Advice Line with Steve Ells of Chipotle
From How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery
April 9, 2026 · 43 min · Episode 825
About this episode
In this episode, Guy Raz takes calls from entrepreneurs seeking advice, featuring Steve Ells discussing the future of food service and entrepreneurship.
Today’s callers: Rebecca from Australia wants to make her small-batch spirits stand out in a crowded market. Then, Sri from England wonders how to balance commercial and humanitarian interests for her heated mats. And John from Pennsylvania hopes to reach younger customers with his Italian wines despite declining alcohol consumption. Plus, Steve talks about the evolving role of robots in food service—and how he hopes to find his next rocketship in a fresh take on the sandwich shop. Thank you to the founders of Streaky Bay Distillers, Mat Zero, and Cantina Di Rosina for being a part of our show. If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to Chipotle’s founding story as told by Steve on the show in 2017. This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. You can follow HIBT…
People in this episode
Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Steve Ells
Topics covered
- entrepreneurship
- food service
- small business advice
- branding
- innovation
- robotics
Keywords
- Chipotle
- entrepreneurship
- food service
- small business
- advice line
- robotics
- branding
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Chipotle, Streaky Bay Distillers, Mat Zero, Cantina Di Rosina
Places: Australia, England, Pennsylvania
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