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 Walt Disney Company

    22 cze

    The Walt Disney Company

    The Walt Disney Company is the most successful enterprise ever created for monetizing human nostalgia. Today it’s the king of global entertainment, holding the intellectual property rights to the childhood memories of billions of people (including, likely, all of you) and is a reliable, predictable profitable business. But it didn’t start that way. During Walt’s era, Disney operated like an unhinged moonshot factory, blowing its finances on one seemingly crazy project after another, like the very first feature-length animated film or a theme park inspired by Walt's fascination with model trains (spoiler: Disneyland). Walt’s relentless ambition to bet the company over and over again not only created some of the most monumental artistic achievements of the 20th century (Snow White, Fantasia, Disney Imagineering), but also resulted in the accidental invention of the modern “flywheel” business model. In this episode, we tell the story of the ultimate marriage of art, commerce, and engineering — The Walt Disney Company: Walt's Era. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners: J.P. MorganWeAreDevelopers eventVercelServiceNowStatsigLinks: Sign up for email updates, get our takeaways and research photos from each episode, and vote on future topics!The Acquired Disney Companion PDFOur Disney column in WSJThe original 1958 WSJ “Flywheel” article"Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal GablerThe Animated Man by Michael BarrierWalt Disney: An American Original by Bob ThomasBuilding a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empires by Bob ThomasThe Disney Version by Richard SchickelPBS American Experience: Walt DisneyDisneyland HandcraftedWalt's 1966 EPCOT pitch videoWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Disney StudyThe Walt Disney Family MuseumAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: Brooks Vanguard sneakersDefunctland YouTube ChannelAnimagraffs YouTube ChannelVolvo EX30The San Francisco SymphonyMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackCheck out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!00:00 Start01:10 Intro06:03 Walt's Early Life & Artistic Calling (1901-1919)12:22 From Commercial Art to Laugh-o-grams (1919-1923)23:05 Hollywood, The Alice Comedies & Oswald's Loss (1923-1928)43:27 Mickey Mouse & The Synchronized Sound Breakthrough (1928)01:01:21 The IP Flywheel & Mickey Merch Explosion (1929-1933)01:09:57 Flywheel Terminology Unpacked01:18:53 Snow White: Walt's $1.5M Folly (1934-1937)01:52:01 The Burbank Studio, Debt & Strike (1938-1941)02:04:28 The Animators' Strike & Walt's Disillusionment (1941)02:15:43 WWII, The Vault & Creative Slump (1941-1950)02:24:27 Post-War Slump to Cinderella's Comeback (1945-1950)02:33:48 Walt's Obsession: Model Trains to Disneyland (1950-1952)02:38:44 Financing Disneyland: ABC, SRI & Davy Crockett (1953-1955)03:17:05 Disneyland's Grand Opening & The Evolving Flywheel (1955-1958)03:41:55 The Florida Project & Walt's Last Dream (1961-1966)03:54:26 Walt's Untimely Death & Roy's Legacy (1966-1971)03:57:57 Roy Finishes Walt Disney World (1966-1971)04:01:09 The Post-Walt Slump & Corporate Raiders (1970s-1984)04:09:44 Analysis: Why No Other Disney Flywheels?04:17:15 7 Powers04:20:45 Quintessence04:23:50 Carve-Outs + Outro ‍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 godz. 31 min
  2. Vanguard

