Alright, backstory's out of the way, and Acquired is rolling three hours deep on the venture firm that changed the game for everyone — a16z.VC marketing? Check."Founder-friendly?" Check.Platform services? Check.Huge valuations and massive fund sizes? Check and check.We dissect it all in glorious detail, right down to the famous office library (located next to the Rosewood on Sand Hill, natch). The story of modern venture capital starts here. Let's Go!!!Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCLinks:Michael Mauboussin on persistence of returns across asset classes:  https://www.morganstanley.com/im/publication/insights/articles/articles_publictoprivateequityintheusalongtermlook_us.pdfTomorrow's Advance Man:  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/18/tomorrows-advance-manEpisode sources:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/12jf9pwTdEuANtdOffUzSzvE0xEJptT0Or-gBSJgk8mg/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs:Childhood's End:  https://www.amazon.com/Childhoods-End-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/110196703XMKBHD's Studio channel and tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkuxIy3kFZMThe Godfather: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/Who Got the Truth on Spotify!!  https://open.spotify.com/track/03X7SwpsCjZIofK8RFPwch?si=649d93b2be7743d5‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

We kick off Season 9 with a classic: Part I of the a16z story. How did this brand new venture firm charge out of the gates in 2009, going from zero to disrupting the entire venture industry overnight? You probably know Marc & Ben's history with Netscape and Loudcloud/Opsware... but what about the Black Panthers, Nintendo 64, Al Gore, Doug Leone, Masayoshi Son, and an epic feud with Benchmark Capital that became Silicon Valley's version of the Hatfields and the McCoys? Buckle up, Acquired's got the truth. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCLinks:David Streitfeld's great NYT piece on the Horowitz family:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/technology/one-family-many-revolutions-from-black-panthers-to-silicon-valley-to-trump.htmlMarc on the Tim Ferriss Show:  https://tim.blog/2018/01/01/the-tim-ferriss-show-transcripts-marc-andreessen/2003 Marc in SF Gate:  https://www.sfgate.com/business/ontherecord/article/OPSWARE-INC-On-the-record-Marc-Andreessen-2525822.php#photo-2684736Carve Outs:Ben:The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life:  https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Brain-Hidden-Motives-Everyday/dp/0190495995David:Resonant Arc Podcast / YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFzWAEPDGiY34bGpwM_DWmANote: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

We sit down with the hottest new protocol layer in crypto today: Solana, and its cofounder Anatoly Yakovenko, who is the CEO of Solana Labs. If you listened to our Ethereum episode or follow crypto even at a cursory level, you've likely heard of Solana and its ability to scale transactions thousands of times higher than Ethereum. And, unlike other so-called "ETH killers", Solana is doing so in production today with large and real applications. We dive into the project's history coming out of the 2017-18 crypto winter, how it works and what's ahead now that they've recently raised $314m (yes that is Pi $million) from a16z and Polychain Capital, with their native SOL tokens currently trading at a market cap around $10B (!). Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCTopics covered:Anatoly's background as a wireless engineer at Qualcomm, and how it led to a fundamental discovery of how to improve crypto system scalabilitySolana's role in the crypto protocol ecosystem and why there's a need for it (and why it can and will exist) alongside Ethereum versus "killing" itStarting Solana during the 2017-18 crypto winter, and how it forced them to focus just on building and shipping versus raising and posturingBootstrapping adoption with the mining community (Solana's "true believers") and the early and ardent support they providedWhere Solana falls on the Vitalik "Scalability - Security - Decentralization" trilemma, and why Solana's superpower of maintaining composability is so attractiveLinks:Solana: https://solana.comSolana on Twitter: https://twitter.com/solanaSolana Hackathon submissions: https://airtable.com/shriNT26cAZeDJagn/tbl5fZ4E1BBbVAttWFTX: https://ftx.usAudius: https://audius.co Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

