Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire

When Maxine Clark left a top job in retail to start a make-your-own stuffed animal store, people thought she’d lost her mind. 

Investors doubted it. Friends questioned it. Retail experts couldn't understand how it would scale.

But drawing on more than 20 years as a retail executive, Maxine built a massively  successful shopping “experience,”  where kids could stuff, dress and personalize their own stuffed animals. 

Today, Build-A-Bear has generated billions in sales, survived the decline of malls, weathered the financial crisis, and become a global brand.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN 

How a failed errand—and an offhand comment by a kid–inspired a business plan 

How Maxine leveraged two decades of retail experience to launch Build-a-Bear 

How Willy Wonka and Walt Disney were early inspirations 

How she built a wedge against competitors 

How she got through the financial crisis

How she knew when to step down as CEO– and how to collaborate with her successor  

TIMESTAMPS:

• 05:52 - A mom Who Worked for Eleanor Roosevelt
• 09:18 - The Impromptu Interview That Changed Maxine’s Career
• 16:00 - Becoming One of the Few Female Fortune 500 Executives
• 18:43 - Why She Walked Away From Payless
• 21:27 - The Beanie Baby Disappointment That Sparked Build-A-Bear
• 26:14 - Designing the First Store: “Make it Like Willy Wonka.”
• 37:53 - Opening Day — and a Line Out the Door
• 39:53 - Defending the Brand Against Copycats and Lawsuits
• 45:53 - Scaling to Hundreds of Stores and Going Public
• 58:25 - Letting Go: Stepping Down as CEO and Building a Legacy

This episode was researched by Rommel Wood and produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant. 

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram → @howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram → @guy.raz

Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz

Substack → guyraz.substack.com

Website → guyraz.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.