Alle afleveringen
218 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
-
Behance (with Scott Belsky)
2 oktober 2018 · 1 uur 9 min
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! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Scott’s great new book, The Messy Middle, out today!
-
Alibaba
24 september 2018 · 1 uur 32 min
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. Lees meer
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
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
-
Recode (with Kara Swisher)
11 september 2018 · 1 uur 21 min
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! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Kara interviewing Stewart Butterfield, CEO of… Glitch?
-
The Sonos IPO
20 augustus 2018 · 1 uur 33 min
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! Lees meer
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
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
-
The Xiaomi IPO
6 augustus 2018 · 1 uur 12 min
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! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
-
Tesla
17 juli 2018 · 1 uur 57 min
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) Lees meer
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
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
-
The Rover-DogVacay Merger (with Rover CEO Aaron Easterly)
18 juni 2018 · 1 uur 5 min
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! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
The original Rover pitch from Startup Weekend
-
GitHub
6 juni 2018 · 1 uur 22 min
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. Lees meer
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
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
-
T-Mobile / Sprint
21 mei 2018 · 1 uur 20 min
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! Lees meer
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
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
-
PowerPoint
4 mei 2018 · 1 uur 13 min
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. Lees meer
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
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…
-
Spotify’s Direct Listing
6 april 2018 · 1 uur 43 min
Acquired wraps up a big few weeks of coverage with not an IPO or an M&A or a fundraising round, but what’s still the largest tech exit in recent memory: Spotify’s $30B direct public listing. We dive into what it all means and how we got here: from Napster to iTunes to Facebook (and even some Justin Timberlake thrown in for good measure). Acquired FM is on the scene and spinning all the hits from this new wave music industry titan! Lees meer
Note: We incorrectly described Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s ownership stake in Spotify as 25%+; that is actually his voting control. His economic ownership is 9.3%, and cofounder Martin Lorentzon’s is 12.4%. We apologize for the error!
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Internet History Podcast on the Napster Story with Jordan Ritter
Sean Parker’s email to Daniel Ek
Carve Outs:
Ben: Black Panther (and soundtrack on Spotify!)
David: “Silicon Ballet” panel at San Francisco Ballet on Saturday, April 28
-
The Dropbox IPO
26 maart 2018 · 1 uur 36 min
Acquired is live on the scene following Dropbox’s public market debut. From playing a central role in the early days of Y Combinator, to having Steve Jobs famously label the company a “feature not a product”, to pivoting from consumers to enterprise to developers and back again, the silicon valley history runs deep with this one. What twists and turns lie ahead for Dropbox as a public company? We speculate! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Dropbox’s Y Combinator application
Original Dropbox demo video
Carve Outs:
Ben: Raytracing comes to DirectX
David: Lazy Game Reviews
-
SoftBank, Fortress and the Vision Fund
23 maart 2018 · 1 uur 26 min
Acquired dives into the topic on the minds and lips of just about every VC and founder these days: SoftBank’s $93B+ Vision Fund, and its seemingly-overnight rewriting of the rules of venture capital and startup fundraising. Where did this new 800lbs gorilla come from, what are its goals, and what does it mean for the future of silicon valley and the global tech ecosystem? The answer, it turns out, starts with an acquisition, and unfolds into a story no one has yet told and few yet understand. Luckily our heroes are on the case! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Masayoshi Son on Charlie Rose
Carve Outs:
Ben: eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work
David: Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy (starting with The Three-Body Problem)
Bonus: shout out to Brian McCullough’s new podcast the Ride Home, in partnership with TechMeme!
-
Nest
20 februari 2018 · 1 uur 31 min
Acquired brings it all back home—to the smart home that is—with Google’s 2014 acquisition of Nest for $3.2B. From Nest cofounder Tony Fadell’s first job at General Magic (alongside future Android founder Andy Rubin) to his days as “father of the iPod” under Steve Jobs at Apple, the Silicon Valley history runs deep with this one. But did that make the acquisition a good move for Google in the coming battle with Amazon’s “Lady A” for control over consumers’ homes? We dive in! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links:
Tony Fadell in the Academy of Achievement
Steve Jobs deleting Tony Fadell from his Favorites
Carve Outs:
Ben: Do by Friday podcast
David: A Kingdom from Dust By Mark Arax in The California Sunday Magazine
-
Raising a Seed Round with Against Gravity CEO Nick Fajt
7 februari 2018 · 1 uur 13 min
We launch mini-series on Acquired with a subject near & dear to our heroes’ hearts: startup fundraising! This has been one of our most-requested new topics, and we’re excited to kick things off with makers of the popular Rec Room social VR app, Against Gravity, which raised one of Seattle’s hottest venture rounds in recent history: a $4m seed led by Sequoia Capital in 2016. CEO Nick Fajt joins to tell the story from company inception to building and shipping the initial product, fundraising as a first-time CEO, what they’ve been able to accomplish with the capital and their vision for the future. We had a blast touching on many classic Acquired themes for the first time “in-action” with a young, growing company, and hope you all enjoy the discussion as much as we did. Let us know what you think in the Slack! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs:
Ben: Ready Player One
David: Seveneves
Nick: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
-
Zappos (with Alfred Lin)
23 januari 2018 · 1 uur 11 min
Former Zappos Chairman & COO (and current Partner at Sequoia Capital) Alfred Lin joins our heroes to kick off Season 2 with a classic: Amazon’s 2009 acquisition of the internet’s quirkiest online retailer for $1.2B in stock. How did three Harvard undergrads go from delivering pizza to their dorm to delivering happiness to the world — and become in the process one of the few companies ever to compete successfully head-to-head against Amazon in commerce? Tune in to find out! Lees meer
Note: Unfortunately the quality of David and Alfred’s audio tracks in this episode were significantly impacted by a processor issue on David’s computer, which we didn’t discover until after recording. We’ve worked hard to fix in post-production, but it’s still far from perfect. Still, the content from Alfred is so good, we felt we had to put this episode out there even though the audio quality isn’t up to par. We hope you’ll give it a listen regardless, and we’re working on getting a transcript made ASAP as well.
