Acquired dives into the history behind storied venture firm Sequoia Capital and its legendary founder, Don Valentine. Part 1 tells Don’s story, starting from humble beginnings born to uneducated parents in Yonkers, NY, through shaping the fabric of Silicon Valley first as head of Sales & Marketing at both Fairchild and National Semiconductor, and then for generations to come via his pioneering concept of “company building” at Sequoia Capital. No matter where you sit in the ecosystem today, Don and the companies he helped build laid the foundation for nearly everything technology has become over the past 60 years.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, LLCLinks:Silicon Valley’s “Traitorous Eight”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitorous_eightDon Valentine’s lecture at Stanford GSB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKN-abRJMEw&t=2555sBerkeley’s oral history with Don:  http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/roho/ucb/text/valentine_donald.pdfCarve Outs:Ben: The Business Roundtable on The Daily:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/podcasts/the-daily/business-roundtable-corporate-responsibility.htmlDavid: Amazon Music on 25 years of “Ready to Die”: https://youtu.be/Dsna1nIZzB4Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitorous_eight https://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Silicon-Valley-Shockley-racist-semiconductor-lab-13164228.phphttps://signallake.com/innovation/Valentine101409.pdf http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/roho/ucb/text/valentine_donald.pdf https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875849385/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_ZB8IDb7NNAFAH https://www.amazon.com/Troublemakers-Silicon-Valleys-Coming-Age-ebook/dp/B06ZZ1YDTX/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=https://www.scaruffi.com/svhistory/arun3.htmlhttp://www.ianhathaway.org/blog/2019/7/31/vc-an-american-history https://www.axios.com/sequoia-capital-shakes-up-leadership-1513300220-7d255e34-f4bf-4178-af62-ec68023726e3.html https://www.slideshare.net/lebret/a-history-of-venture-capital-lebret-vers-11https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47240https://www.inc.com/magazine/19850501/7289_pagen_5.html https://www.amazon.com/VC-American-History-Tom-Nicholas-ebook/dp/B07QV2YM3X/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKN-abRJMEw&t=2555s

Ben and David cover the series of three 2004 Google acquisitions that formed the core of Google Maps as we know and love it today: Where 2 Technologies, Keyhole and ZipDash. From nearly zero adoption between the three companies at the time of acquisition to well over 1 billion users today, does Google Maps merit admission to the hallowed Acquired A+ pantheon? Tune in to find out!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, LLCLinks:Bret Taylor on “Satellite Mode”: https://twitter.com/btaylor/status/1099370126678253569?lang=en Justin O’Beirne’s great pieces on Apple vs Google maps: https://www.justinobeirne.com  Carve Outs:Ben: Marc Andreessen on The Moment with Brian Koppelman: https://overcast.fm/+BgXAjz54oDavid: The Expanse books: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077L6GJWW/

Ben and David head north of the border to Ottawa, Canada to cover perhaps one of the greatest IPO success stories of the past 5 years, Shopify. From humble beginnings as a “lifestyle business” hawking hipster snowboard gear online to now routinely mentioned in the same breath as Amazon, the tale of Shopify and its incredible CEO Tobi Lütke’s ascent is not one to miss!Editor's note: Shopify actually powered $41b of sales, not $14b, in 2018, as discussed toward the end of the episode. $14b was the fourth-quarter number. While this changes the analysis of value captured at the end of the episode (Shopify only captures 2.5% of merchant sales as their own revenue, not 7%, which is admittedly very different), it doesn’t change overall sentiment on the company discussed in the episode.Sponsors:Koyfin: https://bit.ly/acquiredkoyfinStatsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnLinks:https://www.snowdevil.cahttps://www.jadedpixel.comCitron’s “research” report:  https://citronresearch.com/citron-exposes-the-dark-side-of-shopify/Carve Outs:Ben: Moment smartphone camera lenses: https://www.shopmoment.comDavid: Quoteapro engineering and head of product roles, Bill Gurley on Invest like the Best: http://investorfieldguide.com/gurley/More 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

