YouSaid · the spoken record

Aaron Krause

lines on the record: 121
first: 2026-03-16
most recent: 2026-03-16
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Legal mumbo jumbo that is patent law. And I have a family friend who was a patent attorney. And I just went and called him. I said, hey, can you take a look at this? I got this back.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I was just absolutely sickened. I was like, I can't believe. And I blamed the pad. I didn't blame myself. I'm like, that is the wrong shape. Why is no one making these phone pads in the shape of the wool pad? It should have edges. And so I have this idea for this buffing pad that should have edges to it. And I start asking around for it. Does anyone have this kind of buffing pad? And nobody had it. And so I said, oh my God, forget I mentioned it. And I went to the local library and I started reading about how do you patent something. And then I looked up patents on other buffing pads. And then I copied the format that they did. And I actually wrote my own patent and sent it in. And about two months later, I got back a letter that wasn't even in English. I didn't know the language it was written in. It didn't say you got it.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it would give. And so it was much more forgiving. I started experimenting with this and instantly I was like, oh my God, this is the future of buffing pads. But the problem was there was no technology in them. So they were just taking a piece of foam and die cutting a cylindrical shape. So it was flat on the sides, flat on the bottom, flat on the top. Well, I'm doing this car and I'm trying to get underneath this mirror, but the pad doesn't feather like a wool pad. And I end up hitting the backing plate against the mirror. And there's a big grinding sound and I jump and I break the mirror off the car. And it was a Mercedes. I think the mirror cost $1,000.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Really interesting. So cars have been polished, the paint's been polished, by started out with like lamb's wool, and then eventually people started using wool yarns and making this hairy wool pad. And that's been the standard forever. And when I started detailing cars, that's what it was. You had this hairy wool pad and you would attach it to a buffing machine and it would spin at 2,000 RPM. And the problem with these pads are it's like a carpet, right? And when it gets caked up with chemicals and it wears down, it doesn't become a buffing pad. It becomes a grinding wheel. And if you're not an absolute expert, it's very easy to burn the paint off the car. And they just bought someone to $2,000 paint job. And in around 92, 93, people started experimenting with polyester urethane foam. That's kind of like the same padding that's in like your seat cushions and everyone's felt it, you know. And it was like a sponge.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I was saving money on rent and on laundry and everything, and I lived in my parents. I'm ashamed to say this. This is so embarrassing. I lived at home till I was 29, but it really gave me the opportunity to spend all my focus on growing the business and not worrying about where I was living or where I was getting food. And so I owe my parents a huge debt of gratitude for doing that”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It wasn't that profitable. And the reason why there was a couple reasons why I hadn't learned all my lessons in business yet. And so I wanted to get big and I wanted to do volume. And so I tried to keep my prices as low as possible. And because my prices were as low as possible, I couldn't hire the best talent. So the people that I had doing the cars weren't really skilled laborers and they wouldn't do a great job or it would take them too long to do a car. And every car is different. Every shape of every car is different. One car's got a total mess in the back because they had a baby. And the other car is a brand new Mercedes. And so it was so variable that you had no idea how what your profit was going to be at the end of the day or the week.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Pretty serious recession. And he said, Yeah, I put a lot of applications out. No one's hiring. I said, You got to come and see what I do for the day. And if you like it, I'm looking for a business partner, 50-50. And that was my first, I don't want to say employee, but it was my first person in the business that we were working together. And from there, we started hiring local people to start watching the cars as we grew and grew.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, the first hire was a business partner. I was kind of lonely doing the cars by myself and with one particular day, I happened to be dropping a car off next to a friend that I knew growing up in the neighborhood. We went to overnight camp together. We had mutual friends together. And I was driving this car off right next to his house. And so I dropped the car off and I went and knocked on his door. And it was probably about 11.30, you know, in the morning. And he answered the door and he was still in pajamas. It looked like he just rolled out of bed. And I was like, oh my God, what are you doing? He's like, you just ruined my best Nintendo score. And I'm like, are you kidding me? You know what I'm doing all day? And he's like, oh, dude, it's in 92. We were in a recession”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I loved it, to be honest. It's very hard work, very grueling, but it's very, very satisfying. You start with a car that's in a filthy condition that looks like it's never going to shine again and you restore it to glory. And then you bring it back to the client and they are in shock. So it's very satisfying work. But I also enjoyed the business side of that, like growing it. I enjoyed having a computer. I enjoyed creating all the systems and the processes. And like at the time, you know, computers were pretty new and these business programs were coming out and you could do really unique things like you do someone's car and then you could set like a reminder for three months to call that person back and say it's time to get your car waxed again and so i could come in in the morning and have a list of people that i knew i could call today”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Or it's free. So I was going to create the Damos pizza detailing. It was free pickup and delivery, and we get your card done in three hours or less, or there's a discount. And I was going to franchise that. That was my whole business plan. And I saved up the $8,000 in a bank account at the end of the summer. I showed it to my dad, and he loaned me $8,000. I think it was at 9% interest at the time. And that was enough money to get a lease on a very small garage in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. And I started detailing cars from my previous clients. And then I started getting dealerships.