🇺🇸 United States Episodes

Topics covered include: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 DacheThe 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 ridesharingThe 2015 merger between Didi and Kuaidi, brokered in part by Russian VC Yuri MilnerUber’s decision to enter the Chinese market, and early success with investment and support from BaiduThe first meeting between Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Cheng Wei in 2015—which does not go wellSubsequent “scorched earth” competition between Didi and Uber throughout 2015-16Negotiating an armistice: Uber’s agreement to sell its Chinese operations to Didi in late 2016End of the war, or just the beginning? January 2017: Didi invests $100M in Brazilian Uber competitor 99Sustainable growth, and building moats versus scorching earthSponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn  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 WhyDavid: Conversations with Tyler Podcast by Tyler Cowen, co-author of the Marginal Revolution blogBrad: Yuval Noah Harari (author of  Sapiens)’s new book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of TomorrowMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

My guest this week is John Rogers, founder, CEO and CIO of Ariel investments, one of the longest standing asset management businesses still in existence.  John has a very impressive resume.  In addition to his success at Ariel, he was the captain of the Princeton University men’s basketball team, he was the co-chair of Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration, he sits on the board of McDonald’s, and he has given back to his community more than I can list here.  John and I discuss Ariel’s investment process and its evolution over the years, lessons from John’s basketball career, value investing, and asset management’s diversity problem among many other interesting issues. Please enjoy!   For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to investorfieldguide.com/rogers/ 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

Humans have always wanted to enhance themselves -- from getting nutrition just-right to optimizing their performance, whether in sports or health or work. And food is a big part of all that. But our current systems of food production (and consumptio...

Rory Albanese is a comedian, comedy writer and television producer. He was an executive producer and writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and also appeared on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if you could take a smell selfie, a smelfie? What if you had a lipstick that caused plants to grow where you kiss? Ani Liu explores the intersection of technology and sensory perception, and her work is wedged somewhere between science, design and art. In this swift, smart talk, she shares dreams, wonderings and experiments, asking: What happens when science fiction becomes science fact? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Cummings is a stand up comedian and actress. She is best known as the creator and star of the NBC sitcom Whitney, as well as the co-creator of the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine, for a moment, an alternative universe: One where Netflix got disrupted by some other streaming-content company that made its DVD rental business irrelevant. But that's just a counterfactual. What happened instead is that Netflix cannibalized...

Pankaj Ghemawat, professor at NYU Stern and IESE business schools, debunks common misconceptions about the current state and extent of globalization. (Hint: the world is not nearly as globalized as people think.) He also discusses how popular reactions in Europe and the U.S. against globalization recently could affect the global economy, and how companies will need to adapt to the new reality. Ghemawat is the author of several books on globalization, including “World 3.0” and most recently “The Laws of Globalization and Business Applications.”

Philip DeFranco is a popular YouTube and internet personality. He hosts "The Philip DeFranco Show" where news stories are discussed every Monday-Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evolution and technology have allowed our human species to manipulate the physical environment around us -- reshaping fields into cities, redirecting rivers to irrigate farms, domesticating wild animals into captive food sources, conquering disease. ...

Dominick Cruz is a mixed martial artist and former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. He also is a UFC Color Commentator & Analyst on FOX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet the "Row-bot," a robot that cleans up pollution and generates the electricity needed to power itself by swallowing dirty water. Roboticist Jonathan Rossiter explains how this special swimming machine, which uses a microbial fuel cell to neutralize algal blooms and oil slicks, could be a precursor to biodegradable, autonomous pollution-fighting robots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been nearly 15 years since the Human Genome Project was completed. But "are we there yet" in the golden age of genomics? What did we think we'd have by now, what do we actually have, and what do we really still need to make genomics live up to i...

My guest this week is Alex Moazed, the co-author of Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy, which explores the platform business model (Uber, Airbnb, Github).  Alex is also the founder and CEO of Applico, a company that he started in his dorm room that is since grown into a huge enterprise that helps startups and Fortune 500 innovate with platforms.  Alex and I talk about history and future of businesses and different types of business models.  There’s a lot in here for investors, entrepreneurs, and historians.  Please enjoy!   For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/alex/ 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

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The hardest thing about pivots (major shifts in company/product direction) isn't just the actual pivot. It's the courage to make the decision... and being honest with yourself as a CEO. Especially since, no matter how great the team or board or even ...

Frank Castillo is a stand up comedian and Champion of the Roast Battle 2 on Comedy Central. He also co-hosts the "Verbal Violence" podcast availble on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, professors at Harvard Business School, spell out an overlooked career path: buying a business and running it as CEO. Purchasing a small company lets you become your own boss and reap financial rewards without the risks of founding a start-up. Still, there are things you need to know. Ruback and Yudkoff are the authors of the “HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business.”

Steven Crowder is an actor, comedian and former contributor for the Fox News Channel. He currently runs his own website and also a podcast called "Louder With Crowder" available on Spotify. - https://www.youtube.com/user/StevenCrowder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest this week is Ian Cassel, a microcap investor who is always on the lookout for small companies which are run by men and women who are what he calls intelligent fanatics. Ian’s livelihood is based on the success or failure of a small group of companies that you have never heard of—he takes the idea of “skin in the game” to another level. We explore what Ian looks for in managers, why investors might want to invest in microcap companies, and the benefits of a frugal approach to life. Buying public companies that are as small as the ones which Ian considers is an entirely different style of investing than what most of us are used to in the public markets. Please enjoy!   For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to investorfieldguide.com/ian/ 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