#42: How Crumbl Founder Built a $1B Cookie Empire From One Cookie

About this episode

Jason McGowan discusses the journey of building Crumbl from a single cookie to a billion-dollar franchise.

Before building Crumbl, Jason McGowan was a tech founder focused on virality, creating products used by over 120 million people. He then made a bold move: leaving tech to start a simple cookie business. In this conversation with Derek Andersen, Jason shares how Crumbl grew from one chocolate chip cookie into a $1B+ franchise with 1,000+ locations across the U.S. He explains how product-market fit, A/B testing, and viral growth turned a simple idea into a national brand. Jason breaks down why product matters more than marketing, how customer obsession drives growth, and how Crumbl built a viral experience through sharing, weekly drops, and community feedback. The episode also explores leadership, success, and why money doesn’t create lasting happiness. Jason reflects on family, purpose, and what truly matters after building a billion-dollar company. Follow Jason - X (Twitter): https://x.com/jasonmcgowan Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen Episode Partners: Pulley Manage your cap table with intuitive tools built to help founders make informed decisions without breaking stride. https://tinyurl.com/PulleyPartner Timestamps: 04:32 — Building the Perfect…

People in this episode

Host: Derek Andersen

Guest: Jason McGowan

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• franchising
• product development
• viral marketing
• customer experience
• leadership

Keywords

• Crumbl
• cookie business
• viral growth
• A/B testing
• product-market fit
• customer obsession
• franchise
• leadership
• success
• happiness

Sponsors

Pulley

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crumbl, Facebook

Places: U.S.

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