Test Kitchen Podcast

This is not a GameStop story. It's a story about pattern recognition over passion. Culture beating capital. First-principles thinking before it was trendy. Why loyalty compounds harder than money. And why leadership is emotional before it's operational. Gary Kusin co-founded GameStop, turned Kinko's into a $2.8 billion exit to FedEx, and launched Laura Mercier cosmetics. He's built companies across retail, tech, and beauty — and walked away from all of them with lessons most founders never learn. In this conversation, Gary accidentally gives you a masterclass in how category-defining companies are built quietly, then defended violently by their users. That's the real reason Reddit saved GameStop. Not the short squeeze. Not Roaring Kitty. The emotional bond that Gary and his co-founder Jim McCurry built with customers in the 1980s — kids who grew up marking time by video game releases — came back 30 years later to protect something they loved. Wall Street didn't see it coming. Neither did the hedge funds. We talk about: → The real origin story of GameStop (before it was called GameStop) → Why Gary never followed his passion — and why you shouldn't either → The Bill Gates connection (and the paper clip trick for focus) → How he went from broke in an airport bathroom to $2.8B in exits → What Roaring Kitty, Michael Burry, and Reddit got right — and wrong → The "Big Dave" customer story that made Gary cry → Why the meme stock squeeze was actually about brand loyalty → His top principles for building businesses that last Whether you're a founder, an investor, or just someone trying to figure out what actually matters — this one hits differently. — 📚 Gary's Book: "Always Learning" https://www.amazon.com/Always-Learning-Lessons-Leveling-GameStop/dp/B0CYRT9DS7  — 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and builders who see the world differently. 👍 If this hit, drop a comment — what surprised you most?

This is not a GameStop story. It's a story about pattern recognition over passion. Culture beating capital. First-principles thinking before it was trendy. Why loyalty compounds harder than money. And why leadership is emotional before it's operational. Gary Kusin co-founded GameStop, turned Kinko's into a $2.8 billion exit to FedEx, and launched Laura Mercier cosmetics. He's built companies across retail, tech, and beauty — and walked away from all of them with lessons most founders never learn. In this conversation, Gary accidentally gives you a masterclass in how category-defining companies are built quietly, then defended violently by their users. That's the real reason Reddit saved GameStop. Not the short squeeze. Not Roaring Kitty. The emotional bond that Gary and his co-founder Jim McCurry built with customers in the 1980s — kids who grew up marking time by video game releases — came back 30 years later to protect something they loved. Wall Street didn't see it coming. Neither did the hedge funds. We talk about: → The real origin story of GameStop (before it was called GameStop) → Why Gary never followed his passion — and why you shouldn't either → The Bill Gates connection (and the paper clip trick for focus) → How he went from broke in an airport bathroom to $2.8B in exits → What Roaring Kitty, Michael Burry, and Reddit got right — and wrong → The "Big Dave" customer story that made Gary cry → Why the meme stock squeeze was actually about brand loyalty → His top principles for building businesses that last Whether you're a founder, an investor, or just someone trying to figure out what actually matters — this one hits differently. — 📚 Gary's Book: "Always Learning" https://www.amazon.com/Always-Learning-Lessons-Leveling-GameStop/dp/B0CYRT9DS7  — 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and builders who see the world differently. 👍 If this hit, drop a comment — what surprised you most?