-Ben & David
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs:
Ben: Andrew Mason on Recode Decode
David: Justin O’Beirne on Google Maps’ Moat
Alfred: Walter Isaacson’s biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin
-
2017 Holiday Special
18 december 2017 · 1 uur 15 min
Acquired cozies up to the fire and looks back on the year in tech. How wildly off were we on last year’s predictions? What does the next year have in store? Most importantly, what price will Bitcoin be trading at in December 2018??? Pour yourself a glass of your favorite holiday beverage and kick back with us. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Links
Josh Elman on shared experiences
Patrick McKenzie on distribution
2017 Carve Outs of the Year:
Books
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
Articles
“The Great AI Awakening” New York Times Magazine
“Founder Friendly” AVC blog
Podcasts
“The Ezra Klein Show” featuring Yuval Noah Harari
“The Bill Simmons Show” featuring Jimmy Iovine
Music
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band live at the Hammersmith Odeon London in 1975
A Moment Apart by Odesza
Movies
Creed
Blade Runner 2049
The Last Jedi
Apps
YouTube
HQ
-
Apple - Beats
11 december 2017 · 1 uur 13 min
Acquired crosses the half-century mark with an instant classic: Apple’s 2014 purchase of Beats, its largest acquisition ever. If you knew Beats as just another headphone company, think again—the history on this one will keep your heads ringin’. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs: * Ben: HQ * David: Wooden on Leadership
-
The Stitch Fix IPO
4 december 2017 · 1 uur 10 min
Ben and David dive into the most talked-about tech IPO of 4Q 2017: Stitch Fix. After downsizing the offering and pricing below the range, does this signal a warning that public markets won’t value high-flying silicon valley “disruptors” as high as VCs hope? Or is this a textbook example of a great return for a disciplined management team and well-run company? Most importantly, what happens next? Tune in for our heroes’ take. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs:
Ben: The iPhone X
David: Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
-
Qualcomm - Broadcom
20 november 2017 · 50 min
Ben & David cover the proposed largest tech M&A deal of all time, and in the process dive into the evolving dynamics of the industry that started everything in Silicon Valley—silicon. Just when VCs thought innovation was dead in semiconductors, a new wave of startups and large companies are redrawing the lines of competition in an industry dominated for a half-century by the “Wintel” duopoly of Intel and Microsoft. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
Innovation and disruption in the semiconductor industry over the past two years
Intel’s acquisition of Nervana
Graphcore and other ML-focused semiconductor startups
CDMA and the telephone network effect
Qualcomm’s early cell phone handsets
Vertical integration + commoditization in smartphone chipsets
The Carve Out:
Ben: The de-watering of Niagara Falls
David: Big Daddy’s Antiques
Bonus: The Mystery Show
-
The Atlassian IPO
7 november 2017 · 1 uur 4 min
Ben & David venture to the land down under (and reunite in-person!) to tell the story of the granddaddy of all bootstrapped tech success stories, collaboration software company Atlassian. How did two plucky college grads from Sydney, Australia go from just trying to escape working for the man to becoming two of the top 10 wealthiest people in the entire country, all without raising a dollar of venture capital? We dive in. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
How Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar met in college at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and their decision to bootstrap a startup as an alternative to finding a “real job” after graduation
Atlassian’s “no sales” model, and the resultant efficiency of their sales & marketing spend relative to other SAAS companies
Organic product growth and acquisitions over the years, starting with Jira and later adding Confluence, BitBucket, HipChat / Stride, Jira Service Desk and Trello
Rapid revenue growth and the decision to continue as a bootstrapped company, only raising secondary capital prior to going public
The IPO in November 2015 and subsequent stock performance (spoiler: it’s been good)
The Carve Out:
Ben: Phil Knight’s memoir, Shoe Dog
David: Bruce Springsteen memoir, Born to Run
-
Blue Bottle Coffee
8 oktober 2017 · 1 uur 2 min
Today our heroes cover a deal that might have more impact on life in Silicon Valley than AI, wearables and AR/VR combined… Nestle’s acquisition of Blue Bottle Coffee. Will hipster entrepreneurs and the VCs who love/need them continue to line up around the block for their minimalist coffee experience of choice, now that it’s owned by the Nesquik Bunny? Is this the beginning of Blue Bottle pod machines filling the empty counter space left by Juicero’s demise in VC offices throughout South Park? We investigate. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
The rise of “Third Wave” coffee
Blue Bottle founder James Freeman’s “classical” (music) influences
Venture capital and the coffee business
Achieving liquidity when companies and founders’ don’t want to go public, and don’t want to sell their stakes
Nestle’s position in single-serve coffee market and potential brand impact of Blue Bottle
The Carve Out:
Ben: There Never Was a Real Tulip Fever
David: iPhone SE
-
HTC, Google and the Future of Mobile
21 september 2017 · 1 uur 18 min
Acquired is back and live on the scene! After months of speculation, Google announces today their acquisition (err, "Cooperation Agreement”) of a large portion of HTC’s hardware division. What does this mean for the future of mobile? Can Google transform itself into a vertically integrated device company and compete directly with Apple? Most importantly, when will we see more Beats Android handsets??? (We hope never) Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
The origins of HTC as a Taiwanese OEM, dating back to the Compaq iPAQ and Palm Treo 650!
HTC’s long history with Google, starting as the manufacturer of the first Android phone, the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1
HTC’s ownership of Beats, for a hot minute
Google’s own winding history in hardware, with its Motorola acquisition in 2011 and divestiture in 2014
Google & HTC’s joint work on the Pixel smartphones in 2016
And much analysis and speculation on what this means for Google, Apple, Samsung, vertical vs horizontal business models and more!
