Acquired - Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Latest Episodes:

Nvidia Part I: The GPU Company (1993-2006) Mar 27, 2022

Show notes

He wears signature leather jackets. He can bench press more than you. He makes cars that drive themselves. He’s cheated death — both corporate and personal — too many times to count, and he runs the 8th most valuable company in the world. Nope, he's not Elon Musk, he’s Jensen Huang — the most badass CEO in semiconductor history. Today we tell the first chapter of his and Nvidia’s incredible story. You’ll want to buckle up for this one!

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

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Links:

Shoot to Kill: https://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0107/070.html?sh=261e2068d077
Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wt5jSpqjsRuYU00pq_ABWTM0iJ68hjMceF9XrreYPko/edit?usp=sharing

Carve Outs:

Starting Strength: https://startingstrength.com
Elden Ring: https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/elden-ring/elden-ring

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Altimeter (with Brad Gerstner) Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

We hear a lot these days about hedge funds becoming venture firms, and venture firms becoming hedge funds. But a decade before either of those approaches became mainstream, a tiny $3m fund in Boston named Altimeter Capital set out simply to invest in a concentrated portfolio of America’s very best technology companies, regardless if they were public or private. Today that tiny firm has grown to nearly $15B under management and become a premier “capital partner” to founders at all but the very earliest stages — companies like Snowflake, Facebook, Roblox, Plaid, Grab and Acquired fan-favorite Modern Treasury. We sit down with founder & CEO Brad Gerstner to dive into the story behind Altimeter’s meteoric rise.

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

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Carve Outs:

Brad’s Twitter thread on Invest America: https://twitter.com/altcap/status/1347454947583950849?s=20&t=gM5zJMcq9p96GcjEHZw56w

SONY Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

Born in the unlikeliest of places — the terrible, wasteland-like aftermath of post WWII Japan — Sony rose to capture the imaginations (and wallets) of consumers and engineers around the world. The company produced hit after hit after hit: portable transistor radios, CDs, the Walkman, the PlayStation, DVDs, life insurance(!!)... and yet ultimately fell behind its greatest American admirer, Steve Jobs and Apple. This is the incredible story of Sony’s human and technological optimism in the face of overwhelming odds — a story that, given recent world events, remains as relevant today as ever.

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

Steve Jobs’ Tribute to Akio Morita: https://youtu.be/Drwkvf76Cls
Planet Money on Sony and Spider-Man: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076531156/the-spider-man-problem
Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LpnPSju5xSPcuaRVd1TYXnL1oGBr4Qs5bRS7owbxoEc/edit?usp=sharing

Carve Outs:

How This All Happened by Morgan Housel: https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/how-this-all-happened/
The Model 3 is AWESOME: https://www.tesla.com/model3

Super Pumped (with Brian Koppelman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

We sit down with two of the most talented and respected people in Hollywood — Brian Koppelman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt — to talk about the process of adapting Mike Issac’s story of Uber, “Super Pumped”, into their new Showtime series. To say this was a thrill for us is a MASSIVE understatement. Huge thank yous to Brian, Joe and Showtime for making it happen!

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

Super Pumped (the series): https://www.sho.com/super-pumped
Super Pumped (the book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PZ2B85Y/

Carve Outs:

Joe performing Katy Perry in the style of The Cure on Jimmy Fallon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lGEZOOHwI
Michael Lewis’s Liar’s Poker companion podcast: https://www.pushkin.fm/show/against-the-rules-with-michael-lewis/
Stevie Van Zandt’s Unrequited Infatuations: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R56XNMQ/
Your Undivided Attention: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/a-problem-well-stated-is-half-solved
Jakob Dylan on The Moment: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xNbG6XBjoVLDvpOUbZSIr?si=engSyJ9IQlePpqDOw7rSjw
Joe’s Don Jon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229499/
HitRecord: https://hitrecord.org

‍ Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

The Browser (with Brendan Eich, Chief Architect of Netscape + Mozilla and CEO of Brave) Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

We sit down with perhaps the only person besides Marc Andreessen who’s had a major influence on each of the Web 1, 2 and 3 eras: Brave Browser CEO (and former Netscape + Mozilla Chief Architect) Brendan Eich. In true Acquired fashion we cover both a huge amount of both internet history AND internet future in one awesome conversation. Big thank you to Brendan for making this so special — tune in!