We close out Season 8 with the most ambitious organization we've ever covered on Acquired: Ethereum, and it's celebrity wunderkind founder Vitalik Buterin. If you thought Mark Zuckerberg IPO-ing Facebook at $100B by age 27 was something, just wait until you hear the story of this high school junior creating $500B (!!) of market cap by the same age — and oh yeah, maybe seeding the future dethroning of Facebook, Google, Amazon and all of big tech in the process. Regardless whether you're a crypto neophyte, a die-hard bull, or a skeptical bear, this is a story you need to hear, and Ethereum is an innovation you need to understand. Buckle in for a wild ride... and some special surprises from a few Acquired friends. :) Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCLinks:The Ethereum Whitepaper: https://ethereum.org/en/whitepaper/Yung Spielburg https://open.spotify.com/artist/273so0X2Yuo93vfeX2nLDI and Mike Taylor https://open.spotify.com/artist/30ejUciK31BCg0IVCbt1dW on Spotify Carve Outs:Arthur C. Clarke: https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-C-Clarke/e/B000APF21M? (especially Rendezvous with Rama and The City & The Stars)Disney-Marvel's Loki: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/loki/6pARMvILBGzFThe Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson:  https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Age-Illustrated-Primer-Spectra/dp/0553380966Nier Automata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier:_AutomataMagic the Gathering IRL:  https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/event-types/friday-night-magic

What do you get when you combine Berkshire Hathaway's approach with early-stage venture capital? Altos Ventures. We're joined by Altos's wonderful Ho Nam to discuss their highly unusual approach to VC, which has resulted in them becoming significant shareholders in great companies like Roblox, Coupang, Woowa Brothers and Krafton (makers of PUBG). This episode is an absolute must-listen for anyone in our industry — Ho is one of the best and most under-the-radar thinkers in Silicon Valley, and has many lessons to offer us all!Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCTopics covered:Altos's 13-year+ journey with Roblox, and how they deployed over $400m into the company out of an $86m fundAltos's heritage in Jack McDonald's Investments class at Stanford GSB, and the influence of Jack, Phil Fisher and Warren & CharlieHow Altos successfully "value invests" in venture capital, and reconciling cashflow potential with growth"Good fundraisers" vs. "bad fundraisers" and correlation with returnsAltos's unique fund structure and how they're architected to stay with companies longer than a typical venture capital firmHo's Twitter presence and how (and why) he went from de minimus followers to one of the top FinTwit accounts in a few monthsLinks:Ho's amazing Twitter presence: https://twitter.com/honamHo's "Foxes and Hedgehogs" post: https://altos.vc/blog/foxes-and-hedgehogsHo's "How do you know?" post: https://altos.vc/blog/howdoyouknowHo's "Venture Lotto" post: https://www.altos.vc/blog/venture-lottoSam Walton's Made in America: https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835

It's time. We wrap our Berkshire Hathaway trilogy with Warren and Charlie entering a new era: the age of the internet. Can they and Berkshire adapt to this brave new world? We find out. And, after 9+ hours, we render our final judgments on Berkshire and Warren's career. Is "Never bet against America" still the right longterm approach? Or is there another, even bigger Snowball out there that Warren may be missing? Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Berkshire Hathaway Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/berkshire-hathaway-part-iiiLinks:Bill Gates 1996 Wired interview: https://youtu.be/VFFlO7yBIBM?t=1056Jeff Bezos's 2008 AWS == electricity talk at YC Startup School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nKfFHuouzACharlie's 2021 Shareholder Meeting "slip-up": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gyqElEG6Uo Carve Outs:Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits:  https://www.amazon.com/Common-Stocks-Uncommon-Profits-Writings/dp/0471445509Xbox Game Pass: http://xbox.com/gamepassGoodfellas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/The Goodfellas soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0xVpgEngjrg6FOw5vEFHRp

Brad Stone joins us to discuss the making of the modern Amazon, and how it's morphed from the "flywheel company" of The Everything Store into a set of interlocking and self-reinforcing businesses that extended both wider and deeper into the global economy than anyone ever imagined. (except perhaps Jeff Bezos) Is Amazon the Standard Oil of our time, or maybe something much, much bigger? Tune in as we dive in! Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLC Topics covered:When and why Brad decided The Everything Store needed a sequelThe process of writing the book and access he got at Amazon, including S-Team executives like Dave ClarkThe evolution of Amazon's core strategy from the flywheel into a set of "interlocking and self-reinforcing businesses", and how Brad landed on that as the key theme for the bookAmazon's culture and the evolution from "Jeff-bots", and its embodiment in S-team members and company leaders beyondAmazon's investments in Video and why Bezos was ahead of the pack in realizing its strategic importance (including the rumored as-of-recording MGM deal)Amazon's secretive "Campfire" event and why Amazon does it despite its very un-Amazon price tagBrad's take on the future of three major Amazon business lines: Video, International and Marketplace / 3rd Party SellersAmazon and Bezos's intense focus on competitors, despite the "theater" of their mantra to only focus on customersThe Bezos "lapses of judgment" in 2018-19 and what it was like reporting on all the craziness around itTracking down the "voice of Alexa" Nina Rolle, and Bezos's relationship with Elon!Links:Amazon Unbound (on Amazon, natch):  https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Unbound-Invention-Global-Empire/dp/1982132612/