The Carve Out:
Ben: Odesza’s new album A Moment Apart
David: Bruce Springsteen on Fresh Air
-
AOL and Time Warner (with the Internet History Podcast)
18 september 2017 · 1 uur 41 min
On this extra-long episode of Acquired, Brian McCullough from the Internet History Podcast returns to discuss perhaps the most (in)famous merger of all time: AOL - Time Warner. Who doesn’t remember the soothing sounds of 56k modems and the timeless phrase, “You’ve Got Mail”? Join us all as we unpack how one of the biggest ISP’s of the 90’s tried to take over the world… and fell far short. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
AOL’s status in the 90’s / early 00’s
Explaining just what it is that AOL did at the height of their popularity
How AOL pioneered a number of internet paradigms
AOL’s persistent money troubles and bailouts from other companies
Steve Case foreseeing the coming era of broadband, inspiring AOL to pursue working with a cable company
Ebay vs. Time Warner in a down-to-the-wire war for a merger with AOL
Why the money dried up for AOL after their merger with Time Warner
AOL and its value in the post-Time-Warner era
Speculating about what would have happened had AOL and others stayed independent businesses
And much discussion on how to grade this one…
The Carve Out:
Ben: Give and Take by Adam Grant
David: Season of the Witch by David Talbot
Brian: A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Rob Goodman
-
The Square IPO
16 augustus 2017 · 1 uur 14 min
Unicorns and ratchets and lawsuits, oh my! Our heroes dive into the history of Jack Dorsey’s famous “other” company, Square. Was the Square IPO a canary in the coal mine signaling doom & gloom for the so-called unicorn companies of the early 2010’s, or a mispriced and misunderstood diamond in the rough? Acquired weighs in. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
Square’s deep origins in the early 90’s in St. Louis, MO with the initial meeting of its co-founders, Jack Dorsey & Jim McKelvey
McKelvey’s side glass blowing business and the “inspiration” for Square that came much later in the late 2000’s
The complicated involvement of Washington University (in St. Louis) professor Robert Morley, who had worked for years developing payment card reading technology
The company’s early meeting with Scott Forstall at Apple, and its “significant” impact on the its name and design
The real disruptive innovation of Square and its business model (hint: not just building a mobile card reader)
Square’s massive payments deal with Starbucks in 2012 and its impact on the company
The evolution of Square’s business from a simple card reader to cloud-based Point of Sale (PoS) system and entire suite of merchant tools & business management services
The drama leading up to Square’s IPO (including at Jack Dorsey’s “other” company, Twitter), dynamics and narratives affecting its pricing, the effect of IPO “ratchets”, and the company’s performance over the ~2 years since
The Carve Out:
David: Bob Iger on Nick Bilton’s Inside the Hive podcast
Ben: The World After Capital on GitBooks
-
Opsware (with Michel Feaster)
5 augustus 2017 · 1 uur 13 min
Acquired dives into the legendary acquisition of Ben Horowitz & Marc Andreessen’s “second act” software company Opsware, from a perspective never before heard—HP’s side of the story! Our heroes are joined by Michel Feaster, who led both the acquisition for HP and then the Opsware product as part of the integrated company afterward under Ben Horowitz. Today the tables have turned: Michel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seattle-based startup Usermind, and Ben Horowitz sits on her board on behalf of A16Z. This episode is not one to miss! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Opsware’s early history and origins as Loudcloud, the “second act” of internet wunderkind Marc Andreessen and Netscape product manager Ben Horowitz
Ben’s first person telling of the Loudcloud/Opsware history in The Hard Thing about Hard Things, as well as the great Wired "period piece” covering Loudcloud’s launch in August 2000
The importance of timing, and Loudcloud’s too-early vision of—essentially—AWS before AWS (including eerie parallels between the metaphor Andreessen used to describe Loudcloud during the company’s first press briefing, and Jeff Bezos’s description of AWS at YC nearly a decade later)
Creation of the “Opsware” tool inside of Loudcloud to automate deploying and configuring servers within Loudcloud’s data centers
Loudcloud's meteoric rise, crash following the burst of the internet bubble, and hard pivot as a public company into Opsware—now an enterprise software company selling datacenter tools
Michel’s role in HP’s evaluation of the company as an acquisition target, and process leading to its $1.6B acquisition in July 2007
Integration …
-
Booking.com with Jetsetter & Room 77 CEO Drew Patterson
26 juli 2017 · 1 uur 14 min
Acquired trains its lens on the “second or third best acquisition of all-time”, Priceline’s 2005 purchase of Booking.com. Our heroes are joined by friend-of-the-show and former Jetsetter & Room 77 CEO Drew Patterson to help understand how this little-known startup from The Netherlands grew into the largest travel company in the world, with nearly $8B in annual revenue. Was this deal even better than Instagram??? We debate, hotly. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
The biggest startup you’ve never heard of (in the US), Booking.com, and its parent company Priceline (yes, the William Shatner Priceline)
Booking’s founding in Amsterdam in late 1996: by recent college graduate Geert-Jan Bruinsma
Skift.com’s Definitive Oral History of Online Travel
The travel industry's GDS's (“Global Distribution Systems”) and the development of Sabre
How Bruinsma raised the initial money for Booking: by emailing anyone he know who had an email address
OTAs ("Online Travel Agencies”) and how they operate; the "merchant model" versus the “agency model"
The role of search in online travel
Bill Gurley on Conversion: The Most Important Internet Metric of All
Expedia’s early flirtation with Booking, and decision not to acquire the company
Priceline head of M&A Glenn Fogel’s vision for how powerful the agency model for OTAs could become in Europe
Priceline and Glenn's 2004 acquisition of Active Hotels in the UK, followed by the 2005 acquisition of Booking for $133M and the combination of the two businesses into Booking.com
Booking’s incredible growth in the decade since the acquisition, from less than 20M room-nights to over 500M, and $7.8B…
-
Activision Blizzard
13 juli 2017 · 1 uur 10 min
Ben & David cover the creation of the gaming world’s equivalent of the 70’s rock supergroup: the 2008 merger of Blizzard and Activision. We tell the story from the Blizzard perspective, tracing the history of one of the most innovative companies in the business from humble beginnings at the hands of UCLA undergrads, to surviving multiple acquisition rollups (including at one point being owned by the French national water company), to joining ultimately with Activision to form the largest gaming company in the world, all while inventing multiple game genres that define the industry as we know it today. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Blizzard’s founding in 1991 as "Silicon & Synapse” by recent UCLA grads Allen Adham, Frank Pearce, and Mike Morhaime
The team’s first projects making ports for other games, including Battle Chess on the Commodore 64
Early success on the Super Nintendo with Rock & Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings
Origin of the Real-Time Strategy game genre (“RTS”) and Blizzard’s fist mega-hit, Warcraft
Blizzard’s crazy corporate ownership changes over the years
Development of further legendary game franchises like Diablo and Starcraft, along with sequels to Warcraft and the rise of the rise of player modding
Emergence of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre (“MOBA”) from the Warcraft III modding community, and its growth into one of the biggest sectors in the games and esports industries today
Blizzard’s role in developing the concept of online gaming, from early hacks to play against friends to World of Warcraft and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (“MMORPG’s”)
The 2008 merger wit…
-
Whole Foods Market
21 juni 2017 · 1 uur 11 min
