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Acquired is one of several podcasts we recommend for Founders. See others here: Best Podcast Episodes & Books for Scaling Venture-Backed Companies

The Acquired podcast is some of the deepest yet accessible analysis on tech companies I've seen. Hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal do an incredible job of unearthing the stories behind the companies — and as Founders, we know that storytelling is a key element of value creation.

Despite the podcast's name, Ben & David cover everything from acquisitions, to IPOs, to public companies. If you want an inside peek or deeper understanding of how some of the world's most impactful companies started and scaled, this is a must-listen podcast.

💡 I highly recommend the Overcast app for listening to podcasts. Learn more about why here: Play Your Devices Like an Instrument

HUGE PRO TIP: If you become an "Acquired LP" (cost is $100/yr) you'll get access to a private podcast feed that's incredible as well as a Slack community.

A few of my favorite Acquired episodes:

If you want to learn about the history and future of Bitcoin:

Bitcoin — Acquired

We had to do it. After 12 years and 3,000,000x appreciation, we kick off Season 8 with the best investment of all-time and our biggest episode ever: Bitcoin. From the first bitcoin transaction of 10k for two Papa John’s pizzas (worth about $350m today!!) to $40k+ BTC and maybe the moon beyond, we cover the whole crazy, improbable journey of how a single 8-page PDF document changed the world of money — and perhaps the world itself — forever.

If you want to learn about the future of VR and the kind of impact it'll have on all of us:

Rec Room Part II (with CEO Nick Fajt) — Acquired

Last Acquired left the plucky Rec Room crew in 2018, they were a seed stage startup making a VR game that users loved but grew slowly and barely monetized. Fast forward to today, and they’re now a $1B+ multi-platform social “place” with millions of active users, 500%+ YoY growth and hosting a robust creator economy that’s rivaled only by their oft-compared metaverse cousin Roblox in dynamics and efficiency.

If you want to learn about flywheel strategy and the power of storytelling:

Disney, Plus — Acquired

The Flywheel is strong with this one. We dive deep into the origins of one of the boldest business strategy decisions of our time: Disney CEO Bob Iger’s attempt to buck the Innovator’s Dilemma - and forego billions of dollars in cashflow from Netflix and pay TV providers - in order to establish a direct distribution relationship with its customers for the first time in the company’s history.

If you want to learn more about Sequoia:

Sequoia Capital (Part 1) — Acquired

Acquired dives into the history behind storied venture firm Sequoia Capital and its legendary founder, Don Valentine. Part 1 tells Don’s story, starting from humble beginnings born to uneducated parents in Yonkers, NY, through shaping the fabric of Silicon Valley first as head of Sales & Marketing at both Fairchild and National Semiconductor, and then for generations to come via his pioneering concept of “company building” at Sequoia Capital.

If you want to learn more about how SPACs evolved to what they are today:

Virgin Galactic — Acquired

Live from the 2020 ASCEND Space Conference, Acquired covers the full story behind the most “out there” technology story of the past few years: Virgin Galactic. How did this space tourism company grow out of the winning X Prize team, and catch the eyes and fancy of billionaires like Paul Allen, Sir Richard Branson, and, most recently, company chairman Chamath Palihapitiya who took it public via the first “modern” technology SPAC transaction in history? Tune in to find out!!

If you want to better understand what's happening in the Chinese startup ecosystem:

Pinduoduo — Acquired

We kick off Season 7 with a bang: Pinduoduo, the incredible five year-old Chinese mashup of “Costco and Disneyland” (as self-described in their IPO prospectus) which recently became the fastest company ever to pass $100B market capitalization. What makes PDD so special, and how were they able to enter a market that everyone considered “already won” and disrupt massive entrenched competitors Alibaba and JD.com? Tune in to find out!

About FounderCulture: Only 1 of every 200 seed-funded startups make it to a $1Bn valuation. FounderCulture exists to improve those odds for Founders worldwide by removing the friction of founding and scaling venture-backed companies. We are building a trusted community to share knowledge with authenticity and vulnerability among Founders. FounderCulture is created by Founders, for Founders. Learn more about FounderCulture:

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