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I wanted a detail shop, a real. Professional detail shop where we would pick up and deliver. So if you remember Domino's pizza back in the 80s, they had this incredible campaign. They would 30 minutes or less. They would deliver your pizza or I think it was free.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And he said, you have till the end of the summer to make it a real business and move it out of the house. And however much money you can save in a bank account and show it to me, I'll match it at a loan at two points higher than the bank because you're a bad credit risk.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“At my graduation, my grandmom, my aunt, my parents, they all came up for graduation. And we were at the dinner table. And my dad said, so son, I just spent $100,000 on your education and you have a degree in psychology. What are you going to do with your life? And I said, well, I am going to get a minor in marketing and I'm going to start my own business. And he said, okay, well, what kind of business you think you'll start? And I said, well, I've been watching cars all of high school and throughout college. I think I'm going to make it into a real business. So my mom is at the table. She's crying. And my grandmom says, oh my God, just disown him. He's going to be a car washer. And my dad said, son, you have until the end of the summer to make it into a real business because I was running it out of my parents' garage.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Cinnamon, and he goes, Oh, don't breathe that in. It's highly toxic. And I literally took the helmet off and I said, this isn't for me. And I quit and I went back to see my friend and see what he was doing. He wasn't running the car washing business. And so I just picked it up right where I was. And I started washing the cars again.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I showed up, and I remember I walked in and I said, you know, I'm here to meet Rich. And she went and she brought some guy up covered in soot wearing those like, you know, those big leather gloves and he was wearing like a welding helmet. And I was like, I'm here to see Rich. And he's like, and he said, I'm rich. Go home and change into clothes you never want to see again. And the next thing you know, I was on an assembly line welding staircases. It was 120 degrees in this factory. It was the worst experience I'd ever had. I'm going to say in life. One day after about a week and a half, Rich came over to me and said, Aaron, how do you liking it? And I flipped up my helmet. And I said, oh my God, Rich, this is, I never expected this. This is really, really hard. And in fact, the only thing I like is the way the welding torch, it smells like.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Actually, no, just the opposite. So when I graduated high school, I did think that was the end of my car washing career. And I actually sold the car washing business to one of my friends who was in 11th grade so that he could have a business. And then I went off to college. And when I came home, my mom, who's pediatrician, she got me a job working for one of her patients' parents who owns the largest manufacturer of spiral staircases in the country at the time. And I mean, I knew the owner of the company. So I went there in a suit and tie, you know, because I have an internship this summer with the owner of the company.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, this is in high school. And I actually turned it into a business. And I loved it. And I was creating coupons and I use my Macintosh to start using a business program to track my customers. And so when I eventually, and it was 100% expectation, you're going to college, I was going for business.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. So, you know, one of the things that I started doing because my dad set up all these jobs around the house. And one of the jobs that I could get the most money for was washing cars. And I can make $10 washing his car. And I ended up going around the neighborhood and actually washing everyone's car. He's in Golden.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Absolutely. And being an entrepreneur, especially, I think for my parents, was a very risky thing. And my parents really were very conservative people. I grew up in an area. As you know, the mainline, a lot of people did have money. And my parents, you know, as two doctors, it's not like I grew up poor, but my dad was a stickler for making me work for every single thing that I got. And up till the time I was 13, I used to get presents and a big party, you know, my birthday party. And at 13, I didn't have a party and I was asking, where's my party and where's my presence? And my dad said, well, you're present from now on is you get to buy your own sneakers. And I was like, what are you talking about? And I didn't understand how I was going to do that. And so he started suggesting chores and jobs around the house. And I started earning my own money.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Was a BC, and every once in a while an A student. And my dad used to always do the same thing when I got my report card. Son, is that the best you could do? And my answer was, yeah, because I'm on the soccer team or I'm on the basketball team too. And I have a girlfriend. And, you know, things that my other siblings really weren't interested in, I had so many other interests and was all over the place. And so I said, yeah, that's the best I could do. And he accepted it.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Said, hey, I got this new product, and it's this awesome sponge, and I showed it to him. And he said, Yeah, you know, it's not going to sell. And I said, oh, no, you're wrong. It's a bright yellow, smiley face in this neon box. There's no way it's not going to sell. And he said, all right. So he went to the shelf and he just moved some sponges over and put it on the shelf and said, you know, we'll see. You know how many people bought it? Nobody.”
2026-03-16 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT