Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
…
continue reading
Welcome to Significant Breeds Success Audio Experience, hosted by Daniel Puder, to inspire individuals to find their purpose, understand what is possible to achieve and make an impact in not only their lives, but the lives of those around them! Puder is CEO, President and Founder of his own school district, Non-Profit and Branding Agency as well as a Professional Athlete being an Undefeated MMA Fighter and WWE’s $1M Tough Enough Champion. He believes that everyone possesses the ability to be ...
…
continue reading
Welcome to the "Speaking of Wealth" podcast showcasing profit strategies for speakers, publishers, authors, consultants, and info-marketers. Learn valuable skills to make your business more successful, more passive, more automated, and more scalable. Your host, Jason Hartman interviews top-tier guests, bestselling authors and experts including; Dan Poynter (The Self-Publishing Manual), Harvey Mackay (Swim With The Sharks & Get Your Foot in the Door), Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) ...
…
continue reading
Summer greetings from Acquired! Two items for this “mini-episode”: Tickets are now available for our live show at Chase Center in San Francisco, with special guests including Mark Zuckerberg (!). The show is Tuesday, September 10th, with doors opening at 5 PM for an hour of mingling with other listeners before the show starts at 6 PM. Huge thank yo…
…
continue reading
In 1999, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world. And in 2019, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world, again. But… what happened in the twenty years in between? The answer, as we discovered in our research, is probably not what you think. In this episode we explore and analyze the browser wars and the DOJ case, Wind…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
507: Unlocking Business Succession: The Power of ESOPs with Keith Butcher
24:48
24:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
24:48
In an interview with Jason Hartman, Keith Butcher, founder of Butcher Joseph, discusses business succession and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). With many business owners approaching retirement, ESOPs offer a tax-efficient way to transition ownership to employees. This model enhances employee retention and loyalty, providing long-term retire…
…
continue reading
Starbucks. You’d be hard pressed to name any brand that’s more ubiquitous in the world today. With nearly half a billion global customer purchases per week across its stores and 3rd party retail channels, a significant portion of the human population gets their daily fix in the green and white paper cup. (Including our own Ben Gilbert who famously …
…
continue reading
Microsoft. After nearly a decade of Acquired episodes, we are finally ready to tackle the most valuable company ever created. The company that put a computer on every desk and in every home. The company that invented the software business model. The company that so thoroughly and completely dominated every conceivable competitor that the United Sta…
…
continue reading
Renaissance Technologies is the best performing investment firm of all time. And yet no one at RenTec would consider themselves an “investor”, at least in any traditional sense of the word. It’d rather be more accurate to call them scientists — scientists who’ve discovered a system of math, computers and artificial intelligence that has evolved int…
…
continue reading
In luxury, there’s Hermès… and there’s everyone else. Stewarded by one French family over six generations, Hermès sells the absolute pinnacle of the French luxury dream. Loyal clients will wait years simply for the opportunity to buy one of the company’s flagship Birkin or Kelly bags. Unlike every other luxury brand, Hermès: Doesn’t increase supply…
…
continue reading
Last year Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, overtook LVMH to become Europe’s most valuable company. And the pull for Acquired to finally tackle healthcare (18% of US GDP!) became too strong for us to resist. While we didn’t know much about Novo Nordisk before diving in, our first thought was, “wow, seems lik…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Nick Walzak & Daniel Puder - Significance Breeds Success
40:41
40:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:41
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Gary Lipsky and Daniel Puder -How to Persevere in Entrepreneurship and Beyond
46:41
46:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:41
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
Ben has some big news. Actually, double big news! On what has become a holiday tradition here at Acquired, we cozy up to the fire to do our annual review of the show “in public”. We reflect on what can only be described as an absolutely mind-blowing 2023 (LVMH! Jensen! Costco! Charlie! Half a million plus listeners!) and look ahead to some big thin…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