    18 maj

    Vanguard

    Vanguard is the most effective vehicle ever created for participating in the fruits of American capitalism. Today it’s the single largest equity owner of the majority of corporations in the S&P 500, on behalf of 50 million clients (including, likely, many of you). And yet Vanguard itself is essentially a communist organization — it has no shareholders, makes no profits, and operates more like REI than Fidelity. If you own a Vanguard fund, you own a piece of the firm itself. Any excess margin instead gets returned to clients in the form of lower fees, which since 1975 have added up to roughly five hundred billion dollars transferred out of Wall Street managers’ pockets and into retail investors’ savings accounts. And oh yeah, it all started as a cockamamie revenge plot by a guy who’d just been fired by his partners. Today we tell the story of communist capitalism at its finest — Vanguard. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners: J.P. MorganWeAreDevelopers eventServiceNowVercelStatsigLinks: Sign up for email updates, get our takeaways and research photos from each episode, and vote on future topics!Our Vanguard "episode preview" in WSJStay the Course: The Story of Vanguard and the Index Revolution by John C. BogleThe Bogle Effect by Eric BalchunasWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Vanguard StudyWorldly Partners' Article Generational Investing: The Discipline Behind 100+x OutcomesAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: Our WSJ pieces on Ferrari and VanguardMacBook Pro M5 MaxMichael MacKelvie on YouTubeThe Super Mario Galaxy MovieBrooks Vanguard sneakersMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackCheck out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!00:00:00 Start00:00:41 Intro00:05:30 Jack Bogle's Early Life & Family Ruin (1929)00:12:34 Princeton Thesis & Mutual Funds Emerge (1949-1951)00:27:20 Joining Wellington Management (1951)00:30:38 The Go-Go Years & Fidelity's Ascent (1958-1965)00:40:36 Jack Takes the Reins & The Ivest Merger (1965)00:46:04 The Go-Go Bust & Jack's Crisis of Conscience (1970-1973)00:53:28 Jack is Fired: The Genesis of Vanguard (1974)01:13:03 The Journal Article That Inspired It All (1974-1976)01:35:02 Building the Fund & Early Struggles (1976-1981)01:44:32 The Rise of Indexing & Vanguard's Growth (1988-1992)01:49:06 Jack's Health & The CEO Transition (1995-1996)02:00:06 The ETF Debate & Jack's Second Firing (1999)02:24:18 The 2008 Financial Crisis: Vanguard's Moment02:30:46 The Warren Buffett Bet (2008-2019)02:41:28 Fidelity & BlackRock's Resurgence (Post-2008)02:52:04 Salim Ramji: Vanguard's First Outside CEO03:04:43 Wellington's Comeback & Mutual Ownership03:08:23 Analysis03:30:58 Quintessence03:39:35 Carve-Outs + Outro ‍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 godz. 48 min
  3. Ferrari

    13 kwi

    Ferrari

    Ferrari is the pinnacle of luxury scarcity — across its entire 79-year history, the company has sold just 330,000 cars at an average price today of $500,000. For context, Hermès sells that many Birkins and Kellys roughly every 2 years, and Rolex moves that many watches every 3 months. And yet this ultimate luxury product also lives under the same roof with a widely beloved professional sports team… one with 400 million rabid fans from all walks of life who live and die by the Scuderia’s performance every F1 race weekend! How is it possible that these two seemingly contradictory customer bases can coexist within the same company? And far from destroying each other’s value, only reinforce it? The answer, it turns out, is a beautiful, bloody, tragic and romantic opera that spans two families and three generations — and just might be one of the best tales we’ve ever told on Acquired. Buckle up for the story of Ferrari. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsVercelServiceNowStatsigLinks: Sign up for email updates, get out takeaways and research photos from each episode, and vote on future topics!Our Ferrari "episode preview" in WSJEnzo Ferrari by Luca Dal MonteSeeing Red on IMDbGo Like Hell by A.J. BaimeStephen Wilmot's great WSJ piece on FerrariFerrari factory tourWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Ferrari StudyAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: Ford v FerrariMaison Wheat sweatersCraighill scissorsAmazon grocery serviceTravelpro Altitude backpackMore Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackCheck out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!00:00:00 Start00:01:08 Intro00:06:11 Enzo Ferrari's Early Life & Tragedies (1898-1919)00:12:39 Scuderia Ferrari: Enzo's Racing Dream (1920-1933)00:25:08 The Prancing Horse & Ferrari's Branding00:35:41 First Ferrari Road Cars & Le Mans Victory (1947-1949)00:51:31 F1 & The Tragedies of Enzo's Life (1950s)01:14:03 Ford vs. Ferrari: The Le Mans Rivalry (1963-1966)01:21:24 Enzo Sells 50% to Fiat (1969)01:29:10 Luca di Montezemolo's Return to F1 Glory (1971-1976)01:52:40 Ferrari's "Pepsi Challenge" and how Luca rescued the company (1991)02:27:41 Post-IPO Ferrari: New Models & Growth (2015-Present)02:48:24 The FUV Purosangue & Model Range03:07:16 Ferrari Luce: The EV Future with Jony Ive03:12:37 Ferrari Today by the Numbers03:29:39 Analysis03:50:04 Carve-Outs + 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.

