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Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

#13 in Technology this week

Every company has a story.

Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

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  • 218 episodes
  • monthly
  • Avg 1 hr 54 min
  • English

Episodes 218

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  • S4 · E5
    Apr 24, 2019 · 1 hr 36 min

    The Pinterest IPO

    In the second episode of our APLUSS(Z!) IPO saga, we dive into the history behind the planet’s largest non-social social network, Pinterest. From The Pirates of Silicon Valley to the bloggers of Salt Lake City, the creation story behind this “productivity tool for planning your dreams” is far from your typical unicorn journey. Once labelled as the “next Facebook” by investors and press, ten years later both Pinterest-the-product and Pinterest-the-company are in fact anything but. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing… tune in to find out! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links Pinterest’s S-1: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506293/000119312519083544/d674330ds1.htm Fun photos of the Pinterest early days from Leslie Kincaid: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/azy9xtxtq5l6r3y/AAC68OhprmVbauZreHPyLbn5a?dl=0 Pinterest financial summary on Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4255230-know-pinterest-ipo Carve Outs Ben: Eugene Wei on the Invest Like The Best Podcast: http://investorfieldguide.com/wei/ David: A-Rod interviews George Springer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqgxmG4yc8

  • S4 · E4
    Mar 30, 2019 · 2 hr 14 min

    The Lyft IPO

    Call it the playoffs. Call it the Olympics. Call it March Madness. No matter which sports analogy you borrow, it falls short of capturing what Lyft's IPO yesterday kicked off in the tech world. A generational changing of the guard from the FAANG to the APLUSS (Airbnb, Pinterest, Lyft, Uber, Slack, Stripe). A breaking of the liquidity dam that's kept capital, technology and talent locked up in a small number of Silicon Valley winners for longer than ever in history. And most importantly, a public market avenue for investing in the largest single market created since the advent of the internet. Acquired is live on the scene recounting and analyzing the history of Lyft (and ridesharing broadly) in every exquisite detail! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Lyft’s S-1: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1759509/000119312519059849/d633517ds1.htm Donate to Homobiles: http://bit.ly/2TM40nAÂ Carve Outs: Ben: Bill Gurley on "Runnin' Down a Dream" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYekD6-PZ8 David: "Cricket Fever" on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80222770

  • S4 · E3
    Feb 26, 2019 · 1 hr 8 min

    Instagram Revisited (with Emily White)

    We enter the wayback machine and revisit the subject of Acquired’s second ever episode, Facebook’s bombshell 2012 acquisition of Instagram — this time with the help of then-Facebook executive Emily White, who moved over post-acquisition to become Instagram’s first business head. Together with Kevin and Mike, Emily helped build Instagram's business model, which today accounts for nearly 1/4 of all of Facebook’s revenue. Is this still Acquired’s canonical A+ with an extra 3.5 years of hindsight? Spoiler alert: yes. Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Carve Outs: Ben: Sam Harris on the Joe Rogan Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5_hAEsLkU David: Boom Town by Sam Anderson: https://www.amazon.com/Boom-Town-Fantastical-Basketball-World-class-ebook/dp/B077RHYC4G

  • S4 · E3
    Feb 19, 2019 · 40 min

    Special: Spotify + Gimlet/Anchor Quick Take + Worldwide Meetup Details!

    Spotify + Gimlet/Anchor Quick Take! We continue to experiment on Acquired, this time with a quick-take on Spotify’s bombshell dual-acquisition of Anchor and Gimlet Media. While we may give these deals the full Acquired treatment in the future, we wanted to share our quick thoughts with you all sooner rather than later while the Acquired research department (aka Ben & David’s free time) works through the current episode backlog. Let us know if you like this format and we’ll do more in the future! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC

  • S4 · E2
    Feb 3, 2019 · 1 hr 20 min

    ARM & SoftBank

    We dive into the crazy, little-known story of how this small, former PC-maker in Cambridge, England dethroned Intel, saved Apple from bankruptcy, became the blueprint for the largest investment fund in history, and of course now powers just about every device you use today. From Issac Newton to the Apple Newton, the Vision Fund and beyond, ARM has had an impact on the technology industry that cannot be overstated! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: The Nokia 6110: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_6110 Fast Company on SoftBank and how the ARM acquisition happened: https://www.fastcompany.com/90285552/the-most-powerful-person-in-silicon-valley