506: Navigating the Storm: A CEO's Tale of Business Triumph in Turbulent Times
20:45
20:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
20:45
Jason interviews Johnny Serpilla, former President of Camping World, about his book, "Life is Hard, but I'll be Okay", and his experiences in leadership and business. Johnny emphasizes the importance of approaching life with one heart and mind, the role of gratitude in leadership, and the impact of personal problems on work. Johnny also discusses t…
…
continue reading
To paraphrase Visa founder Dee Hock, how many of you know Visa? Great, all of you. Now, how many of you know how it started? Or, for that matter, who started it? Who runs and governs it? Where is it headquartered? What’s its business model? For the 11th largest market cap company in the world, Visa’s history and strategy is almost shockingly unknow…
…
continue reading
We sit down with the legendary Charlie Munger in the only dedicated longform podcast interview that he has done in his 99 years on Earth. We’ve gotten to have some special conversations on Acquired over the years, but this one truly takes the cake. Over dinner at his Los Angeles home, Charlie reflected with us on his own career and his nearly 50-ye…
…
continue reading
We finally sit down with the man himself: Nvidia Cofounder & CEO Jensen Huang. After three parts and seven+ hours of covering the company, we thought we knew everything but — unsurprisingly — Jensen knows more. A couple teasers: we learned that the company’s initial motivation to enter the datacenter business came from perhaps not where you’d think…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Nvidia Part III: The Dawn of the AI Era (2022-2023)
2:53:45
2:53:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
2:53:45
It’s a(nother) new era for Nvidia. We thought we’d closed the Acquired book on Nvidia back in April 2022. The story was all wrapped up: Jensen & crew had set out on an amazing journey to accelerate the world’s computing workloads. Along the way they’d discovered a wondrous opportunity (machine learning powered social media feed recommendations). Th…
…
continue reading
Costco is not only Charlie Munger’s favorite company of all time (plus he’s on the board, natch), it’s an absolutely fascinating study in how seemingly opposite characteristics can combine to create incredible company value. For instance: Costco has the cheapest prices of any major retailer in America — and also the wealthiest customer base. They p…
…
continue reading
Nike — it’s perhaps the most iconic and most prolific brand of the modern era. On any given day, swooshes adorn the feet of more people on earth than any other footwear company — by a long shot. If you read Shoe Dog or watched Air, you may think you know its history. But Shoe Dog ends in 1980, and Air… well let’s just say it’s an enjoyable piece of…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
505: Protecting Your Online Reputation: Expert Insights from Matt Earle | Reputation.ca
27:38
27:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:38
In this interview, Matt Earle from Reputation.ca discusses the problem of online reputation damage and how it can affect individuals and businesses. When negative or false information appears in Google search results, it can harm a person's reputation. Reputation.ca focuses on deleting harmful content whenever possible, but it's challenging when de…
…
continue reading
Nobody’s perfect — including Porsche. Despite that phrase appearing in their famous 1983 magazine advertisement, they managed to get damn-close to the perfect luxury business (even Bernard Arnault would be jealous!). Porsche is both quality AND quantity, owning the most prestigious brand in its market, while at the same time churning out almost hal…
…
continue reading
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi dropped by the Acquired studio for an Eats delivery, so we broke out the cameras and asked him to hang out for a wide-ranging conversation. :) We talk about his 20 years working with Barry Diller, starting his career at Allen & Company, how the Uber CEO search process ACTUALLY went down… and oh yeah, the massive transform…
…
continue reading
Today we bring you two absolutely incredible stories. The first is Lockheed’s legendary Skunk Works division — the elite team of aviation geniuses who produced some of the greatest airplanes in history: the U-2, the Stealth Fighter, and the incomparable SR-71 Blackbird. The second story is arguably even more important, but not widely known! It's th…
…
continue reading
We sit down with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek live in Stockholm at Spotify’s amazing HQ studio (check out the video version of this episode — which plays natively on Spotify!). This was an incredibly special and timely conversation: for those who haven’t been paying attention over the past few years, after revolutionizing music Spotify has now ALSO comple…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins on The Art of Business in Gaming