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

Brave: https://brave.com

Carve Outs:

Project Hail Mary: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Hail-Mary-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B08FHBV4ZX
Open: https://www.amazon.com/Open-Andre-Agassi-ebook/dp/B003062GEE/
San Fransicko: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SMFSL5M/
Dynamic Economics: ****https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Economics-Burton-H-Klein/dp/0674218663

‍ Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Peloton Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

The Peloton journey has been one seriously wild ride. From can’t raise money to one of Tiger Global’s first venture investments, to pandemic darling to the stock being down 85% in 6 months... there’s never a dull moment in this company’s history. And guess who’s leading the pack for its next chapter: that’s right, THREE-TIME ACQUIRED SUPERHERO, the one and only Barry McCarthy. We had to tell this story.

This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

Barry’s Hill School interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uwcSbe6YoE
Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qs4DwVFBTMCyEt7Xxlby6iRCpOs0aRTOWPLjrbFQO8Q/edit?usp=sharing

Carve Outs:

Barry’s planning framework from the Hill School interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uwcSbe6YoE
Switched On Pop on James Bond’s Spycraft Sound: https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/james-bond-spycraft-sound-billie-eilish-hans-zimmer-daniel-craig

Taylor Swift (Acquired’s Version) Jan 23, 2022

Show notes

Not only is Taylor Swift the biggest music artist of our generation by nearly every metric (it’s not even close!), with the re-recording of her original albums she’s in the process of reshaping the entire music industry in a way no band or artist ever has before. And oh yeah — she’s still only thirty-two. We dive into the incredible business story behind perhaps the new "last great American dynasty"... the TSwift empire.

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
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Links:

Taylor Swift The Brightest Star: https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Swift-Loves-Global-Sensation/dp/1912587556/
All You Need to Know About the Music Business: https://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-About-Music-Business/dp/1501122185/
Switched On Pop: https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/deja-vu-olivia-rodrigo-copyright-decoder-good-4-u-paramore
Joni (Blue) vs. Taylor (Red) Album Art: https://gaylorlyrics.tumblr.com/post/624477640229863424/we-3-some-joni-mitchell-parallels
Kelly Clarkson’s suggestion to re-record Taylor’s Big Machine albums: https://twitter.com/kellyclarkson/status/1150168164853882880?s=20
Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YKvfZuBrMB_BawZzt5c6ap8b2KdNg7n5Ko2tqF5AkCE/edit?usp=sharing

Carve Outs:

The Beatles: Get Back: https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/series/the-beatles-get-back/7DcWEeWVqrkE
Italic: https://italic.com

CAA (with Michael Ovitz) Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

Season 9 ends at the beginning — with the man who changed Hollywood forever and wrote the blueprint for A16Z’s upending of Silicon Valley a generation later, Michael Ovitz and his “Dream Factory”, Creative Artists Agency. From Jurassic Park to Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Goodfellas, Rain Man, ER, and even the Coca-Cola polar bears... almost nothing in 80s and 90s pop culture didn’t have CAA’s stamp on it. Speaking of dreams, this episode was totally one for us, and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it!!

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

Michael’s (truly excellent) book, Who Is Michael Ovitz?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2HS77M/

FTX (with Sam Bankman-Fried & Mario Gabriele) Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

Note: This episode was published on Dec 14, 2021, approximately a year before FTX’s subsequent meltdown. The apparent negligence, fraud and self-dealing at FTX has given us much to reflect on after we — and many others — gave Sam a platform to share his and FTX’s story with all of you. We’ve decided to leave this episode up in-full as a historical artifact of the industry’s view on FTX at the time. For a broader Acquired discussion on frauds, and specifically the similarities between FTX and Enron, see our November 2022 Enron episode.

We tell the definitive (audio!) story behind FTX's "speed run" — how this upstart crypto exchange became the fastest company in history to reach a $25B valuation, just two years after founding. And to do so we're joined by not one but TWO of the very best people in the world to help: FTX's wunderkind CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and special guest host Mario Gabriele from The Generalist, who Sam gave extensive access to FTX's internal data, employees, and investors for his canonical 36,000 word trilogy on the company this past summer. We cover it all — from the "$20m/day" trade that started everything, to Tom Brady & Gisele, to Sam testifying last week in front of Congress. Don't blink or you might miss it!

Sponsors:

Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

More Acquired!

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Links:

The Generalist's FTX Trilogy: https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-1
FTX: https://ftx.com
FTX US: https://ftx.us
Sam's Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX

7 Powers with Hamilton Helmer Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

You've heard us talk about him every episode for the past two years... but until now most of you have never actually heard us talk to him! We've remastered our first, canonical interview with Hamilton Helmer, originally released as an limited episode in March 2020. Hamilton’s 7 Powers framework gives a deep, academic investigation to the question, “what creates an enduring company?” This episode is an absolute must-listen for anyone working or investing in tech (and beyond), and we're so excited to finally make it available to everyone.

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