  • S4 · E1
    Jan 21, 2019 · 1 hr 20 min

    ESPN

    Booyah! Acquired, the worldwide leader in acquisitions and IPOs, kicks off Season 4 with a classic: ESPN. How did a failed former TV weatherman end up building the world’s most valuable media company on top of a dump (quite literally) in Bristol, Connecticut? We follow the incredible entrepreneurial journey from Getty Oil diversification strategy to Berkshire Hathaway home run to Disney crown jewel. This Is Awesome, Baby!! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: ESPN’s first moments on air: https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2018/12/espn-remembers-lee-leonard/ The Outsiders Book: https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Rational-Blueprint-ebook/dp/B009G1T74O/ Carve Outs: Ben: Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer: The Basketball Box Score Mystery https://www.geekwire.com/2019/numbers-geek-steve-ballmer-basketball-box-score-mystery/ David: Fast Company on Masa, “The most powerful person in Silicon Valley” https://www.fastcompany.com/90285552/the-most-powerful-person-in-silicon-valley

  • S3 · E10
    Dec 17, 2018 · 1 hr 47 min

    Tencent

    We close out Season 3 and our China mini-series with a monster episode on Tencent, the Shenzhen-based social networking and entertainment powerhouse. We dive deep into the story of Pony Ma and his cofounders’ incredible journey from making software for pagers(!) to QQ, WeChat, League of Legends, Fortnite, Snapchat and even Tesla. This is one finale you don’t want to miss! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Carve Outs: Ben: President Obama’s OG podcast! https://bit.ly/2BqXxHJ David: Kara Swisher’s interview with the Google Walkout organizers: https://bit.ly/2RwuskZ David (bonus!): Allen Iverson on the Players’ Tribune: https://bit.ly/2EkrRHQ

  • S3 · E9
    Nov 25, 2018 · 1 hr 22 min

    Netflix (Part 2)

    We complete our two-part Netflix special with the company’s bold transition to streaming, including of course the most (in)famous spin-out in business history. Rising from the ashes of Qwikster, we chronicle Netflix’s rebirth as a media company and long journey back to the top of the FAANG mountaintop! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Netflix’s Qwikster apology video: https://youtu.be/c8Tn8n5CIPk SNL parody of the apology video: https://bit.ly/2PWEyyZ Evolution of Netflix home page: https://read.bi/2KvHdte The Chaos Monkey: https://bit.ly/1qkqDxZ Benedict Evans’ chart of FAANG stocks: https://bit.ly/2r3D72A Carve Outs: Ben: Kevin Rose interviews Matthew Walker on sleep: https://bit.ly/2LpIl5v David: Justin O’Beirne on Apple’s new Maps: https://bit.ly/2zrQ76Z

  • S3 · E8
    Nov 12, 2018 · 1 hr 24 min

    Netflix (Part 1)

    In a world ravaged by late fees and lack of rewinding, one man two men from a sleepy California beach town make a stand against tyranny, daringly dethrone an evil empire and… oh who are we kidding, they just copied Amazon’s business plan for books and applied it to movie rentals. But as always there is much more to the story than that! We dive into the fascinating, true, and oft-untold history of Netflix in our first two-part special on Acquired. Part 1 covers Netflix’s original DVD rental business from founding to 2009, and next time on Part 2 we’ll cover the (rocky) transition to streaming from 2010 to present. Buckle up for a wild ride! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Netflix’s original logo Carve Outs: Ben: The Good Place on… Netflix! David: The Broken Earth Series by N. K. Jemisin

  • S3 · E7
    Oct 29, 2018 · 1 hr 7 min

    Venmo (live with Andrew Kortina)

    Ben & David are joined by special guest and Venmo cofounder Andrew Kortina for our first-ever SF live show! In front of a packed house we chronicle the journey of how two freshman-year roommates from Penn turned a healthy obsession with Craigslist and a fake podcast into an app that facilitated $17B of payments last quarter alone, producing not one but two landmark acquisitions along the way! Note: the audio quality is a little rough due to some A/V issues at the live show. We apologize! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Carve Outs: Kortina: The Myth Of Sisyphus by Albert Camus David: Startup by Jerry Kaplan Ben: Halide on the new iPhone XS camera and computational photography

  • S3 · E6
    Oct 2, 2018 · 1 hr 9 min

    Behance (with Scott Belsky)

    Ben and David are joined by Adobe’s Chief Product Officer, Behance founder, Benchmark partner, author, and product luminary, Scott Belsky, to tell the story of Adobe Systems’ 2012 acquisition of Behance. We dive into the role it played in of one of the greatest (and least well-known) pivots of all time: Adobe’s transition from packaged software to services, which over the past 6 years has generated an astounding $100B+ in market cap and nearly 10x growth in Adobe’s share price! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Scott’s great new book, The Messy Middle, out today!

