180 stores.”
Cocoa commodity prices surged 300 percent over the past eight months
“A 300% increase over the last eight months.”
Former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal refused to sell trampolines over safety concerns
“Did any retailer in America believe that trampolines were dangerous, and so dangerous that they wouldn't sell them? The answer was yes, and that was Costco. The CEO of Costco was a man named Jim Senegal, and Jim said, I will not sell trampolines.”