Ben and David are once again live on the scene, this time covering the biggest disruption in grocery since… well, sliced bread: Amazon’s $13.7B purchase of Whole Foods Market. We place this deal in context by diving deep into the long, intertwining history of grocery, tech and Amazon, from the infamous dotcom flameout Webvan (domain name now owned by Amazon) to its much more successful progeny Kiva Systems (acquired by Amazon in 2012) to current Silicon Valley unicorn Instacart (founded by former Amazon logistics engineer Apoorva Mehta). One thing is clear: for Amazon and Jeff Bezos, realizing the longterm vision of the Everything Store truly means building the everything store. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
The origins of Whole Foods Market as “Saferway” in the late 70’s Austin, TX hippie scene, founded by CEO John Mackey (“the Steve Jobs of grocery stores”) and his then-girlfriend Renee Lawson Hardy
Whole Foods’ expansion through acquisition throughout the 80’s and 90’s
The company’s recent struggles with competition, leading to sales declines and attracting activist shareholder interest from Jana Partners
Amazon’s acquisition of the company on June 16, 2017 for $13.7 billion, a 27 percent premium to the stock's previous day closing price
In depth history and analysis of the four keys to understanding this deal: Webvan, Kiva Systems, AmazonFresh and Instacart
Followups:
Walmart/Jet buys Bonobos for $310M
The Carve Out:
Ben: Mark Zuckerberg’s 2005 CS50 guest lecture
David: Exponent on Podcasting and Centralization
-
SoundJam (iTunes)
31 mei 2017 · 1 uur 14 min
Ben & David revisit the birth of the digital music revolution and Steve Jobs' "digital hub" strategy, with Apple's 2000 acquisition of the Mac music player SoundJam MP, which would go on to become iTunes. We relive the 90's with brushed metal interfaces, music visualizers and of course, software sold in (physical) boxes. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
-
BAMTech, Disney and "the Biggest Media Company You've Never Heard Of”
10 mei 2017 · 1 uur 14 min
Ben and David continue Acquired’s “tech and sports” mini-series with Disney’s 2016 acquisition of a minority stake (with the right to purchase a majority stake at a later date) in BAMTech, the internet streaming company originally founded as part of Major League Baseball in the early 2000’s. However the importance of this story goes deeper than just sports, with major ramifications for nearly every major technology company from Amazon to YouTube. Even if you’re not not sure if baseball’s played on a diamond or a gridiron, tune in as we swing for the fences in predicting the future of TV! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
What is BAMTech, and why is it, according to The Verge, "the future of television”?
BAMTech’s origins as part of Major League Baseball's Advanced Media division ("MLBAM)”)
MLBAM’s founding CEO Bob Bowman’s decidedly “non-tech” background, and growth into one of the most important tech leaders of the past 15 years
Initial technology struggles and learnings from early streaming efforts (including a botched audio package of Ichiro Suzuki’s games with the Mariners for fans in Japan)
Landing on a streaming model that works with the launch of MLB.tv in 2002/2003—three years before YouTube is founded!
Improvement of the MLB.tv service and MLBAM’s streaming expertise over the next ten years through the rise of mobile, and simultaneous growth of MLBAM’s revenues to over $1B annually
MLBAM’s initial deals to expand its streaming services beyond baseball, starting with ESPN in 2010, then WWE, the PGA, HBO and the NHL
The importance of media rights, and MLBAM’s transition from a simple tech/infrastructure prov…
-
The LA Clippers
24 april 2017 · 1 uur 4 min
In honor of start of NBA playoffs, Ben & David venture off the beaten path to explore one of Steve Ballmer’s most famous acquisitions, his 2014 purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA franchise. Was this landmark purchase a steal or a turnover for the former Microsoft CEO? We speculate wildly! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
The Clippers’ founding in 1970 as the NBA expansion team the Buffalo Braves
Early ownership changes and the move west to San Diego in 1981
Acquisition in 1981 by LA lawyer and real estate developer Donald Sterling for $12.5M
Sterling's relocation of the Clippers to LA in 1984 against NBA rules
Struggles over the next 25 years as the "worst franchise in professional sports” according to ESPN
Turnaround beginning in early 2010s led by Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul
The bombshell in April 2014, reported by TMZ, of a taped conversation between Sterling and his mistress where Sterling makes hugely offensive and racist comments, directed in particular toward former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson
Fallout from the comments, resulting in a lifetime ban from NBA for Sterling, and a forced sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer for $2B
Impact of the landmark sale price on NBA and other sports franchise valuations
Clippers performance post-sale, and prospects for the future
The opportunity for technology and business model innovation in the NBA, and professional sports in general
Followups:
Instagram Stories passes 200 million users per day (including correction on the definition of DAU)
The Last Jedi trailer!
Clarifying Starbucks’ same store sales performance po…
-
Oculus
11 april 2017 · 1 uur 16 min
Ben & David transcend the barriers of “real” reality, and dive into Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s geek-eutpoia vision of the future of gaming, social, and maybe even the entire internet: strapping goofy-looking goggles to your face. Is VR for real this time or are we living through another Virtual Boy moment? Tune in to find out! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Oculus’s origins in 2010 as a twinkle in the eye of the then-17 year old VR wunderkind, Palmer Luckey, who started by prototyping VR headsets in his parents’ garage in Southern California
Palmer’s time interning at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies, and chronicling of his own VR efforts in the Meant to be Seen 3D internet forums
Legendary game developer John Carmack’s own interest in virtual reality, his intersection with Palmer on the MTBS3D forums, and how he acquired and popularized one of Palmer's first early prototypes of the Oculus Rift (which was literally held together with duct tape!) by demonstrating it onstage at E3 2012
How former Scaleform cofounders Brendan Iribe and Michael Antonov teamed up with Palmer after E3 to create the company Oculus VR
The newly-formed Oculus’s wildly successful August 2012 Kickstarter campaign, including video endorsements from both Carmack and Valve founder Gabe Newell
Oculus’s subsequent venture capital fundraisings, and catching the attention of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook’s acquisition of the company in March 2014 for $2.3B
The Zenimax lawsuit filed against Oculus and Facebook following the acquisition
Valve (home of the most incredible company handbook of all-time) and Gabe Newell’s subseque…
-
The Starbucks IPO with Dan Levitan
3 april 2017 · 1 uur 11 min
Ben & David "pour over" the 1992 IPO of the legendary Seattle coffee company with the help of Dan Levitan, who served as lead investment banker on the IPO and who would later co-found the venture capital firm Maveron with Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
The original Starbucks’ founding as a coffee bean roaster, started by three disciples of the legendary coffee roaster Alfred Peet
Howard Schultz’s introduction to Starbucks, his joining the team as director of marketing, and inspiration behind his “third place” coffee shop vision
Howard’s departure from the original Starbucks, founding of Il Giornale, and subsequent of acquisition the Seattle Starbucks stores
Starbucks’ incredible growth following the acquisition and expansion beyond Seattle
The state of raising private capital in the 1980’s/90’s, and the decision to go public (link to the S-1)
Howard’s ambitious goals for the roadshow and investor participation, and subsequent stock performance after the IPO
The narrative and evolution of Starbucks as a technology company, or a consumer company that leverages technology very effectively
The Carve Out:
Ben: Dan Primack’s new daily newsletter, Pro Rata
David: The Wizard and the Bruiser podcast
Dan: The Man in the Glass
-
Overture (with the Internet History Podcast!)
