🇺🇸 United States Episodes

We interviewed the founder of Rev.com (they transcribe audio into text), to hear how he built this into a $206M (to be precise) business. We used them to transcribe the My First Million podcast episodes, and realized how badass of a service this was. Super simple concept - create a workforce (currently 50,000) that works remotely, transcribing audio from podcasts, conferences, meetings etc.. into text, for less than $1 per minute. Jason talks about freelancers making money in their pajamas, why they opened an office away from Silicon Valley, the impact of AI on remote work, working for free to show your worth, buying his domain for $400,000 and a clever way come up with and test a killer startup name.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a part of Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour Presented by WW, New York Times best-selling author, wrestler, producer and actor Dwayne Johnson sits down with Oprah in front of a live audience in Atlanta, Georgia. Dwayne opens up about the sudden loss of his father, legendary wrestler Rocky Johnson. He also discusses his childhood, mental health, fatherhood and fame. Dwayne then explains why he believes being true to yourself is one of the most powerful lessons he’s ever learned. To date, Dwayne's films—such as Jumanji, San Andreas, Skyscraper and the Fast and Furious franchise—have earned a combined box office totaling nearly $10 billion worldwide.

We kick off Season 6 with a long-awaited Acquired Classic: Facebook’s $22B purchase of WhatsApp in 2014, which still ranks as the largest acquisition of a private VC-backed startup in history. Yet despite that enormous pricetag and all its associated fanfare, as we sit here 5+ years later WhatsApp actually generates LESS revenue than the meager ~$20m it was bringing in at the time of acquisition. Was this this worst acquisition of all-time, or a brilliant strategic chess move by Mark Zuckerberg & co? Tune in as we render Acquired’s judgement!Note: Unfortunately David’s audio quality in this episode was impacted by a technical glitch which we didn’t discover until after recording. Our editors worked super hard to fix in post-production, but it’s still not totally perfect. We hope you’ll give it a listen regardless, and we’re working on getting a transcript made ASAP, which we’ll post to the website when it’s ready. Thanks for bearing with us,-Ben & David Sponsors:Koyfin: https://bit.ly/acquiredkoyfinStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCCarve Outs:Ben: Computer glasses: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=computer+glassesDavid: Reebok Floatrides:  https://www.amazon.com/Reebok-Forever-Floatride-Energy-Black/dp/B07NYBRQ96/Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/02/19/exclusive-inside-story-how-jan-koum-built-whatsapp-into-facebooks-new-19-billion-baby/#64c1c94b2fa1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/03/04/inside-the-facebook-whatsapp-megadeal-the-courtship-the-secret-meetings-the-19-billion-poker-game/#63d8b5c4350f https://www.wired.com/2015/09/whatsapp-serves-900-million-users-50-engineers/https://youtu.be/v6PbymjXstohttps://youtu.be/X4YsJt4rIOIhttps://overcast.fm/+WorS9-a74https://youtu.be/-2CAWS7M_0whttps://youtu.be/X4YsJt4rIOI https://www.wired.co.uk/article/whats-app-owner-founder-jan-koum-facebook  https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/whatsapp-brian-acton-delete-facebook-stanford-lecture  https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2018/09/26/exclusive-whatsapp-cofounder-brian-acton-gives-the-inside-story-on-deletefacebook-and-why-he-left-850-million-behind/#7475a0213f20  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-06-28/tencent-rules-china-the-problem-is-the-rest-of-the-world  https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/16/whatsapp-free/http://allthingsd.com/tag/jan-koum/ http://allthingsd.com/20130510/whatsapp-ceo-jan-koum-hates-advertising-and-the-tech-rumor-mill-full-dive-video/  https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/31/whatsapp-hits-1-5-billion-monthly-users-19b-not-so-bad/ https://blog.whatsapp.com/10000633/Building-for-People-and-Now-Businesseshttps://techcrunch.com/2017/09/05/whatsapp-business-app/ https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/21/whatsapp/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/whatsapp-founder-plans-to-leave-after-broad-clashes-with-parent-facebook/2018/04/30/49448dd2-4ca9-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html https://www.wsj.com/articles/whatsapp-backs-off-controversial-plan-to-sell-ads-11579207682 https://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-messy-expensive-split-between-facebook-and-whatsapps-founders-1528208641?mod=article_inline  https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/06/05/whatsapp-co-founder-stresses-independence-from-facebook/?mod=article_inline https://bgr.com/2020/01/17/whatsapp-ads-2020-facebook-canceled-plans-to-bring-ads-to-status-bar/ https://www.vox.com/2018/5/8/17329524/whatsapp-new-ceo-facebook-cofounder-jan-koum-departshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/chdaniels/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkoum/

