Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

  1. The NFL (2026 Update)

    27 ENE

    The NFL (2026 Update)

    The NFL is nearly synonymous with America today. Practically nothing is more quintessentially and universally American than tuning in every Sunday (and Monday, and Thursday… and sometimes Saturdays and holidays too) to watch the world’s most beautiful ballet of violence. It generates the most revenue of any sports league globally and sets new records for team valuations each year. But it wasn’t always this way. The history of the NFL mirrors America’s own development: scrappy small-town teams rode the successive growth waves of the automobile, TV, the Internet and social media to grow larger than the even the founders’ wildest dreams. Whether you watch football or not, the NFL is one incredible business story, and one that we’ve taken more lessons from over the years for Acquired itself than perhaps any other episode we’ve made. Note: This is a remastered release of our original January 2023 episode, updated to today's Acquired production standards. It also features a full hour+ followup section at the end covering the seismic shifts in the NFL’s business since the original episode’s release. Much has happened in those three years: Taylor Swift entered the league (via merger 🙂), streaming went mainstream (and took over Thanksgiving and Christmas), sports gambling exploded from 46 million to 76 million bettors, and — in perhaps the most surprising development — private equity finally stormed the gates of the NFL. Oh, and average franchise valuations grew by 60% from $4.5 billion to over $7 billion. Communist capitalism is alive and well! We're also releasing this episode in advance of Super Bowl LX here in San Francisco, where Acquired is hosting the NFL’s inaugural Super Bowl Innovation Summit! Sponsors: Many thanks to our partners: VantaSierraCrusoeSentry (+ join the list for Sentry & Vercel’s Super Bowl Fan Zone party)Links: Innovation Summit details and all Super Bowl LX Week events in San Francisco (note content from the Innovation Summit will be posted publicly the week after the Super Bowl — we’ll update this page with links when available)America’s GameSports Illustrated’s oral history of the famous Joe Namath “pool photo”All episode sourcesCarve Outs: The MenuPeyton’s PlacesMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!00:00:00 Intro00:00:37 Welcome to the Remastered NFL Episode00:06:05 Origins of Football & the Forward Pass (1869-1905)00:14:34 The Founding of the NFL (1920)00:41:52 Bert Bell's "Any Given Sunday" Philosophy (1946)01:03:28 Pete Rozelle Transforms the League (1960)01:56:34 The Creation of the Super Bowl (1966)02:09:47 Monday Night Football Invents Modern Sports TV (1970)02:37:19 The NFL's Business Model Explained02:39:28 CTE & the Kaepernick Controversy (2016)02:48:36 Analysis: Playbook & 7 Powers Analysis03:21:04 2026 UPDATE: Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Streaming, T-Swift, Gambling & New TV Deals03:57:11 Private Equity Enters the NFL (2024)04:14:08 Conclusion & Thank Yous  ‍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.

    4 h 17 min
  2. 10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)

    15/12/2025

    10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)

    Why has Acquired — seemingly against all odds — “worked”? It's a puzzling question: episodes are four hours long, they come out infrequently, and they usually don’t have guests or video. Hardly the standard-issue playbook for podcasting success! And yet well over a million smart, curious and exceedingly busy humans share their (your!) valuable time with us every month. Why? This is the exact paradox that has been rolling around in the head of Michael Lewis (yes, that Michael Lewis) since he found the show earlier this year. So we asked Michael to be our guest "interlocutor" and share what he thinks is going on here, while we share ten lessons we've stolen (graciously) from companies we've studied and brought into Acquired itself. He takes us through the entire Acquired journey: how we started, why we've never hired anyone or raised money, how we pick episodes, what our business model actually is, why we focus on quality and enjoyment over maximizing enterprise value, and ultimately why we’re all — you, him, us — kindred spirits together. Oh, and just for fun, we recorded this episode where another special journey began — the garage where Google was founded. Thank you for an incredible decade together… here's to the next one! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan Payments (you can watch our full show with them at AWS re:Invent here!)WorkOSSentryShopifyThank-yous: First, to Google for loaning us the garage. The sawhorse table desk, PC and CRT monitor on display in the background were all Google originals courtesy of the Google Founders Collection at the Computer History Museum. So cool!Second, to our friends at Shep Films for helping us seriously up our game on production quality this episode!Our Favorite Michael Lewis Books: Home GameMoneyballLiar’s PokerThe Blind SideThe Undoing Project (as referenced by Michael in the beginning, about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky)Carve Outs: Books: The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussScience, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar BushLast Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase by Duff McDonaldThe Art of Spending Money by Morgan HouselEmperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn BrennerMorris Chang's AutobiographyPodcasts: Against the RulesRevisionist HistorySmartLessThe DailyThe Bill Simmons PodcastGraham Duncan on Invest Like the BestGlue GuysVideo: Jay KellyThe RehearsalDoug DeMuroTiresF1 The MovieAndorFalloutSeveranceSiloVideo Games: Sea of StarsKirby and the Forgotten LandProducts: ARTEZA Rollerball Pen 0.7mm FineRotring 800 Mechanical PencilFujifilm X100VIUniqlo Socks!On Running ShoesRimowa LuggageParenting: Guided Access on iPadToy StorySlumberPodBluey Experience in NYCMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    2 h 48 min
  3. Coca-Cola