For our first episode of Season 5, Acquired returns to Shenzhen to cover another Chinese technology giant, this one slightly... different from our past subjects: Huawei. From a backwater importer of PBX switches to the world’s second largest handset manufacturer and near-undisputed leader in 5G infrastructure technology, Huawei’s ascent over the past 30 years has been nothing short of spectacular, equaled only by the spectacular fireworks of recent events surrounding the company. What’s the story behind this global telecom giant, and what does its future portend for global tech and US - China relations? We dive in.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, LLCLinksRen Zhengfei on Bloomberg TV:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-26/billionaire-huawei-founder-defiant-in-face-of-existential-threatWho owns Huawei?  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3372669Carve OutsBen: Billions: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4270492/David: Dune by Frank Herbert:  https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert-ebook/dp/B00B7NPRY8/ref=nodl

We wrap up Season 4 with a very special (and accidental!) episode, a conversation with the CEO of Superhuman, the red hot email productivity app which just announced their $33m Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz. While originally intended as a limited release episode, we felt Superhuman would provide the perfect bookend to our “modern enterprise productivity trilogy” following our Zoom and Slack episodes. We hope you enjoy the conversation with Rahul as much as we did, and we’ll see you later this summer for Season 5!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, LLCLinksNew York Times article announcing the fundraise:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/technology/superhuman-email.html Rahul’s Medium post on acquisitions:  https://medium.com/swlh/rip-mailbox-or-founders-how-to-stop-worrying-and-love-being-acquired-261da4f6d566Rahul on finding product-market fit on First Round Review:  https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an... enterprise software company? We give the full Acquired treatment to newly-public Slack, one of the most extreme and successful pivots of all-time. From a log cabin in Canada to a never-ending game and back again, Slack’s journey has more twists and turns than a Hobbit’s tale. Tune in for one APLUSS story you don’t want to miss!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, LLCLinksKara Swisher’s Flipcam interview with Glitch:  https://www.wsj.com/video/tiny-speck-stewart-butterfield-speaks/C51EAD27-FE8E-46AE-B785-6ECF1A9798B0.htmlMarc Andreessen on “all will still end well...” https://twitter.com/patphelan/status/1142733251691405312The Glitch public domain archive: https://www.glitchthegame.comNaming Slack: https://twitter.com/stewart/status/780906639301812225?s=21Carve OutsBen: The Expanse on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/The-Expanse-Season-1/dp/B018BZ3SCMDavid: Give to any non-profit on Alma: https://alma.app/blog/1-4-million-reasons-to-love-alma-search

Zoom board member (and general partner at Emergence Capital) Santi Subotovsky joins us to tell the true underdog story behind the hottest IPO of 2019. Together we trace founder Eric Yuan’s incredible journey from immigrant software developer, who didn’t speak any English upon arriving in Silicon Valley in 1997, to Glassdoor’s #1 rated CEO in America in 2018. In an age where border walls have replaced open doors in Washington, and burn rates and privacy scandals have sidelined Silicon Valley’s pretense of making the world a better place, there is no better reminder than Zoom of everything that can be great about our country and our industry.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, LLCLinksWalt Mossberg’s review of Zoom in 2012:  http://allthingsd.com/20120821/a-chance-to-call-15-friends-to-video-chat-in-high-def/Carve OutsBen: General Magic https://www.generalmagicthemovie.comDavid: Dissect Season 4 https://dissectpodcast.com/subscribe-to-the-podcast/

Acquired looks back at a monumental IPO from a *much* different era: Electronic Arts. We’re joined by EA’s founder Trip Hawkins to tell the incredible story of how he built the company that made video games mainstream. Starting from his high school years as both a geek and a jock, to then working for Steve Jobs as one of Apple Computer’s first employees and later completely changing the world of sports with John Madden Football, Trip always had a clear vision for what EA could become and what magic could happen at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts.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, LLC