Joe sits down with Bellator Middleweight World Champion Rafael Lovato Jr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some common life-saving medicines, such as insulin, are made of proteins so large and fragile they must be injected instead of ingested as pills. But a new generation of medicine -- made from smaller, more durable proteins known as peptides -- is on its way. In a quick, informative talk, molecular engineer and TED Fellow Christopher Bahl explains how he's using computational design to create powerful peptides that could one day neutralize the flu, protect against botulism poisoning and even stop cancer cells from growing.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry Chesbrough, adjunct professor at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, coined the term "open innovation" over a decade ago. This is the practice of sourcing ideas outside your own organization as well as sharing your own research with others. However, he says that despite a booming economy in Silicon Valley, companies aren't executing on open innovation as well as they should. They are outsourcing, but not collaborating, and fewer value-added new products and services are being created as a result. He's the author of the book "Open Innovation Results: Going Beyond the Hype and Getting Down to Business".

My guest this week is a good friend and a business mentor of mine. Chetan Puttagunta is a general partner at Benchmark Capital and has a remarkable track record of investing in early-stage software businesses, including several like Mulesoft, MongoDB, and Elastic that went on to be public companies. Chetan has been my key guide for understanding the world of enterprise software as we at O’Shaughnessy Asset Management have built an investing platform called Canvas. His advice has been critical to our early success. In this episode, we explore the history of software and software investing, and go into the details on how to build and grow new software businesses. We discuss product, sales and marketing, recruiting, scaling, and everything in between. Please enjoy this great conversation with one of my favorite business and investing thinkers. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes 1:34 – (First Question) – How Chetan found MongoDB and decided to invest in it 8:01 – The evolution of databases in the growth of technology 16:19 – Market penetration of this space and what investors should be thinking about 21:46 – Advice how companies can build software effectively 25:12 – Tactics to effectively implement empathy led product building 30:33 – Companies asking users what to build vs telling users what they want 34:26 – The need for the right capital, and patient capital in particular 37:55 – Creating the perfect customer experience 44:37 – Common reasons they don’t invest in a company 48:48 – Lessons on scaling, especially in sales and marketing 52:47 – Best recruiting pipeline strategies 59:56 – Pitfalls of unit economic traps             1:00:23 – The Dangerous Seduction of the Lifetime Value (LTV) Formula             1:01:34– The Hierarchy of Engagement 1:02:18 – What has changed for Chetan in his time working with the team at Benchmark 1:06:009 – Later stage life cycle business considerations and Amazon’s AWS 1:13:29 – The business model of open-source software 1:15:54 – Being default open 1:17:53 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Chetan   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

Joe sits down with former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this repeat episode, we honor the legacy of HBS professor Clayton Christensen, who passed away on January 23, 2020. The legendary management thinker was best known for his influential theory of “disruptive innovation,” which inspired a generation of executives and entrepreneurs. This HBR IdeaCast interview was originally published in 2016.

The idea of "1000 true fans" argued that to be a successful creator, you don’t need millions of customers or clients, as long as you also have a direct relationship with those fans. But how is media changing today as a result, and what nuances do people often miss about the concept? And why are we apparently surrendering our attention (whether to TV, books, or whatever) for only $3 an hour?!