13 maart 2017 · 1 uur 26 min
Episode 33: Overture (with the Internet History Podcast!) Ben & David dive deep into the early days of internet search, with the help of the best in the internet history business: Brian McCullough from the Internet History Podcast! We are huge fans of IHP at Acquired, so this was a real treat to collaborate with Brian and the great work he does over there. In this episode we cover the story of how a small incubator in Southern California spawned perhaps the greatest tech business model of all-time, Yahoo!’s fumbling of that golden opportunity, and Google’s recovery of that fumble to cross into the end zone of tech history behind the biggest moat ever constructed on the internet. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Overture’s origins as part of the Idealab incubator run by famed early internet entrepreneur Bill Gross
Invention of the paid search business model… initially by returning ADS ONLY in response to search queries
The eventual marrying of Overture’s paid search (ads) with organic search results via syndication on other properties like Yahoo!
Revenue from Overture’s ad partnership saving Yahoo!’s business after the internet bubble burst
Yahoo!’s eventual acquisition of Overture for $1.4B in 2003
But… the really interesting story here: Overture’s 'inspiration' of Google’s business model and the creation of "the greatest advertising machine in the history of the world"
The original (pre-Overture) Google business model: selling a box!
Google’s differentiation vs Overture: focusing on the long tail, ad quality scores, and an advertiser-friendly auction structure
Google’s first major search syndication victory over…
-
The Snap Inc. IPO
4 maart 2017 · 1 uur 22 min
Snap! Acquired is live on the scene reporting from the "Super Bowl" of 2017 tech events: Snap Inc's hugely anticipated (and just plain huge) IPO. What does the future hold for this plucky “camera company”? Will Snap's IPO endure as tech's most important picture-frame since the 2012 debut of Facebook, or is it destined to fade as just another snapshot? We debate! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Reference to our previous Acquired episode on Snap covering Facebook’s failed attempt to acquire the company in 2013, which goes deep on Snap’s origins and early history
Snap’s busy years since: launching Discover, Lenses, Geofilters, new Chat, Memories, an ads API, acquiring Bitmoji, and, of course, debuting Spectacles
The incredible document that is Snap's S-1 filing (read starting from the “BUSINESS” section on p.93)
Snap Inc’s “unique” voting structure
Evan Spiegel’s “CEO Award” bonus for successfully completing an IPO: an extra 3.0% of the company worth more than $600M
Snap’s IPO pricing, first day of trading “pop”, and momentum carried into day two
Introducing a new show section (for IPOs): Narratives!
Snap is a “camera company"
Snap's opportunity is winning television ad dollars
Snap is a cult of the “product genius”
Snap has a growth problem… and its name is Instagram (Stories)
Snap has a cost problem: the (first?) gross margin negative IPO
Wall Street to Evan: “we trust you… for now"
Chris Sacca’s biggest email fail of 2012
…And of course all the classics from the Acquired canon: waves, moats, flywheels, network effects, starting small and more!
The Carve Out:
Ben: The Bill Simmons Podcast with Ben Thompso…
-
The Uber - Didi Chuxing Merger with Brad Stone, author of The Upstarts & The Everything Store
1 maart 2017 · 1 uur 9 min
Topics covered include: Lees meer
The global surge in 2012 of entrepreneurs starting ridesharing companies, nowhere moreso than China
Didi CEO Cheng Wei and investor Wang Gang’s backgrounds at Alibaba, first entrepreneurial effort in Momo, and Momo’s pivot to Didi Dache
The culling of the ridesharing herd in China down to Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache through brutal competition and involvement of the “big three” Chinese internet companies
Rise of the Chinese messaging apps and associated mobile payments, and their impact on ridesharing
The 2015 merger between Didi and Kuaidi, brokered in part by Russian VC Yuri Milner
Uber’s decision to enter the Chinese market, and early success with investment and support from Baidu
The first meeting between Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Cheng Wei in 2015—which does not go well
Subsequent “scorched earth” competition between Didi and Uber throughout 2015-16
Negotiating an armistice: Uber’s agreement to sell its Chinese operations to Didi in late 2016
End of the war, or just the beginning? January 2017: Didi invests $100M in Brazilian Uber competitor 99
Sustainable growth, and building moats versus scorching earth
Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
Followups:
Stay tuned for real-time coverage of the Snap IPO coming here on Acquired!