  • S3 · E5
    Sep 24, 2018 · 1 hr 32 min

    Alibaba

    We continue our China Tech series with perhaps the most incredible entrepreneurial journey in history: Alibaba and its indefatigable founder, Jack Ma. How did an unknown 30 year-old English teacher from a second tier Chinese city build the world’s 7th largest company by market cap (and the largest in China) in just 20 short years? This is one story you don’t want to miss. Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built Jack Ma’s famous speech in the Hangzhou apartment Jack Ma on not competing with Amazon Carve Outs: Ben: Mike Maples on the Origins podcast David: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

  • S3 · E4
    Sep 11, 2018 · 1 hr 21 min

    Recode (with Kara Swisher)

    In this special episode Ben & David head to Recode’s SF office and sit down in the red chair with the one & only Kara Swisher! Kara tells the story of Recode, from the beginnings of her partnership with Walt Mossberg in the late 90’s at WSJ to the launch of the D Conference and the All Things D blog, to starting Recode and ultimately being acquired by Vox Media in 2015. Kara is someone we’ve long looked up to at Acquired, and it was really special to have her join us on the show. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Kara interviewing Stewart Butterfield, CEO of… Glitch?

  • S3 · E3
    Aug 20, 2018 · 1 hr 32 min

    The Sonos IPO

    Ben and David are (almost) live on the scene covering the plucky Southern California “camera company”… uh wait, wrong episode… we mean *speaker* company’s IPO! Continuing the long Acquired tradition of analyzing companies at the intersection of music, tech and business, we discuss the past, present and future of Sonos in world where speakers actually now… speak! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Sonos own corporate history Carve Outs: Ben: Andy Rachleff on the Invest like the Best podcast David: Brotopia by Emily Chang

  • S3 · E2
    Aug 6, 2018 · 1 hr 11 min

    The Xiaomi IPO

    Acquired kicks off our China tech mini-series by teaming up with the best in the business: Hans and Zara from GGV’s 996 Podcast! Together we cover the largest technology IPO in the world since fellow China tech giant Alibaba in 2014: Xiaomi, where Hans has been an investor and board member from the very beginning. This episode is chock full of history and insight on both Xiaomi and what’s happening in China tech more broadly, and why we all should be paying attention. No matter where you live, this is definitely not one to miss! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC

  • S3 · E1
    Jul 17, 2018 · 1 hr 57 min

    Tesla

    Acquired kicks off Season 3 with a gangbuster two-hour extravaganza on America’s most successful automotive startup since The Ford Motor Company: Tesla. We cover everything, from founding to its 2010 IPO to all that’s happened since, including the question on the minds of superhero fans everywhere: who came first, Elon Musk or Tony Stark? (Spoiler: Elon) Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Carve Outs: Ben: The Dissect podcast David: Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast

  • S2 · E10
    Jun 18, 2018 · 1 hr 5 min

    The Rover-DogVacay Merger (with Rover CEO Aaron Easterly)

    Acquired wraps up Season 2 with our first “elusive” private-private merger: Rover.com and its 2017 combination with rival pet care marketplace DogVacay. We’re joined by Rover CEO Aaron Easterly to dive into the full history of how the crazy idea of “Airbnb for dogs” not only became a billion-dollar company, but also brought our heroes together for the first time and led to the founding of Acquired! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: The original Rover pitch from Startup Weekend

  • S2 · E9
    Jun 6, 2018 · 1 hr 22 min

    GitHub

    We’re live on the scene the day following the biggest announcement in the open source software world since well, open source software: Microsoft acquiring GitHub for $7.5B in stock. How did we get here? What does it mean for software developers going forward? And most importantly, why is there a creepy half-cat / half-octopus plastered all over everything? As always, Acquired has the answers. Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Carve Outs: Ben: The Idea Maze by Chris Dixon David: Invisible Asymptotes by Eugene Wei

  • S2 · E8
    May 21, 2018 · 1 hr 19 min

    T-Mobile / Sprint

    If you thought the telecom business was boring, think again! Acquired brings you an episode packed with more drama than an entire season of Game of Thrones. Starting with a death in the family, we follow a tale of fortunes lost and rebuilt, bitter battles between rivals who once worked for each other, and at the center of it all, a lesson in the power of stable cashflow businesses. This is one call you don’t want to drop! Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Seattle Times’ infographic on Bellevue’s wireless company history John Legere at CES 2013 Carve Outs: Ben: Andrew Chen on the Intercom podcast David: The 996 Podcast from Zara & Hans at GGV Capital

  • S2 · E7
    May 4, 2018 · 1 hr 12 min

    PowerPoint

    Acquired returns with a classic, delving into Microsoft’s first acquisition ever: Forethought Inc, the makers of PowerPoint. Hate it or love it, you can’t deny the combined companies’ impact: by the early 90’s PowerPoint had transformed the way businesses, educators and governments communicate, ensuring job security for pointy-haired Dilbert bosses everywhere. Sponsors: ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC Links: Robert Gaskins’ definitive history of building PowerPoint: Sweating Bullets Absolute Powerpoint by Ian Parker Carve Outs: Ben: Mindfulness in Plain English and discussion on Hacker News David: The Birds have landed…

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