    24/11/2025

    Coca-Cola

    Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most incredible scale economy businesses of all-time. And oh yeah, there’s also cocaine, WW2, Mad Men, Warren Buffett, James Dean, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Michael Ovitz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, McDonald’s and Monsanto. So cozy up to the fire with your favorite images of Santa Claus and Polar Bears and enjoy an ice-cold episode of Acquired — always delicious, always refreshing. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsWorkOSShopifySentry — Link to ACQ Cassette Players, use code “audiophile”Links: Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes!The Hilltop ad / Mad Men finalePepsi Challenge commercialsPepsi’s Michael Jackson commercialsCoke’s Bill Cosby commercialsTwo liter bottles inflatingWorldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Coca-Cola StudyFor God, Country, and Coca-ColaSecret FormulaAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: SkiErgSuper Smash Bros. UltimateClaudeNike Vomero PlusHermanos GutiérrezMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    4 h 4 min
  4. Trader Joe’s

    27/10/2025

    Trader Joe’s

    Trader Joe's breaks every rule of modern retail. They don't do e-commerce. They don't do delivery. No sales, coupons, or loyalty programs. They only stock 4,000 SKUs versus 50,000+ at normal supermarkets. Their parking lots are famously terrible and they're constantly out of your favorite items. Shoppers brave long lines and cramped aisles while overly-friendly employees in Hawaiian shirts try to chat them up. Everything about the Trader Joe's experience seems designed to drive modern consumers away. And yet they generate $2,000+ per square foot in sales — double their nearest competitor in Whole Foods and nearly 4x the industry average — and Americans are obsessed with them. How on earth did a company that so steadfastly refuses to participate in the 21st century build the most beloved grocery chain in America? Today we tell the full story: how “Trader” Joe Coulombe started out cloning 7-Elevens in 1960s Los Angeles, pivoted to slinging hard liquor, discovered the enormous market opportunities for California wine and health food before anyone else, and ultimately built perhaps the most counter-positioned business we’ve ever studied on Acquired by doing almost everything differently than the supermarket-CPG industrial complex. Tune in for a wild voyage on the high seas of grocery retail! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan Payments (And come see us at AWS re:Invent! Discount code: "ACQUIRED")SentryWorkOSShopifyLinks: Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes!Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Trader Joe’s StudyBecoming Trader JoeThe Secret Life of GroceriesBuild a Brand Like Trader Joe'sAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: AirPods Pro 3Mario Kart 8More Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    3 h 28 min
  5. Google: The AI Company