Welcome to the big one. On the day of its IPO, we tell the story of Uber. It’s a story whose roots stretch back 130 years, but whose impact reverberates perhaps more powerfully on our current world than any other. A story that, in all of its greatness and in all of its ugliness, may just be the story of our time.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, LLCLinks:Austin Geidt’s incredible journey: https://youtu.be/-NjaqDMYNVsTravis’s self-introduction as “the Wolf from Pulp Fiction”: https://youtu.be/VMvdvP02f-YTravis interview on TWiST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=550X5OZVk7Y  

In the second episode of our APLUSS(Z!) IPO saga, we dive into the history behind the planet’s largest non-social social network, Pinterest. From The Pirates of Silicon Valley to the bloggers of Salt Lake City, the creation story behind this “productivity tool for planning your dreams” is far from your typical unicorn journey. Once labelled as the “next Facebook” by investors and press, ten years later both Pinterest-the-product and Pinterest-the-company are in fact anything but. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing… tune in to find out!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, LLCLinksPinterest’s S-1:  https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506293/000119312519083544/d674330ds1.htmFun photos of the Pinterest early days from Leslie Kincaid:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/azy9xtxtq5l6r3y/AAC68OhprmVbauZreHPyLbn5a?dl=0Pinterest financial summary on Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4255230-know-pinterest-ipoCarve OutsBen: Eugene Wei on the Invest Like The Best Podcast: http://investorfieldguide.com/wei/David: A-Rod interviews George Springer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqgxmG4yc8

Call it the playoffs. Call it the Olympics. Call it March Madness. No matter which sports analogy you borrow, it falls short of capturing what Lyft's IPO yesterday kicked off in the tech world. A generational changing of the guard from the FAANG to the APLUSS (Airbnb, Pinterest, Lyft, Uber, Slack, Stripe). A breaking of the liquidity dam that's kept capital, technology and talent locked up in a small number of Silicon Valley winners for longer than ever in history. And most importantly, a public market avenue for investing in the largest single market created since the advent of the internet. Acquired is live on the scene recounting and analyzing the history of Lyft (and ridesharing broadly) in every exquisite detail!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, LLCLinks:Lyft’s S-1:  https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1759509/000119312519059849/d633517ds1.htmDonate to Homobiles: http://bit.ly/2TM40nAÂCarve Outs:Ben: Bill Gurley on "Runnin' Down a Dream" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYekD6-PZ8David: "Cricket Fever" on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80222770

We enter the wayback machine and revisit the subject of Acquired’s second ever episode, Facebook’s bombshell 2012 acquisition of Instagram — this time with the help of then-Facebook executive Emily White, who moved over post-acquisition to become Instagram’s first business head. Together with Kevin and Mike, Emily helped build Instagram's business model, which today accounts for nearly 1/4 of all of Facebook’s revenue. Is this still Acquired’s canonical A+ with an extra 3.5 years of hindsight? Spoiler alert: yes.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: Sam Harris on the Joe Rogan Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5_hAEsLkUDavid: Boom Town by Sam Anderson:  https://www.amazon.com/Boom-Town-Fantastical-Basketball-World-class-ebook/dp/B077RHYC4G

Spotify + Gimlet/Anchor Quick Take! We continue to experiment on Acquired, this time with a quick-take on Spotify’s bombshell dual-acquisition of Anchor and Gimlet Media. While we may give these deals the full Acquired treatment in the future, we wanted to share our quick thoughts with you all sooner rather than later while the Acquired research department (aka Ben & David’s free time) works through the current episode backlog. Let us know if you like this format and we’ll do more in the future! Sponsor: https://acquired.fm/zoominfo Join the Acquired Limited Partner program! (Apropos ;)  >https://kimberlite.fm/acquired/ (works best on mobile)