The Carve Out:
Ben: Taming the Mammoth on Wait But Why
David: Conversations with Tyler Podcast by Tyler Cowen, co-author of the Marginal Revolution blog
Brad: Yuval Noah Harari (author of Sapiens)’s new book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
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
-
P.A. Semi + AuthenTec
24 januari 2017 · 1 uur 8 min
Topics covered include: Lees meer
P.A. Semi’s original moniker ("Palo Alto Semiconductor”) and its celebrity founder (in the semiconductor world) Dan Dobberpuhl
History of the back and forth tradeoffs between Intel’s powerful x86 chips and low power alternatives like ARM processors
Dobberpuhl’s technology breakthroughs throughout his career that enabled true low-power + high-performance chips
The initial target markets for P.A. Semi’s chips (surprise: NOT mobile phones)
P.A. Semi’s first foray into a potential deal with Apple, dashed by Cupertino’s surprise switch to Intel processors in 2005
The rise of mobile finally creating the huge market need for low-power / high-performance, Apple’s acquisition of P.A., and launch of the first Apple-designed chip, the “A4”, with the original iPad in 2010
Geekbench: the single-core performance of Apple’s latest generation of smartphone processors (A10 Fusion) has basically caught up with Intel’s laptop CPUs
AuthenTec’s beginnings in the late 90’s as a spinoff from the defense contractor Harris Corporation (named by Wired Magazine as the #2 threat to internet privacy in the US), based in Melbourne, Florida
Early versions of the technology that became TouchID, the sensors for which were many times larger than today’s iPhones themselves!
AuthenTec “not very Apple-like” website on Archive.org (and screenshot)
AuthenTec’s deal that almost was to put their technology and sensors into Samsung’s flagship phones
Apple’s acquisition of AuthenTec for $356 million in July 2012, and the rapid introduction of TouchID in the iPhone 5S one year later in September 2013
Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
Followups:
Merging of Alaska & Virgin America loyalty programs (woo!)
Walmart announces major reorg following the Jet acquisition
Snap Inc. IPO drama is mounting! (we can’t wait to cover this one)…
-
Special: 2016 Review and 2017 Predictions
11 januari 2017 · 1 uur 12 min
Ben & David wrap up 2016 with a review of the top tech themes we discussed on the show this year, and look forward to which themes we think will be relevant in the coming year. Can our hosts predict the future? Tune-in in 2018 to find out! Note: we apologize for the less-than-amazing audio quality on this one. We’re still working on tuning our remote recording setup! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Our top tech themes of 2016, including the first annual Acquired "Theme of the Year”: Aggregation Theory (surprise, surprise)
Themes we think will be most relevant as we head into 2017
Extended Carve Outs!
The Carve Out(s):
Books:
Ben: On Writing Well
David: The Creative Habit and the Asimov Robot/Empire/Foundation series
Article:
Ben: Wait But Why: Religion for the Nonreligious
David: The New York Times: The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.
Podcasts:
Both: The Ezra Klein Show
Music:
Ben: Justin Bieber
David: Stevie Nicks
TV/Movies:
Ben: Westworld
David: Rouge One
Apps:
Ben: ReachNow
David: Amazon Music
-
The Amazon IPO with original Amazon Board Member Tom Alberg
31 december 2016 · 1 uur 7 min
Ben & David welcome very special guest Tom Alberg, board member and first lead investor in Amazon.com, to cover the IPO of "earth’s most customer-centric company". From longterm thinking to flywheels to riding big waves, this episode is chock full of lessons and stories from the journey of building one of tech’s most iconic franchises. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording it! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Tom’s “prolific” bio from the Amazon S-1
Jeff Bezos’s journey from a Vice President at the New York hedge fund D. E. Shaw to founding Amazon in a Bellevue, WA garage in the summer of 1994
Jeff’s longterm thinking as evident in the early days of Amazon, and his approach that "failure is ok, but not trying things is not ok”
Raising the seed money for Amazon before product launch, how Tom met Jeff and decided to invest despite the “high” valuation
Tom's (and Jeff’s) focus on the power of targeting large and growing markets
Amazon’s actual overnight success after launching the website: according to Tom at the time, "By the second or third week… It was clear there was a trend here.”
How Amazon’s venture round, led by John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins, came together in the spring of 1996
Amazon’s torrid growth through 1996, Jeff’s mantra of “get big fast” to win the land grab of online book selling, and the board’s decision to prepare for a public offering in the spring of 1997
How Frank Quattrone and Bill Gurley, then of Deutsche Bank, won the lead position for the Amazon IPO, beating out more storied firms such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
Development of the flywheel concept within Amazon, …
-
Special: A Conversation with Microsoft's Head of Strategic Investments Brian Schultz
16 december 2016 · 1 uur 11 min
Topics covered include: Lees meer
Brian’s history working across “both sides of the aisle” as both a startup founder and corporate development leader at a big company, how perspective from each informs the other, and the importance of learning “customer empathy”
How Microsoft approaches M&A from an organizational perspective, and the importance of fit with the company’s product roadmap
How Brian approaches strategic investments at Microsoft, and the evolution over time of the Microsoft (and large technology companies as a whole) perspective on investing in other companies
Balancing the tension between partnering and investing, and what criteria Brian thinks about when evaluating companies
Microsoft’s investment in Facebook in 2007 (at a then-crazy-seeming $15B valuation), and more recently Foursquare, Mesosphere, CloudFlare and others
The current state of the tech M&A landscape, and the emergence of private equity as tech company acquirers
Potentially changing corporate and foreign tax structures and how they impact acquirers’ thinking around deals (or not!)
How Microsoft tracks and evaluates success of acquisitions over time, and lessons learned from successes and failures
The increasing number of operating companies (technology and otherwise) looking to invest in startups, and how that landscape has evolved over time
Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
Followups:
Snap Inc.’s rumored IPO filing — and bonus discussion of how VC’s and other investors think about “exiting” their investments in companies that have gone public
Hot Takes:
Amazon Go!
The Carve Out:
Ben: OK Go - The One Moment
David: UC Berkeley Oral History with Sequoia Capital founder Don Valentine
Brian: Om Malik’s recent piece in the New Yorker: Silicon Valley Has an Empathy Vacuum
More Acquired!
Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-…
-
Marvel
6 december 2016 · 1 uur 19 min
Topics covered include: Lees meer
Marvel’s corporate origins as "Timely Publications”, created in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman in NYC, with the publication of Marvel Comics #1
Creation of enduring characters such as Captain America, the Fantastic 4, Spider Man, The X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk and more
Adoption in 1961 of the "Marvel Comics” brand, and writer-editor Stan Lee’s transition of the company towards focusing on edgier characters and stories targeted at older audiences
Marvel’s first sale in 1968 to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation (later Cadence Industries)
The company’s “turbulent” corporate history through the 1980’s and associated mergers, acquisitions and lawsuits
Marvel’s reinvention as a film-focused media company in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with the launch of Marvel Studios
Disney’s ultimate acquisition of the company for $4.2 billion in August 2009, during the depth of the great recession
Marvel's—and in particular Marvel Studios’—performance since the acquisition
Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
Followups:
People like Spectacles!
