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

Mar 25, 2026

Jason McGowan, co-founder and CEO of Crumbl and former tech founder behind viral apps, recounts building a billion-dollar cookie brand from one chocolate chip. He talks product-first testing, viral social design, weekly rotating flavors, franchise growth, customer obsession, and why purpose and family matter beyond success.

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INSIGHT

Design Product To Create Natural Virality

Virality comes from customer actions that make other customers come; design product experiences to cause that.
Crumbl made oversized, shareable cookies with cutters and warm delivery to make sharing intuitive and viral.

ADVICE

Own Your Customer Data And Channels

Own direct customer relationships and contact channels instead of relying on platforms.
Crumbl stores collected phone numbers and built a loyalty/text system after lessons from Facebook's platform changes.

ANECDOTE

Franchising Started From Family Requests

Franchising began because family wanted to run stores; Sawyer's dad asked to be involved after initial success.
That request led Jason to offer franchises first to family, then neighbors, sparking growth.

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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 Cookie With A/B Testing
07:18 — The Bubblegum Cookie Failure (Hard Lesson)
08:54 — The Simple Idea Behind Crumbl’s Viral Growth
17:58 — Owning the Customer (Lessons from Facebook)
20:03 — How Crumbl Accidentally Became a Franchise
22:43 — Why Product Matters More Than Marketing
26:18 — Reading Reddit as CEO (Customer Obsession)
30:34 — Scaling Crumbl Nationwide
34:16 — Weekly Drops: The Genius Behind the Menu
44:48 — Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness (Real Talk)
46:25 — Family, Purpose, and What Actually Matters
54:53 — The Truth About Success and Fulfillment
59:26 — Just Get Started (Final Advice)

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