How I Built This with Guy Raz

Episode: Nuts.com – Jeff Braverman: From Corner Store to Snacktime Powerhouse

Date: October 27, 2025
Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Jeff Braverman (Chairman, Nuts.com)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Guy Raz sits down with Jeff Braverman, third-generation owner and transformative leader of Nuts.com. Jeff recounts how he joined his struggling family nut shop—originally the Newark Nut Company—and turned it into a thriving, $100-million online snack empire. The story is rich with moments of risk, family drama, pivotal marketing stunts, and the grind behind reinvention. Braverman shares hard-won insights on adapting a legacy business in a digital era, why he left finance, and what it really takes to modernize—and ultimately save—a family legacy.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Family Roots and Early Struggles

• Nostalgia & Grit: Jeff reminisces about childhood visits to the family shop, learning from his stoic grandfather and entrepreneurial father and uncle.
  • [05:14] “He [my grandfather] loved it when we came to the store... Help him cut open bags, believe it or not, M&Ms..." — Jeff Braverman
• Generational Tension: The previous generation resisted change, such as adding display cases, highlighting early obstacles to innovation.
  • [05:50] “His way or the highway, you do what you’re told. My dad would try to do some forms of innovation and my grandfather would often say no.” — Jeff Braverman
• Economic Decline and Safety Concerns: Newark’s decline meant robbers, fear, and shrinking retail traffic.
  • [07:06] “We had code words if someone was going to rob us...” — Jeff Braverman

2. Early Seeds of Innovation: Seeing the Internet’s Potential

• No Expectation to Take Over: Jeff excelled at finance, studied at UPenn, and ended up at Blackstone with no plans for the nut business.
  • [11:26] “My dad hated it. It was terrible … No expectations were placed on me, and I didn't place any expectations on myself.” — Jeff Braverman
• Dot-com Domain Registration: In 1999, Jeff registered Nutsonline.com, sensing e-commerce potential.
  • [12:13] “I just looked at our little store and I see this new thing called the internet taking off. I was like, well, maybe the whole country could be our store.” — Jeff Braverman
• Convincing the Family: Created a $3,000 website (despite a tiny $700 original family “budget”) and began accepting online orders by hand.

3. Making the Leap: From Blackstone to Burritos of Nuts

• Personal Epiphanies: Jeff is inspired by seeing burnt-out financiers and colleagues’ entrepreneurial uncles:
  • [20:43] “The greatest risk in life is working for the man.” — Advice to Jeff
• Decision to Quit Finance:
  • [22:16] “I was making about $105,000. … I told my dad and my uncle... I want to join the family business. They said verbatim, you’re nuts.” — Jeff Braverman

4. Turning the Ship: Transforming Newark Nut Company

• Hands-on Innovation:
  • Optimizing margins (e.g., toll-roasting cashers in-house)
  • Visiting wholesale customers for direct feedback
• Crucial Shift to E-commerce: Early adoption of Google AdWords led to a surge in online orders.
  • [30:20] “We launch, the ad campaign’s immediately on, and it’s like the floodgates completely open. It goes up 10x immediately.” — Jeff Braverman
• Resistance from Family:
  • “My dad ... said, ‘shut it off.’ Because he was so nervous ... I told him, go home. We got this.” — Jeff Braverman [31:58]

5. The “Jericho Peanut Protest” & Media Breakthrough

• 2007 PR Stunt: CBS canceled the TV show Jericho. Fans sent peanuts in protest, and Nutsonline.com harnessed the grassroots energy into a viral campaign.
  • [44:37] “Fans decided to protest... They sent nuts in protest to CBS.” — Jeff Braverman
  • [47:25] “We shipped 40,000 pounds of peanuts... That’s a full truckload.” — Jeff Braverman
• Results: A flood of national publicity, first-hand web crashes, and SEO link boosts, even though most “activists” didn’t become long-term customers.

6. Scaling Up: From Local Storefront to National Brand

• Storefront Closes (2005): Forced out by city redevelopment, Braverman pivots fully to warehouse operations and drops brick-and-mortar retail.
  • [37:18] “There went the retail store. So we had no choice but to find a location somewhere else.” — Jeff Braverman
• Product Expansion: Aggressive addition of new snacks (nuts, chocolates, gluten-free, organic, etc.) based on customer data and keyword analysis.
  • [41:32] “I knew the Google game ... I called [the supplier], said, ‘Give me your top 40 products and we’re going to sell them all.’” — Jeff Braverman
• Online Overtakes Wholesale: By 2010, online orders dominate, and the company’s revenue soars.

7. Rebranding: From Nutsonline.com to Nuts.com

• The Rachael Ray Incident & the $700k Domain Deal:
  • [52:07] "We did ship them to Rachael Ray … She says, ‘I really want to thank nuts.com’ and we were nutsonline.com so I was like, oh, man.” — Jeff Braverman
  • Jeff pursues the coveted Nuts.com domain for years, eventually paying $700,000.
  • [56:36] “Sold to me was $700,000… I had to make eight moves in a row.” — Jeff Braverman
• Why It Mattered: Confers instant credibility, improves retention, aids recruiting, and strengthens the brand in an Amazon-dominated world.

