Feb 18, 2019 · 58m · how-i-built-this
Burt's Bees: Roxanne Quimby
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of NPR's 'How I Built This,' entrepreneur Roxanne Quimby recounts how she co-founded Burt's Bees alongside beekeeper Burt Shavitz, transforming an off-grid Maine homesteading venture into a multi-million-dollar natural personal care empire.
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 39.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 1.5 Guest teaching 1.4 Guest disagreement 0.2 Guy pushing back 0.2
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 49:23 Quimby defends buyout disparity against critics
Quimby directly rejects the premise of critics who argue Burt was shortchanged, asserting that Burt would not have used the money productively whereas she had a proven track record of community philanthropy.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 49:10 Raz presses on criticism regarding Burt's buyout shareRaz directly confronts Quimby with external criticism regarding the significant gap between her massive financial windfall and what Burt received when he left.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 40:18 Quimby corrects Raz's assumption about Burt's logoWhen Raz assumes Burt's face was used for rustic, outdoor authenticity, Quimby educates him that it was actually a deliberate feminist statement designed to subvert exploitative cosmetics standards.
Guy holds their own ▶ 33:29 Raz highlights the paradox of Quimby's capitalist successRaz demonstrates sharp analytical insight by highlighting the irony of Quimby transforming from an anti-materialist, off-grid homesteader into a hard-driving capitalist executive.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counterculture Transformation and Art School in San Francisco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz asks open, reflective questions about Quimby's move to San Francisco in the 1970s and her rejection of materialist values. Quimby describes her philosophical shift inspired by Thoreau in an amicable, narrative fashion. | |
| Embracing the Back-to-the-Land Movement in Maine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz explores Quimby's relocation to Maine to buy 30 acres off-grid. Quimby recounts the hardships and simplicity of homesteading on $4,000 a year without disagreement. | |
| Separation, Single Motherhood, and Living by Wits | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz inquires about the emotional toll of separation and single motherhood. Quimby reframes happiness into fulfillment through resourcefulness and living by her wits. | |
| Meeting Burt Shavitz and Starting a Beekeeping Apprenticeship | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz and Quimby discuss meeting Burt Shavitz while hitchhiking and her decision to apprentice with his beehives. The dynamic is purely storytelling with no tension. | |
| Repackaging Honey Bears and Early Craft Fair Success | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz jokes about modern artisanal marketing jargon versus 1980s craft fair packaging. Quimby explains repackaging Burt's gallon jugs into small honey bears. | |
| Monetizing Beeswax and Transitioning into Candle Making | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Raz admits ignorance about how bees produce wax, and Quimby explains bee anatomy and the hot knife harvesting process. Quimby shares the practicalities of early candle production. | |
| The Zona Order, Schoolhouse Production, and Math Team Accountant | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz observes that Quimby was making disciplined, intentional business moves rather than just stumbling into success. Quimby recounts hiring a high school math team student as bookkeeper. | |
| Early Product Failures and Navigating Partner Dynamics | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz inquires about Burt's reaction to commercial expansion and early mishaps. Quimby recalls the bear grease boot food disaster and their distinct operational roles. | |
| Reaching $1.5 Million in Sales and Mid-Show Teaser | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Raz traces the pivotal introduction of lip balm and the decision to abandon candles. Quimby details why skin care offered scalable manufacturing advantages over handmade candle making. | |
| Embracing Capitalism and Managing Manufacturing Growth | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Raz highlights the irony of an anti-materialist artist embracing capitalism and managing dozens of workers. Quimby readily embraces the irony, citing Elizabeth Arden as her benchmark. | |
| Relocating Operations to North Carolina and Grassroots Marketing | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz asks about moving production out of Maine to North Carolina. Quimby outlines the supply chain and regional cosmetics labor advantages that drove the decision. | |
| Designing the Burt Logo to Subvert Cosmetic Industry Sexism | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Raz assumes Burt's face was chosen to highlight rustic authenticity. Quimby corrects him, explaining the woodcut was an intentional critique of cosmetic industry sexism so women would not feel pressured by glamorous imagery. | |
| The End of the Partnership and Buying Out Burt Shavitz | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz asks about the end of Quimby's partnership with Burt and the rapid revenue doubling from $30M to $60M. Quimby attributes growth to automation and customer pull. | |
| Selling to Private Equity and Conserving Maine Wilderness | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz explores Quimby's buyout by private equity and her transition into massive land conservation in Maine, including Katahdin Woods and Waters. | |
| Remembering Burt Shavitz and Philanthropic Philosophy | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Raz presses Quimby on public criticism regarding the disparity between her payout and Burt's share. Quimby defends her actions, asserting she was the responsible party who would put wealth toward community good. | |
| Clorox Sale, Hard Work vs. Luck, and Concluding Thoughts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz asks his standard question about skill versus luck in the ultimate Clorox acquisition. Quimby credits divine intervention and luck alongside hard work. | |
| How You Built That: Lee Isaacson and the Dig Dating App | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz interviews Lee Isaacson for the 'How You Built That' segment on her dog-centric dating app Dig, covering development challenges and city-by-city rollout. |
Statements from this episode (21)
Roxanne Quimby Rejected Her Family's MBA Path for Art School
“Both of my sisters had MBAs, like my dad did, and earning power and one's achievements were emphasized, and I took a turn to the extreme left when I went to art school and I rejected the pursuit of material comforts.”