Hot Takes:
Shoutout to Hightower & VTS merging
The Carve Out:
Ben: Westworld
David: Overdrive
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
-
The Facebook IPO
11 november 2016 · 1 uur 21 min
Hey Acquired listeners. A note about this show: we recorded this episode the night before the 2016 Election Day in the US. At the time, the biggest change we saw coming was adding a new type of content to Acquired in analyzing IPO’s, which we introduce in this episode. Two days later, we woke up to a very different world than the one we were expecting. Reflecting on what’s happened, and the past few months of our show, we wanted to say two things: Lees meer
First, we want to apologize for our cavalier attitude toward this election cycle, and our glossing over the clearly very real problems and deep divide in America that it represented. In the Skype episode, David pretty glibly compared the AT&T - Time Warner merger to "Make America Great Again", arguing that any reactionary force is “on the wrong side of history” and cannot be relevant in a changing world. That was wrong, the sentiment behind it was wrong, and it was insensitive to the very real pain a lot of people are feeling out there on both sides.
Second, looking back on this particular episode about the Facebook IPO, we think it actually might present a relevant parable for our country right now and--we hope--some important lessons for the technology industry going forward. For all the wonderful aspects of the tech industry that we celebrate on this show, there is no doubt that it also bears a great deal of responsibility for the current divide in America, and especially in its contribution to wealth inequality. Likewise, for all the wonderful aspects to the Facebook IPO story, as told in this episode, there is a very dark side as well: Facebook shareholders, investment banks and institutional investors raked in billions of dollars at the expense of individual retail investors who lost their shirts.
At the same time, Facebook’s perseverance through their “broken IPO", and their determination in overcoming with incredible speed the massive, existential challenge to their business model posed by mobile, is something …
-
Skype
2 november 2016 · 1 uur 19 min
An acquisition so wild and crazy, they had to do it again. And again. Ben & David cover tech’s perhaps most-traded asset, Skype (which also happens to be a fantastic business). How do we even know which deal to grade? Tune in to find out… Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Community spotlight: Slack community member Swyx’s financial data research startup Sentieo!
Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis’s meeting in the 1990’s at Swedish telecom company Tele2
Zennström & Friis’s introduction to talented Estonian developers Jaan Tallinn, Ahti Heinla, and Priit Kasesalu as part of Tele2’s efforts to jump into the dot com “portal mania”
Skype’s origins in the technology powering Zennström, Friis and the Estonians’ first startup endeavor together: the peer-to-peer file sharing platform Kazaa
The “complicated” legal, technological and ownership situation for Kazaa and Skype
Skype’s “unique” corporate culture, including a swimming pool in the board room and shots for initiating new employees
The first Skype acquisition: eBay’s 2005 deal to acquire the company for $2.6B, just two years after launch
Culture clash between eBay and Skype management, and further legal drama regarding Skype technology ownership post-acquisition
The second Skype acquisition: eBay’s 2009 decision to spin the company out to a private investor consortium including Silver Lake and the newly-formed Andreessen Horowitz
The third (and final?) Skype acquisition: Microsoft’s $8.5B purchase of the company in 2011
Skype as a “crossover” product with viable market opportunities both in consumer and enterprise
Bill Gurley’s “Keys to the 10X Revenu…
-
NeXT (Live show at the GeekWire Summit)
23 oktober 2016 · 1 uur 3 min
Ben & David broadcast live from the 2016 GeekWire Summit covering one of the all-time greats, Apple’s 1996 acquisition of NeXT. This episode has it all: the Steve Jobs hero story, Apple, I.M. Pei, Ross Perot, Aaron Sorkin, Nobel Laureates and… Gil Amelio? Does NeXT rank atop the best acquisitions ever? Our own heroes cast their votes. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
1980’s era Apple, entering the age of the “workstation”, with John Sculley as CEO and Steve Jobs leading the newly formed SuperMicro division working on building the “BigMac"
Jobs’ exile to "Siberia”, and chance meeting with Nobel Laureate Paul Berg that sowed the seeds of NeXT
Jobs’ resignation from Apple on September 13, 1985 to start NeXT, taking with him SuperMicro division employees Joanna Hoffman, Bud Tribble, George Crow, Rich Page, Susan Barnes, Susan Kare, and Dan'l Lewin
Apple’s subsequent lawsuit against Jobs and, Steve’s classic quote in response: "It is hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300-plus people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans."
