# Vital Farms: Matt O’Hayer. How a serial entrepreneur re-branded the egg

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258/vital-farms-matt-o-hayer-how-a-serial-entrepreneur-re-branded-the-egg
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258/vital-farms-matt-o-hayer-how-a-serial-entrepreneur-re-branded-the-egg.md
Podcast: [How I Built This with Guy Raz](https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258)
Published: 2026-03-23T07:10:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/5ab8f37a-6adc-49bc-8bf7-8c479364a912.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
Audio file: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/5ab8f37a-6adc-49bc-8bf7-8c479364a912.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
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Duration seconds: 4095

## Resource

For decades, a dozen eggs was just… a dozen eggs. No story. No real branding. No reason to care who produced them. Then Matt O’Hayer came along and asked a question almost nobody in America was asking: what if store-bought eggs could be different? What if they tasted better, looked better, and came from hens raised in a much more humane way?&nbsp; The business he launched– with 20 hens and some used trailers– is now the number-one pasture-raised egg producer in the US, with a network of 600 farms, and a projected revenue of nearly $1B this year.&nbsp;&nbsp; When he started Vital Farms, Matt was in his 50s, living in an RV on the farm, and trying to convince people to pay premium prices for eggs.&nbsp; Before that, his passion for business drove him to pursue an astonishing range of ideas: carpet-cleaning, a barter-exchange franchise, a stint as a charter-boat captain and broker.&nbsp;One of his businesses left him nearly broke after 9-11, and there were many other hard lessons along the way.&nbsp; This is a story about metabolizing failure into success, and turning one of the most overlooked shelves in the grocery store… into a billion dollar opportunity.&nbsp;&nbsp; What you’ll learn:&nbsp; The hard lessons Matt learned from 3 (+) decades of founding businesses How 9/11 changed his life What 4 years as a boat captain taught him about leading–and serving How “conscious capitalism” became the blueprint for Vital Farms Why pasture-raised eggs were a branding opportunity hiding in plain sight How Whole Foods became an early and critical partner Why great products grow faster when customers do your work for you Timestamps:&nbsp; 07:48 –&nbsp;“I didn’t have 300 dollars.” Matt starts a carpet-cleaning company with no real plan 11:31 – The barter business that taught Matt how…

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