Roxanne Quimby Lived Off-Grid in Maine on $4,000 a Year
“We were living on about 4000 dollars a year.”
Burt Shavitz Lived Off-Grid in a Converted Turkey Coop
“And he lived the same way, no phone, no electricity, in a little tiny cabin that he had hauled over to his property. It was a turkey coop.”
Roxanne Quimby Apprenticed for Burt Shavitz Hauling Honey for a Summer
“So, I followed him around for a summer as an apprentice, and did a lot of the heavy work, hauling supers of honey around, extracting. I learned all about the bees, and I got to work with Bert.”
An Early Burt's Bees Craft Fair Generated $200 in a Day
“I remember a really good show at the local junior high where it was 200 dollars was the take of the day, and that was a lot of money to me.”
Burt's Bees Hit $20,000 Sales Goal Before Targeting $1 Million
“Well, I don't remember exactly how our sales went in the eighties, but we were growing every year. My original goal was 20,000 dollars in sales, and then when that goal was achieved, then I set another goal of a million dollars in sales by the time my kids gra…”
Burt's Bees Outgrew 50 Hives and Sourced Outside Beeswax
“We had 50 hives, which was fine for a few years, and then we didn't produce enough ourselves, so we ended up buying other people's beeswax.”
Burt's Bees Hired a High School Math Student as Early Bookkeeper
“We called the school, and we told them we needed someone good in math, and so they said, oh, we have just the fellow, he's on the math team. So he came over after school, you know, he would pay the bills, and he would do the payroll, and he would make the depo…”
Quimby Says Co-Founder Burt Shavitz Was Prickly and Not Warm
“He was a prickly kind of guy, you know, he wasn't all warm and fuzzy.”
Burt's Bees Lip Balm Shared a Formula With Furniture Polish
“We were making other products that were basically the same formula. We were making a furniture polish, which was wax and oil, and the boot food basically was wax and oil, and lip balm is basically wax and oil, and we put a couple of amenities in it, like vitam…”
Burt's Bees Dropped Candles Because Skincare Manufacturing Was More Scalable
“The skin care products, which were basically blending and filling, it was a very simple manufacturing process that could easily be scaled. And we were making handmade candles, so to go to an automated system just required a lot more time, machinery, and space,…”
Moving Burt's Bees to North Carolina Drastically Cut Manufacturing Costs
“Revlon was about 15 miles away. The Body Shop was about 30 or 40 miles away, and there were a lot of pharmaceutical companies that used a lot of the same glass jars and caps and that sort of thing. So our expenses went way down. We were able to hire people who…”
Early Burt's Bees Used a Mashed Potato Mixer and Cement Mixer
“We were making one of our products in a big mixer that Duke had in its cafeteria for mashed potatoes. And, ah, we had a bath salt that we were making in a cement mixer.”
Quimby Put Shavitz on Packaging to Reject Beauty Industry Exploitation
“And that was a very conscious decision to use Bert's face because I was, I guess, a little resentful of the way women were used to market Products. And I saw some of the big cosmetics lines really exploiting the image of women and defining them through the adv…”
Burt's Bees Co-Founders Paid Themselves $36,000 a Year in Maine
“Well, at one point, before we left Maine, we decided to pay ourselves 36,000 dollars a year.”
A Personal Transgression by Burt Shavitz Fractured His Partnership With Quimby
“Well, it was sort of a personal transgression that was very hurtful to me, and it kind of popped the bubble in a way. I took a lot of inspiration from Bert and his lifestyle and his authenticity and his independence, and I found him to be quite admirable. So a…”
A Consumer Pull Strategy Drove Burt's Bees to Its Tipping Point
“So that kind of a pulling strategy from the consumer really helped a lot with growth, and there was a tipping point where it seemed that everybody knew about it.”
Quimby Stepped Down When Big-Box Expansion Felt Uncreative
“Going to big box and drugstore chains didn't seem very exciting or creative to me, but it was clearly the next step. So, I felt like it was time to turn it over to the professionals.”
Burt's Bees Bypassed Traditional Beauty Ad Spend Via Grassroots Marketing
“I've heard even that 25 cents of every dollar goes into advertising, so we didn't have that expense, because, you know, guerrilla marketing and grassroots marketing is not very expensive.”