How I Built This with Guy Raz artwork

Mar 16, 2026 · 1h 29m, Episode 818

Scrub Daddy: Aaron Krause. How a Failed Experiment Became a Billion-Dollar Sponge

From How I Built This with Guy Raz

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Aaron Krause did not set out to reinvent the kitchen sponge. He was a car detailer, building buffing pads and the machines that made them. To clean his greasy hands, he made a makeshift hand scrubber out of extra-rough foam, and it worked so well he decided to sell it. But nobody wanted it. He shelved the product for years. Then one day while cleaning up around the house, he accidentally discovered the foam’s “magic” properties and realized it would make the perfect kitchen sponge. Scrub Daddy was born. ...

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