NeXT’s “anti lean startup” approach, spending $100k on brand identity and moving into I.M. Pei designed offices
Ross Perot’s $20M investment in NeXT
The first NeXT computer (fun unboxing video) product launch, dubbed "The NeXT Introduction” on October 12, 1988 (one of the three scenes in the Aaron Sorkin Steve Jobs movie)
The NeXTSTEP operating system as the first “modern” OS (including Object-oriented programming), and like the Mac equally descended from Xerox PARC
Major technologies developed on NeXT computers, including the first web browser and Doom
NeXT’s exit from the har…
-
Zillow + Trulia (with Zillow Group CFO Kathleen Philips)
14 oktober 2016 · 1 uur 11 min
CFO of Zillow Group Kathleen Philips joins Ben and David to cover the show’s first true “merger” versus “acquisition" (only took 22 episodes!), Zillow’s 2015 combination with Trulia to form Zillow Group. Note: our audio glitches unfortunately continued on this episode, and quality is rough. We recommend listening on speakers vs headphones if you’re able. We apologize and will be back to normal quality next time! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Zillow and Trulia’s beginnings during the “Web 2.0” era in the mid-2000’s
Zillow, Trulia and other online players’ place within the massive US real estate market
The lengthy “dance" between Zillow and Trulia and earlier aborted merger talks between the two
The difficulty of "true mergers” among private companies and why the path is easier for public companies
Public company shareholders’ influence and role in M&A transactions
Details of the blazingly fast negotiations (27 days start to finish!) per disclosures in the SEC filings (scroll down to "Background of the Mergers”)
Structuring the deal and incentivizing Trulia and Zillow mangers to stay and continue growing as separate brands
Trulia cofounder Sami Inkinen’s whereabouts during the merger negotiations
The experience going through a lengthy FTC review of the merger, and defining what the relevant “market” is the FTC should be considering
Introducing our new acquisition category: a “timeline acquisition” ;) (h/t Kathleen)
Zillow Group’s overall approach to acquisitions, folding into its broader HR strategy
Zillow founder Rich Barton’s startup thesis of searching for "What piece of marketplace information do people c…
-
Inside the M&A Press with Bloomberg's Alex Sherman
27 september 2016 · 1 uur 18 min
Ben and David go inside the M&A press with Bloomberg’s technology M&A reporter and host of the Deal of the Week Podcast, Alex Sherman. If you’ve ever wondered how stories about big deals get broken or what “according to people familiar with the matter” really means, tune in for the behind-the-scenes scoop! Note: A technical glitch with our recording setup created occasional short silences between Alex’s comments and Ben & David’s. It shouldn’t impact listenability, but we apologize for the awkward pauses! Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Bloomberg’s own fascinating “history & facts” and origins following the acquisition of storied Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers
Bloomberg’s core as a highly profitable technology business (selling terminals to Wall Street firms), with a large media empire built on top of it
The tradable value of breaking M&A news & information to Bloomberg’s terminal customers, and competing on speed
How “sources" work — and industry standard that sources be directly within the companies involved in a deal
The coded language of M&A reporting and gleaning where information is coming from based on a story’s structure and phrasing
The lifecycle of a story—steps from sourcing to writing to release, and reasons (or lack thereof) for why stories run when they do
Internal & external PR resources companies use for M&A
How Alex prioritizes his time researching and creating stories, and who he’s meeting with to hear about what deals are in the works
The difference between ‘news' and ‘analysis', and why news dominates the majority of stories versus deeper analysis
Media and social media business models, t…
-
Android
16 september 2016 · 1 uur 14 min
Ben & David examine Google’s 2005 purchase of Android for a rumored $50M, undeniably one of the best technology acquisitions of all time. But will it top the list of these tough graders? Tune in to find out. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Welcome new listeners! We quickly review the show format for newbies.
Community spotlight: Patagonia on a Budget from community member Matt Morgante (@mattm on Slack)
Andy Rubin’s career trajectory and what made him “born to start Android"
The undeniable “cool factor” of the Danger Sidekick in the early/mid-2000’s, including fans such as Larry Page, Sergey Brin and… Turtle from Entourage
Android’s original ambition to build an operating system for… digital cameras
WebTV founder Steve Perlman is pretty much the best friend ever
Google’s own perspective on Android as their “best deal ever"
The Android team’s reaction to Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in January 2007, and redesigning the initial launch hardware
Announcing Android and—equally importantly—the Open Handset Alliance (“OHA”)
The much-talked-about "mobile holy wars", between Android’s “open” platform and Apple’s “closed” platform
The less-talked-about US carrier wars with the iPhone + AT&T in one camp, and everyone else in the Google / OHA camp (including “Droid Does”)
A quirk of history: HTC at one point acquires a majority share in Beats, resulting a short-lived period of Beats-branded Android phones (still available on Amazon!)
The real battleground for Google in the mobile platform wars: the economics of “default search” (briefly known thanks to the Oracle/Java lawsuit against Google)
Google’s detour into sma…
-
Jet
29 augustus 2016 · 1 uur 5 min
Ben & David break down Jet.com’s meteoric rise, culminating in Walmart’s blockbuster $3B+ acquisition of the company just two years after its founding. Will we look back on this deal as an ‘Instagram-like’ bargain or a ‘Pets.com'-sized blunder? And most importantly, can *anyone* compete with Amazon going forward? We speculate wildly. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
Community spotlight: Nowdue, a super fast invoicing platform for teams on Slack. Invoice like it’s the future! This looks very cool.
Jet’s deep origins in Founder & CEO Marc Lore’s first two companies, The Pit and Quidsi (aka, diapers.com)
Lore’s chance run-in with Jeff Bezos at a school picnic in Seattle in the early 2000’s
Amazon's dramatic acquisition of Quidsi in 2010, including Bezos’ admonition to Amazon corp dev to keep Quidsi from being bought by Walmart under any circumstances (covered well in The Everything Store)
Lore’s less-than-favorable opinion of Amazon's culture
Lore's vision of Jet as an ‘online Costco’ that can directly with Amazon on price by selling goods to a “huge middle-class of people" at effectively zero margin, and make profit on membership fees
Jet’s huge, pre-launch fundraising rounds, and subsequent massively promoted public launch in July 2015
Jet’s pivot in October 2015 to drop the membership model (their only profit engine), and subsequent massive growth (but also accompanying massive losses)
'Admitting defeat” to Amazon in July 2016? Immediately followed by the blockbuster $3B+ Walmart acquisition announcement
Is e-commerce really a winner-take-all business and will Amazon just take over the world? Featuring liberal c…
-
Special: An Acquirer’s View into M&A with Taylor Barada, head of Corp Dev at Adobe
22 augustus 2016 · 1 uur 4 min
Ben & David are joined by special guest Taylor Barada, VP and Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships at Adobe, to discuss how large tech acquirers approach buying companies. This episode is full of great insights for startups & entrepreneurs who might find themselves navigating the M&A process, as well as anyone curious about the craft of dealmaking and the strategic approach of large acquirers. Lees meer
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
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include:
How conversations begin between startups and acquirers
The importance of building a relationship with acquirers over time and "investing in lines, not dots” (just like raising VC)
The often under-appreciated role of culture fit between acquirers and acquisition targets
How entrepreneurs should evaluate acquirers throughout the M&A process
Two examples of successful acquisitions Taylor completed at Yahoo in Citizen Sports and IntoNow
The M&A process at large technology acquirers, from initial conversations to LOI, due diligence and the definitive merger agreement
The relative roles of Corp Dev, business/product owners and executive sponsors in the M&A process
Common mistakes startups (and VC’s) often make in the M&A process
Different “categories” of M&A that acquirers think about, and the relative risks & opportunities of “core" acquisitions vs transformative new businesses
What percentage of deals Adobe looks at actually happen, and the importance of being willing to say no
M&A as a tool for strategy, and the different M&A cultures & approaches at different companies
Tech themes Taylor and Adobe think about as part of their M&A strategy
Evaluating the longterm success o…