In Part II of our Berkshire Hathaway Trilogy (!), we pick up the story with Warren wandering in the woods of Omaha, searching for his life's next chapter after retiring from the professional investing business at the top of his game at age 39. How does he emerge from those woods anew, transforming from Ben Graham's cigar-butt cocoon into the butterfly collector of Berkshire's wonderful businesses? (Spoiler: Charlie Munger.) And how did one rotten-to-the-core business nearly bring it all down — everything he'd ever worked for — in the span of one terrible week? Tune in! Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Charlie Munger Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/berkshire-hathaway-part-ii Links:Chuck Rickershauser's corporate flow chart: (left half) (right half) Carve Outs:The Sopranos: https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranosMacklemore on Armchair Expert: https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/macklemore

We team up with two of the very best English-language analysts covering China tech today, Rui Ma and Ying Lu from the Tech Buzz China podcast, to talk about the big trends happening on the ground in China right now. We've had Rui and Ying's episodes on repeat in our own podcast players for many years as we researched our Meituan, PDD, Tencent and Alibaba episodes, and we're so excited to have them finally join us live. We had a blast and learned much more about what's actually happening in the world's largest market than the relative trickle of news Western audiences normally receive. Tune in!Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCTopics and trends covered:How Rui and Ying stay on top of trends in China tech remotely from the USThe rise of “tech company like” CPG and other consumer brands in China and extremely fast product development and iteration: e.g., Genki Forest, Perfect Diary and SheinCommunity group buying and the reinvention of commerce in rural China (along with an eye-opening discussion of what qualifies as “rural” in China... which is very different from the West!)Autonomous and electric vehicle design and production in China (which is the world's largest car market), and the government's push for China to become a global leader in bothThe current state of anti-trust in China and why investors and operators on the ground in China are optimistic about recent developmentsLinks:Tech Buzz China: https://www.techbuzzchina.comTBC's fantastic Insider community for investors and operators: https://www.techbuzzchina.com/insider

It's time. After 150+ episodes on great companies, we tackle the granddaddy of them all — Berkshire Hathaway. One episode alone isn't nearly enough to do Warren and Poor Charlie justice, so today we present Part I: Warren's story. How did a folksy, middle-class kid from Omaha become the single greatest capitalist of all-time? Why, like Jordan, did he retire (twice!) at the top of his game, only to reinvent himself and come back stronger than ever? As always, we dive in. Let's dance. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Warren Buffett Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/berkshire-hathaway-part-i Carve Outs:Ben: Year One of Not Boring: https://www.notboring.co/p/a-not-boring-adventure-one-year-inDavid: Balaji Srinivasan on The Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2021/03/24/balaji-srinivasan/

We dive into the fast-changing world of direct-to-consumer digital health, with perhaps the best person in the world: Levels founder Josh Clemente. (Shoutout to Ben Grynol and Michael Mizrahi from our LP community for introducing us!) Levels is on a mission to make consumers everywhere aware of their metabolic health by enabling anyone to track blood glucose levels with a continuous glucose monitor. Josh has had an incredible career, working as an early engineer at SpaceX and later at Hyperloop One before founding Levels out of a very real personal need. Join our conversation as we cover everything from Josh's time at SpaceX to why the market has changed for consumer digital health, and what the future holds for Levels. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Levels / Digital Health Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/special-why-now-for-digital-health-with-levels-founder-josh-clementeLinks:Levels: https://www.levelshealth.com