Holocaust survivor Werner Reich recounts his harrowing adolescence as a prisoner transported between concentration camps — and shares how a small, kind act can inspire a lifetime of compassion. "If you ever know somebody who needs help, if you know somebody who is scared, be kind to them," he says. "If you do it at the right time, it will enter their heart, and it will be with them wherever they go, forever."For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Altucher is a chess master, writer, entrepreneur, investor, podcaster and comedian. Everyone talks about compound improvements being the key to progress, but how can you systematise that into your life so you're growing every day? And how can you harness the power of idea generation to build your mental muscles & create opportunities in your life? James explains how he experiments in his life by playing around with new ideas all the time. This is the first in a two-part episode with James, they can be enjoyed separately or together. I figured I'd try experimenting with ideas too! Extra Stuff: Buy Choose Yourself - https://amzn.to/2GlYDYd Check out James' Website - https://jamesaltucher.com/ Follow James on Twitter - https://twitter.com/jaltucher Take a break from alcohol and upgrade your life - https://6monthssober.com/podcast Check out everything I recommend from books to products - https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcast Email: https://www.chriswillx.com/contact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all want to save more money -- but overall, people today are doing less and less of it. Behavioral scientist Wendy De La Rosa studies how everyday people make decisions to improve their financial well-being. What she's found can help you painlessly make the commitment to save more and spend less.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

with @cjgbest @robertcottrell @andrewchen @smc90 A new ecosystem is forming around the direct relationship between consumers, content creators, and the tools and business models to facilitate all that. We're not just seeing this phenomenon in newsletters and podcasting, but also in people setting up e-commerce shops, video streaming, and more. Are the stars and the incentives finally aligned?

Joe sits down with UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hustle's My First Million presents: Million Dollar Brainstorm is back. Host Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) and The Hustle CEO Sam Parr (@theSamParr) sit down and discuss what side hustles, trends and big business ideas that's keeping them up at night. Long episode today! First half is with 8-figure ad agency founder Brendan Gahan to talk biz models, overhead and profitability. Then the second half is with Daniel Gross who sold his startup to Apple in his twenties and rolled that win into multiple unicorn investments. Enjoy!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cristos Goodrow is VP of Engineering at Google and head of Search and Discovery at YouTube (aka YouTube Algorithm). This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code "LexPodcast".  Here's the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. 00:00 - Introduction 03:26 - Life-long trajectory through YouTube 07:30 - Discovering new ideas on YouTube 13:33 - Managing healthy conversation 23:02 - YouTube Algorithm 38:00 - Analyzing the content of video itself 44:38 - Clickbait thumbnails and titles 47:50 - Feeling like I'm helping the YouTube algorithm get smarter 50:14 - Personalization 51:44 - What does success look like for the algorithm? 54:32 - Effect of YouTube on society 57:24 - Creators 59:33 - Burnout 1:03:27 - YouTube algorithm: heuristics, machine learning, human behavior 1:08:36 - How to make a viral video? 1:10:27 - Veritasium: Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir? 1:13:20 - Making clips from long-form podcasts 1:18:07 - Moment-by-moment signal of viewer interest 1:20:04 - Why is video understanding such a difficult AI problem? 1:21:54 - Self-supervised learning on video 1:25:44 - What does YouTube look like 10, 20, 30 years from now?

When the ocean changes, the planet changes -- and it all starts with microbes, says biological oceanographer Angelicque White. Backed by decades of data, White shares how scientists use these ancient microorganisms as a crucial barometer of ocean health -- and how we might rejuvenate them as marine temperatures steadily rise.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe sits down with former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and current Bellator commentator Josh Thomson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When do you see the forest? And when do you see the trees? Building a company to scale requires a delicate balance of macro and micro focus – and the skill to know where to focus when. Josh Silverman has built that skill in leadership roles at Evite, eBay, Skype, and now Etsy. What he’s learned: Success isn’t just about zooming in on the details or taking the long view – but about knowing when to switch between perspectives.Read Nik Money's book The Selfish Ape: Human Nature and Our Path to Extinction.Watch Scott Suko topple dominoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IuUp-rI0VU&feature=youtu.beRead a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/josh-silverman-when-to-zoom-in-when-to-zoom-out/Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.