    3 godz. 59 min
  4. Formula 1

    2 mar

    Formula 1

    Formula 1 is three competitions in one: a 200mph battle of the world's best race car drivers, the world cup of engineering where thousand-person teams spend hundreds of millions designing cars from scratch, and — as one of our listeners perfectly put it — the “Real Housewives of the Garage”, a soap opera of billionaire egos, team politics, and paddock drama that makes for incredible reality television. It's also the world's most popular annual sporting series with over 827 million fans globally — a fact that would shock most Americans, who until a recent viral Netflix series had barely heard of it. Today we tell the story of how a chaotic, deadly, and gloriously dysfunctional European racing series became one of the greatest business stories in sports. For decades, brilliant engineers and daredevil drivers dedicated their lives (and too often lost them) to a league controlled for 45 years by a single man: a former London car dealer named Bernie Ecclestone, who centralized power and extracted billions, while also undeniably single-handedly making the sport successful. Then, in a move no one saw coming, the American company Liberty Media bought the whole thing in 2017, installed a team of Fox Sports and ESPN veterans, and did what Bernie never would — professionalized it. All of a sudden famously money-losing F1 teams turned into real businesses, with the average team valuation today clocking in at an astounding $3.6 billion. Buckle up for one of our most-requested episodes: the wild story of Formula 1. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners: J.P. Morgan PaymentsServiceNowVercelStatsigLinks: Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes!The Formula by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan CleggDrive to Survive on NetflixF1 The Movie on Apple TVAdrian Newey, How to Build a CarSenna documentaryWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Formula One StudyAll episode sourcesCarve Outs: Cirque du Soleil EchoSuper Bowl LX Mic'd UpTonalPrincess Peach: Showtime! on Nintendo SwitchDaloopa for historical financial dataMore 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 Start00:00:37 Intro00:05:52 Origins of F1: Britain, Italy, and Monaco00:30:43 Bernie's Entrance00:37:42 Bernie Consolidates Power00:50:33 F1 as a Global TV Sport (Except America)01:08:08 F1's Incredible Engineering Achievements01:19:34 Senna's Crash and a New Era for Safety01:33:18 The Many Owners of F1, and Bernie's Liquidity Drama01:57:48 FOTA: The attempted breakaway series02:05:07 RedBull, Mercedes, and Reinventing the Sport02:42:33 Liberty Media buys F1 and Brings it to the Modern Era03:05:03 Drive to Survive03:26:45 Apple, TV Rights, and Success in America03:41:52 F1: The Business Today03:56:23 Analysis: Why Did F1 Work… and Was Bernie Necessary?04:05:40 7 Powers04:08:23 Bear vs. Bull Cases04:16:32 Quintessence04:20:08 Carve-Outs + Outro ‍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 godz. 30 min
  5. The NFL

    27 sty

    The NFL

    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 Start00:00:37 Intro - 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 godz. 17 min
  6. Rolex

    3 sty

    Rolex

    Rolex is a series of paradoxes. They sell obsolete and objectively inferior mechanical devices for 10-1000x the price of their superior digital successors… and demand is stronger than ever in history! Their products are comparable to a Hermès Birkin bag in price, luxury status and waitlist times… yet they produce over 1m units / year (roughly 10x annual Birkin production). They make the most universally recognized and desired Swiss watches… yet their founder wasn’t Swiss and didn’t start the company in Switzerland! If Rolex were publicly traded, they’d almost certainly be among the top 50 market cap companies in the world… yet they’re 100% owned by a charitable foundation in Geneva that (among other things) literally just gives away money to local people in the city. Tune in for one of the most fascinating and admirable companies we’ve ever covered on Acquired. We had an absolute blast making the episode, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did! This episode was released on February 23, 2025. Sponsors: Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegoraVanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvantaServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26Links: The Renaissance of the Swiss Watch Industry - Marc BridgeHODINKEE - Inside All Four Rolex Manufacturing Facilities“If you were…” campaignWorldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Rolex StudyEpisode sourcesCarve Outs: BlueyAcquired on Armchair ExpertEleven Reader More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC ‍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 godz. 51 min
  7. Costco

    2 sty

    Costco

    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 pay their hourly workers 30% above the industry norm (and give them excellent healthcare + 401k benefits) — and are almost 3x more profitable on labor than Walmart. Speaking of Walmart, Costco stocks 40x fewer SKUs than their Bentonville-based rivals — yet sells an average of 15x more volume of each. And oh yeah, practically all of Costco’s C-Suite started their careers as baggers and checkout clerks! Tune in for a mind-bending exploration of one of the world’s most iconic — and iconically unique — companies. This episode was released on August 20, 2023. Links: The Science of HittingWarren Buffett’s Costco jokeEpisode sourcesCarve Outs: Tifosi sunglassesDwells “take off everything”Jeremy Giffon on Invest Like the BestDogpatchDavid Lidsky’s great piece on Acquired in Fast Company Sponsors: Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegoraVanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvantaServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC ‍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 godz. 53 min
  8. 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: Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegoraVanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvantaServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 Thank-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 NYC More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC ‍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 godz. 38 min
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O programie

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

Informacje

  • Twórca
    Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
  • Lata aktywności
    2015 - 2026
  • Odcinki
    215
  • Klasyfikacja
    Dla wszystkich
  • Prawa autorskie
    © Copyright 2026 ACQ, LLC
  • Witryna programu
    Acquired

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