Last Acquired left the plucky Rec Room crew in our 2018 "Part I" episode, they were a seed stage startup making a VR game that users loved but grew slowly and barely monetized. Fast forward to today, and they're now a multi-platform social "place" with millions of active users, 500%+ YoY growth and hosting a robust creator economy that's rivaled only by their oft-compared metaverse cousin Roblox in dynamics and efficiency. And oh yeah, they're now a $1B+ company after a new $100m fundraise from existing investors Sequoia and Index, which they're announcing today. We figured it was high time to revisit Nick & crew for a Part II... Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Rec Room Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/rec-room-part-ii-with-ceo-nick-fajtLinks:Our "Part I" episode with Nick on Rec Room's seed round:  https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/season-2-episode-2raising-a-seed-round-with-against-gravity-ceo-nick-fajtRec Room! https://recroom.comCarve Outs:Invent and Wander:  https://www.amazon.com/Invent-Wander-Collected-Writings-Introduction-ebook/dp/B08BCCT6MW/Resonant Arc on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFzWAEPDGiY34bGpwM_DWmAHow The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0

We dive into the history behind Meituan, the juggernaut Chinese "super-app" which dominates China's services economy, offering consumers everything from food delivery, restaurant reviews, travel booking, bike-sharing, movie ticketing, and countless other entertainment and lifestyle services all at the touch of a button. Already China's 3rd largest tech company by market cap (behind just Tencent and Alibaba), Meituan did $15 billion in net revenue in FY2019 and continues to grow rapidly. What makes it so special, and how were they able to become the market leader in such a competitive space? This story is packed with lessons that apply equally beyond China tech to high-growth company building and investing everywhere. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Meituan Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/meituanLinks:Meituan's English language walkthrough video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wxgQVjDviQThe Tech Buzz China podcast: https://www.techbuzzchina.comGGV's Evolving for the Next Billion podcast: https://nextbn.ggvc.com/podcasts/Bernard Leong's Analyse Asia: https://analyse.asia Carve Outs:Extraterrestrial:  https://www.amazon.com/Extraterrestrial-First-Intelligent-Beyond-Earth-ebook/dp/B081TTY4NX/John Luttig's newsletter: https://luttig.substack.com

For the entire 20th Century, you’d be hard pressed to find a better business than an American newspaper — Warren Buffett famously described them as “franchises” — and no American newspaper stood taller than the New York Times. Controlled by a single family bound by a legal oath “to maintain the editorial independence and integrity of The New York Times and to continue it as an independent newspaper, entirely fearless, free of ulterior influence and unselfishly devoted to the public welfare”, the Times served as the paper of record for generations of Americans and people around the world. But no good thing lasts forever, and the dawn of the 21st Century saw both the Times and this once-mighty industry devastated by the dual disruptive forces of the internet and the 2008 financial crisis. And yet by 2021, The Times, essentially alone of its former peers, has reemerged from the American newspaper wreckage and transformed itself into a thriving digital business with an order of magnitude more subscribers than its print heyday. Curious how it all happened? We dive into 170 years of history to find out! Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe New York Times Company Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-new-york-times-companyLinks:The 2014 NYT Innovation Report: https://archive.org/details/pdfy-59s-4-I2qSvG6MnA/mode/2upMine Safety Disclosures’ NYT presentation: https://minesafetydisclosures.com/blog/newyorktimesCarve Outs:Ben:Titan by Ron Chernow:  https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr-ebook/dp/B000XUDGHGIteratively: https://iterative.lyDavid:Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series: https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Ashes-3-Book/dp/B074VDZB17

We cover Sequoia Capital a lot on this show. Not only across our now four(!) dedicated episodes, but across a stunning nearly 50% of recent season companies where Sequoia was a primary or only investor — the most of any venture firm by an enormous margin. Today in this very special episode, we dive into the principles that have led to the firm's 49 years of unparalleled success in venture, and the playbook behind how they identify markets and companies that create outcomes worthy of the firm's namesake tree.Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Sequoia Capital Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/special-sequoia-capitals-investment-playbook-with-alfred-linLinks:Our two-part Sequoia history: Part I: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/sequoia-capital-part-1Part II:  https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/sequoia-capital-part-ii-with-doug-leoneDon Valentine's talk at Stanford GSB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKN-abRJMEw&t=2555sOur conversation about Sequoia's Black Swan Memo with Roelof Botha: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/sequoias-black-swan-memo