2:15:14
2:15:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
2:15:14
We sit down Benchmark’s legendary gaming investors Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins (now also of the excellent Gamecraft podcast fame) to discuss the history and future of gaming business models. This episode is the perfect bookend to our Nintendo/Sega gaming series this season on Acquired — no one is more qualified than Mitch and Blake to breakdown h…
…
continue reading
Sega and the Genesis was THE underdog story of the early 90’s. In a single console generation, Sega went from ~zero to 50% US market share and dethroned Nintendo’s seemingly invincible global monopoly. But — somehow — it all then died. Two console generations later Sega was out of the hardware game entirely, and the company was sold off for pieces …
…
continue reading
In the 1980’s Nintendo was on top of the world, with the NES achieving over 90% market share of home video games globally. So how did they fall ALL the way down to ~10% in just a few short console generations? And how did they then build themselves back up (and down and up again) to the top of the world again? Spoiler: it all hinged on one very sma…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Interview: Hamilton Helmer & Chenyi Shi on How to Build an AWS-Like Second Business
1:29:21
1:29:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:21
7 Powers author Hamilton Helmer and his Strategy Capital colleague Chenyi Shi join us again to discuss their latest research on a topic that’s highly relevant to the recent Acquired canon: how to build a second business line. This incredibly important “transforming” question faces every great company who has achieved initial product success (as wel…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Sessions: David Senra (Founders Podcast)
3:18:43
3:18:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
3:18:43
ACQ Sessions returns with David Senra of the Founders Podcast. David is one of our very favorite people in the world — it’s impossible to spend an hour (or 3!) with him and not come away inspired to go take over the world. This conversation is an “extended, IRL version” of monthly calls that we do together where we share stories, swap life and podc…
…
continue reading
You may think you know the Nintendo story: a plumber named Mario, a princess named Zelda… and didn’t they buy the Seattle Mariners at some point? We thought we knew it too. And then we started researching and were blown away. The lovable Disney-like Nintendo that we know today is a 130 year-old a playing card company (i.e. gambling), forged in the …
…
continue reading
We tell the full history of LVMH, and how Bernard Arnault turned a $15m investment in a bankrupt French textile company into the world’s largest individual fortune. It’s a story that’s equal parts Berkshire Hathaway, Steve Jobs and Barbarians at the Gate… and wholly under-appreciated for the genius business model innovations that enabled it. Whatev…
…
continue reading
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
The NFL — it’s almost synonymous with America today. And its history is a fascinating lens to explore the nation’s development over the last 100 years, from WWII to TV and suburbs to the Internet and social media. What began as a quasi-illicit league in small midwestern towns is now the single largest media property in the world today by revenue. A…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Understanding The Market - Danel Puder & Esther Reizes-Lowenbein
25:06
25:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
25:06
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Directing Your Journey - Daniel Puder & Erika Obando
27:06
27:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:06
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
What is Life about? - Daniel Puder & Eliot Marshall
39:24
39:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:24
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
Cozy up to the fire and join Acquired as we do our annual strategic review of the show and our business “in public”. We recap our perspectives on Acquired’s big moments from the past year, a bit of commentary on the current state of the tech ecosystem, and what lies ahead for us in 2023. Plus as always at the holidays, we do an extended carve out s…
…
continue reading
Ben Thompson joins Acquired to discuss the business of Stratechery itself and celebrate 10 years (!) of the internet’s best strategy analysis destination. Even beyond Stratechery’s enormous impact itself on business and tech over the years, Ben’s work inspired a whole generation of business content creators — this show very much included — and it w…
…
continue reading