8. Playful & Polarizing Marketing: The Nuts.com Jingle

• 2015 SiriusXM Rap Jingle:
  • [63:14] “I helped write a rap. ... People either loved it or hated it. People have remixed it… hundreds, thousands of times.” — Jeff Braverman
  • [64:22] [Jingle Excerpt] "From a cashew to an almond, dried peach or a plum / nuts.com won’t be outdone!" (Jeff/Announcer)
• Impact: Polarizing response ("You're driving me nuts!"), but drove brand awareness and became a quirky part of the company’s lore.

9. COVID-19 Pivot and Crisis Leadership

• D2C Boom, B2B Bust: As offices close, business pivots back to direct-to-consumer with explosive but stressful demand.
  • [67:35] “You have infinite demand. How the heck do you ship this stuff?” — Jeff Braverman
• Operational Chaos: Worker fear, 70% staff call-outs, and Jeff stepping up with all-hands speeches.
  • [68:42] “The employees demanded to speak with me… In 30 minutes in Spanish ... I had to give the speech of all speeches ... why we’re here and how we need to stay here.” — Jeff Braverman

10. Leadership Transition & Reflections

• Stepping Down as CEO:
  • [72:49] “You didn’t want to be doing operations every day?” — Guy Raz
  • “...Why build on your weaknesses? I don’t have to. I could have retired 15 years ago. Why don’t I lean into my strengths…” — Jeff Braverman [73:22]
• Family Legacy: Still family-owned; Jeff is chairman, his uncle is semi-retired, and the business is entirely transformed in scale and lifestyle.
  • [75:58] “For them, they're just amazed. ... They got a second lease on life where they could be involved in the community, go to temple and just do stuff…” — Jeff Braverman

11. Luck, Hustle, and Humility

• On Luck and Timing:
  • [77:48] “I was born into a family that had a nut business. That was terrible. … Stuff comes your way, and it’s what you choose to do with it. Are you open to it and are you going to freaking work fast and hard and smart as it comes your way?” — Jeff Braverman
• On His Dad’s Wisdom:
  • [78:26] “My dad will...say, 'I never really wanted to go into this business...But if my children want to come into the business, I’m going to let them do what they want.'” — Jeff Braverman

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On risking it all:
  "They said verbatim, you’re nuts. You can’t make this up… but I made it clear, look, I need the keys to the store and I’m going to deliver." — Jeff Braverman [22:16]

• On Google Ads and e-commerce:
  "We launch, the ad campaign’s immediately on, and it’s like the floodgates completely open. It goes up 10x immediately." — Jeff Braverman [30:20]

• On shutting down the brick-and-mortar store:
  "There went the retail store. So we had no choice but to find a location somewhere else." — Jeff Braverman [37:18]

• On outrageous marketing:
  "Fans decided to send nuts in protest to CBS... We shipped 40,000 pounds of peanuts." — Jeff Braverman [44:37, 47:25]

• On snagging the ultimate URL:
  "Sold to me was $700,000… I had to make eight moves in a row.” — Jeff Braverman [56:36]

• On annoying marketing success:
  "It was like 50, 50—50% of people loved it, 50% of people hated it and couldn’t get it out of their heads." — Jeff Braverman [64:45]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:13] Family reaction to Jeff joining the business and the “you’re nuts” moment
• [11:26] No intentions to join family business—a finance career at first
• [12:13] Registering nutsonline.com and seeing early e-commerce potential
• [20:43] Quitting Blackstone; inspiration for entrepreneurship
• [22:16] Announcing intent to join the family business—family’s comedic reaction
• [30:20] The transformative launch of Google Ads and immediate e-commerce takeoff
• [44:37]-[47:25] The viral Jericho peanut protest and media avalanche
• [52:07] The Rachael Ray slip that triggered the push for nuts.com
• [56:36] The dogged pursuit and acquisition of nuts.com domain
• [63:14] The polarizing nuts.com jingle and its aftermath
• [67:35] COVID challenges hit business—leadership in crisis
• [72:49]-[73:22] Transitioning out of daily CEO duties for focus on strengths
• [77:48] Reflections on luck, hard work, and family legacy

Episode Tone & Language

The episode is rich in humorous, candid exchanges between Guy and Jeff, interspersed with down-to-earth, actionable business wisdom. There’s an affectionate sarcasm in Jeff’s family stories, a geeky earnestness about digital marketing, and a through-line of humility and gratitude. The show is ultimately optimistic—highlighting the value of calculated risk, tenacity, and a willingness to rewrite the playbook, no matter how “nuts” it seems.

[End of Summary]