We had to do it. After 12 years and 3,000,000x appreciation, we kick off Season 8 with the best investment of all-time and our biggest episode ever: Bitcoin. From the first bitcoin transaction of 10k for two Papa John's pizzas (worth about $350m today!!) to $40k+ BTC and maybe the moon beyond, we cover the whole crazy, improbable journey of how a single 8-page PDF document changed the world of money — and perhaps the world itself — forever. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCThe Bitcoin Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/bitcoinLinks:Satoshi's Whitepaper: https://www.bitcoin.com/bitcoin.pdfMatt Huang's "Bitcoin for the Open-Minded Skeptic": https://www.paradigm.xyz/Bitcoin_For_The_Open_Minded_Skeptic.pdfNellie Bowles's "Everyone Is Getting Hilariously Rich and You’re Not":  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/style/bitcoin-millionaires.htmlSquare’s $50m investment in BTC:  https://images.ctfassets.net/2d5q1td6cyxq/5sXNrlEh2mEnTvvhgtYOm2/737bcfdc15e2a1c3cbd9b9451710ce54/Square_Inc._Bitcoin_Investment_Whitepaper.pdfEpisode Sources: Full list of episode sources available here:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/16QCDNm2qzG3Bn5h1j1KXisxL_JGT7egDx7czX9ThHLY/edit?usp=sharing 

As regular listeners know, we typically cover some of the biggest companies who often receive the most media attention (see Airbnb and DoorDash). But today's episode is a little different. In our conversation with Courtland Allen of Indie Hackers, the largest community of startup founders, we dive into the stories of underdogs. What happens when there are millions of people doing small business entrepreneurship? How does anyone having access to the globally addressable market of 3 billion internet users open the door for the niche-est of products? We tell the story of Courtland’s own “Indie Hacker” journey, how he came to found Indie Hackers itself, and the lessons learned along the way. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCPlaybook Themes from this episode are available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/special-acquired-x-indie-hackersLinks:Indie Hackers: https://www.indiehackers.com

Over 13 years after its founding, one of the defining startup companies of the past decade finally makes its public debut — and boy was it a big one. But for all the hype (and all the legitimately great things Airbnb has accomplished), this is a company that looks very different today than in the past. Even before COVID, Airbnb's once-exponential bookings growth had declined to linear levels while the company's costs continued to balloon at accelerating rates. What’s going on here? Are public investors smart to bet on a permanent shift in travel behavior coming out of the pandemic? Or is this a case of unrealistic expectations? As always, we dive in. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCPlaybook Themes from this episode are available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/airbnbCarve Outs:David — San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker: https://www.sfballet.org/productions/nutcracker-online/Ben — Star Wars Lofi HipHop:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5iu1sp3UBb1rjf8KNKETtJ?si=WxPdJcRpSnelHN9qh0xYSw

Live from the scene of its blockbuster IPO, we recount the crazy, roller coaster journey of this "Palo Alto delivery company". From Sand Hill darling during their Series A and B fundraises to all but left-for-dead during the great unicorn massacre of 2015/16, DoorDash has clawed their way back from the brink and emerged as America's dominant meal delivery service, and its only unit-economic positive standalone logistics player. Is this the dawn of the next great Amazon-like story, or is the company simply benefiting from temporary tailwinds due to the pandemic? As always, we dive DEEP to find out. Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCPlaybook Themes from this episode are available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/doordashCarve Outs:David:Hades on the Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hades-switch/Ben:Watchmen on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/watchmenSuccession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/successionPalm Springs: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9484998/

Acquired is live on the scene covering Salesforce's blockbuster $27.7B acquisition of Slack, with the help of the internet's #1 Slack bull (and top internet analyst in his own right), Packy McCormick of Not Boring. We dissect the deal itself, Slack's relatively short life as a public company, the impact of Microsoft and Teams, and most importantly what this means for enterprise SaaS startups broadly. And oh yeah — we have a ton of fun too. :)Note: you can find our full June 2019 episode on Slack's history and their DPO here: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-slack-dpo Sponsors:Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredripplingStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlotsServiceNow: 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, LLCPlaybook Themes from this episode are available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/slack-salesforce-emergency-pod-with-packy-mccormick-of-not-boringLinks:Not Boring: https://notboring.substack.comPacky on Twitter: https://twitter.com/packyMPacky's bull thesis on Slack from November 2020: https://notboring.substack.com/p/slack-the-bulls-are-typing