The FTX fraud has dominated headlines now for weeks, during which we’ve debated if and how Acquired could uniquely add to the conversation. Then we realized there was an angle so perfect that we had to drop everything and enter Acquired research overdrive: Enron. Travel back with us to the granddaddy fraud of them all, 2001’s then-largest bankruptc…
…
continue reading
Qualcomm, or “Quality Communications” — despite being one of the largest technology companies in the world, few people know the absolutely amazing technological and business history behind it. Seriously, this story is on par with Nvidia, TSMC and all the great semiconductor giants. Without this single fabless company based in San Diego, there’s alm…
…
continue reading
By Daniel Puder
…
continue reading
We sit down with all five current Benchmark GPs for one of their legendary weekly dinners, during which we ask all of the unresolved burning questions from Part 1. How do THEY think about Benchmark v3? What are their day-to-day emotions trying to keep the equal partnership “bending toward greatness? Why is there no growth fund? What does it take to…
…
continue reading
We kick off ACQ Sessions with the-behind-the-scenes story of All-in, from the world’s greatest moderator himself Jason Calacanis. ACQ Sessions is our new, occasional “MTV Unplugged” version of Acquired: a great IRL guest, a bottle (or two) of wine, and no script. We talk about everything you’d imagine we would over wine with JCal — All-In, bestie r…
…
continue reading
Benchmark Capital. We tell the tale of the legendary equal partnership that accomplished something no other venture firm can claim: twice it has produced the highest returning fund of its cycle, each time with a 100% different GP lineup. If ever there were a playbook for successful generational transfer of a generational-defining venture firm, this…
…
continue reading
So, how DID an online book retailer end up building the infrastructure layer that powers the entire internet? (Or at least 39% of it, per latest market share data.) While many myths, legends, and some downright falsehoods exist, the real answer to that question deserves a full Acquired episode of its very own. So here it is: the story of Amazon Web…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Howard Marks & Andrew Marks: Something of Value
1:29:22
1:29:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:22
We sit down with legendary investor Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital and his son Andrew who, while less-well-known, is also an incredibly accomplished investor in a very different arena: early-stage VC. The purpose of the conversation was to discuss their joint work together on Howard’s all-time most popular memo, “Something of Value”, which made th…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
504: How to Self-Publish Your Book! Chandler Bolt, Self-Publishing School
20:36
20:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
20:36
A book is the new business card and a great way to grow your business! Chandler Bolt is an investor, advisor, the CEO of Self-Publishing School & SelfPublishing.com, and the author of 6 bestselling books including his most recent book titled “Published.” Self-Publishing School is an INC 5000 company the last 3 years in a row as one of the 5,000 fas…
…
continue reading
Amazon. No company has impacted the internet — and all of modern life — more than this one. We’ve waited seven years to do this episode, and are so, so excited to finally dive into every nook and cranny of this legendary company. And of course because we’re Acquired and this is Amazon, we couldn’t contain it all to just one episode… even a 4+ hour …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
From NFL to Startup COO to Congressman Regulating Crypto (with Rep. Anthony Gonzalez)
1:55:15
1:55:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:55:15
This episode is a first for Acquired: we’re joined by a sitting US Congressman (from Ben’s home state of Ohio!), Republican House Representative Anthony Gonzalez. Anthony serves on the House Financial Services Committee and is deeply involved in crypto and Web3 regulation, as well as on the Climate and Science, Space & Technology Committee where he…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
503: Todd Duncan & High Trust Selling: The Holy Grail of Sales Influence
42:27
42:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:27
It takes a lifetime to build trust, and a minute to lose it. Jason Hartman welcomes Todd Duncan, author, speaker and the world’s leading authority on trust! People thrive on trust and the bigger the financial decision, the more trust is necessary. How can you create that? Todd also reminds us that nobody gets a paycheck for being busy! Managing you…
…
continue reading
We kick off Season 11 with the incredible story of the retail “granddaddy of them all” Walmart, and its founder Sam Walton. Once you study Walmart, you realize just how deep its heritage runs through Amazon and so many iconic modern companies we cover on Acquired. This episode was an absolute blast, and we even uncovered a new addendum to the hallo…
…
continue reading