    06/10/2025

    Google: The AI Company

    Google faces the greatest innovator's dilemma in history. They invented the Transformer — the breakthrough technology powering every modern AI system from ChatGPT to Claude (and, of course, Gemini). They employed nearly all the top AI talent: Ilya Sutskever, Geoff Hinton, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei — more or less everyone who leads modern AI worked at Google circa 2014. They built the best dedicated AI infrastructure (TPUs!) and deployed AI at massive scale years before anyone else. And yet... the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 caught them completely flat-footed. How on earth did the greatest business in history wind up playing catch-up to a nonprofit-turned-startup? Today we tell the complete story of Google's 20+ year AI journey: from their first tiny language model in 2001 through the creation Google Brain, the birth of the transformer, the talent exodus to OpenAI (sparked by Elon Musk's fury over Google’s DeepMind acquisition), and their current all-hands-on-deck response with Gemini. And oh yeah — a little business called Waymo that went from crazy moonshot idea to doing more rides than Lyft in San Francisco, potentially building another Google-sized business within Google. This is the story of how the world's greatest business faces its greatest test: can they disrupt themselves without losing their $140B annual profit-generating machine in Search? Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsSentryWorkOSShopifyLinks: Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes!Geoff Hinton’s 2007 Tech Talk at GoogleOur recent ACQ2 episode with Tobi LutkeWorldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Alphabet StudyIn the PlexSupremecyGenius MakersAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: We’re hosting the Super Bowl Innovation Summit!F1: The MovieTravelpro suitcasesGlue Guys PodcastSea of StarsStepchange PodcastMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    4 h 7 min
  6. Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)

    01/10/2025

    Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)

    It’s finally here! Today we are releasing Acquired’s first “concert film” — the full video recording of our Radio City live show from this summer with Jamie Dimon, Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Barry Diller, and cameos from around the Acquired Cinematic Universe including Christina Cacioppo, Ben Clymer, and Howard Schultz. To watch the full production on any device, please head over to Spotify where you’ll find it available for free in the Acquired feed right alongside all our other episodes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/77Kl3BsiEQLpli2Q2ozZuf?si=4f4609e343504fd0 Sponsors: Live Show Presented By: J.P. MorganShopifyServiceNowMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    1 min
  7. Alphabet Inc.

    26/08/2025

    Alphabet Inc.

    In its first six years from 1998 to 2004, Google built one of the greatest products of all time (and certainly the greatest business of all time) with Search. Then in its next six years from 2005 to 2011, Google built seven (!) more billion+ user products: Gmail, Maps, Drive and Docs, YouTube, Chrome, Android, and Photos — all either started from scratch internally or acquired as startups that were still in their infancy. This six-year period of wild innovation STILL stands unmatched in technology history… no other tech company counts more than four billion+ user products in its portfolio total. And of course, this “Google 2.0” era culminated in the transformation of the very company itself into Alphabet. So the question we answer today is… how did they do it?? And why? What was the strategy that led a once “pure play” search company into such far flung fields as email, mapping, funny cat videos and operating systems? We unpack the brilliant (and sometimes accidental) strategies behind each product, the simultaneous three-front war Google fought against Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook, and the spectacular failure of Google Plus that nearly destroyed the company's culture — before ultimately setting the stage for both Alphabet and the AI revolution to come. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Summer ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsAnthropicStatsigVercel Links: Sign up for email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes!Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat New Yorker articleEric Schmidt on stage at the iPhone keynote (!)Bill Gurley’s classic “Less than Free” Android postOur recent ACQ2 episode with Bret Taylor and Clay BavorWorldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Alphabet StudyEpisode sources Carve Outs: Bluey x Camp in NYCSteam Deck vs Switch 2 (Part 2)ClaudeSony RX100 VIICarissimi clothing More Acquired: Get email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

    4 h 12 min
  8. The Jamie Dimon Interview

    16/07/2025

    The Jamie Dimon Interview

    We sit down with Jamie Dimon for a live conversation at Radio City Music Hall, covering the incredible journey from his 1998 firing at Citgroup (where he was widely expected to become CEO) to building the most powerful bank in the world. Today JPMorgan Chase is a juggernaut — the most systemically important non-governmental financial institution in the world, with over twice the market capitalization of its nearest competitor. But it certainly wasn’t always this way! Jamie takes us from his career restart at the struggling Chicago-based Bank One through how he transformed that platform into the foundation for the modern JPMorgan Chase. We dive into the “fortress balance sheet” strategy that has defined his tenure, and cover blow-by-blow Jamie’s approach to the Great Financial Crisis, Bear Stearns, WaMu, First Republic and more. Tune in for an incredible conversation, live from New York City’s most iconic venue! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Summer ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsVercelAnthropicStatsigEpisode image photo credit: Rockefeller Center More Acquired: Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍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.

    1 h 6 min
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Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

Ficha técnica

  • Creado por
    Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
  • Años en activo
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodios
    212
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Derechos de autor
    © Copyright 2025 ACQ, LLC
  • Sitio web del podcast
    Acquired

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