We dive into the crazy, little-known story of how this small, former PC-maker in Cambridge, England dethroned Intel, saved Apple from bankruptcy, became the blueprint for the largest investment fund in history, and of course now powers just about every device you use today. From Issac Newton to the Apple Newton, the Vision Fund and beyond, ARM has had an impact on the technology industry that cannot be overstated!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, LLCLinks:The Nokia 6110: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_6110Fast Company on SoftBank and how the ARM acquisition happened:  https://www.fastcompany.com/90285552/the-most-powerful-person-in-silicon-valley

Booyah! Acquired, the worldwide leader in acquisitions and IPOs, kicks off Season 4 with a classic: ESPN. How did a failed former TV weatherman end up building the world’s most valuable media company on top of a dump (quite literally) in Bristol, Connecticut? We follow the incredible entrepreneurial journey from Getty Oil diversification strategy to Berkshire Hathaway home run to Disney crown jewel. This Is Awesome, Baby!!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, LLCLinks:ESPN’s first moments on air: https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2018/12/espn-remembers-lee-leonard/The Outsiders Book:  https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Rational-Blueprint-ebook/dp/B009G1T74O/Carve Outs:Ben: Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer: The Basketball Box Score Mystery  https://www.geekwire.com/2019/numbers-geek-steve-ballmer-basketball-box-score-mystery/David: Fast Company on Masa, “The most powerful person in Silicon Valley”  https://www.fastcompany.com/90285552/the-most-powerful-person-in-silicon-valley

We close out Season 3 and our China mini-series with a monster episode on Tencent, the Shenzhen-based social networking and entertainment powerhouse. We dive deep into the story of Pony Ma and his cofounders’ incredible journey from making software for pagers(!) to QQ, WeChat, League of Legends, Fortnite, Snapchat and even Tesla. This is one finale you don’t want to miss!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: President Obama’s OG podcast! https://bit.ly/2BqXxHJDavid: Kara Swisher’s interview with the Google Walkout organizers: https://bit.ly/2RwuskZDavid (bonus!): Allen Iverson on the Players’ Tribune: https://bit.ly/2EkrRHQ

We complete our two-part Netflix special with the company’s bold transition to streaming, including of course the most (in)famous spin-out in business history. Rising from the ashes of Qwikster, we chronicle Netflix’s rebirth as a media company and long journey back to the top of the FAANG mountaintop!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, LLCLinks:Netflix’s Qwikster apology video: https://youtu.be/c8Tn8n5CIPkSNL parody of the apology video: https://bit.ly/2PWEyyZEvolution of Netflix home page: https://read.bi/2KvHdteThe Chaos Monkey: https://bit.ly/1qkqDxZ Benedict Evans’ chart of FAANG stocks: https://bit.ly/2r3D72A Carve Outs:Ben: Kevin Rose interviews Matthew Walker on sleep: https://bit.ly/2LpIl5vDavid: Justin O’Beirne on Apple’s new Maps: https://bit.ly/2zrQ76Z

In a world ravaged by late fees and lack of rewinding, one man two men from a sleepy California beach town make a stand against tyranny, daringly dethrone an evil empire and… oh who are we kidding, they just copied Amazon’s business plan for books and applied it to movie rentals. But as always there is much more to the story than that! We dive into the fascinating, true, and oft-untold history of Netflix in our first two-part special on Acquired. Part 1 covers Netflix’s original DVD rental business from founding to 2009, and next time on Part 2 we’ll cover the (rocky) transition to streaming from 2010 to present. Buckle up for a wild ride!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, LLCLinks: Netflix’s original logoCarve Outs:Ben: The Good Place on… Netflix!David:  The Broken Earth Series by N. K. Jemisin

Ben & David are joined by special guest and Venmo cofounder Andrew Kortina for our first-ever SF live show! In front of a packed house we chronicle the journey of how two freshman-year roommates from Penn turned a healthy obsession with Craigslist and a fake podcast into an app that facilitated $17B of payments last quarter alone, producing not one but two landmark acquisitions along the way!Note: the audio quality is a little rough due to some A/V issues at the live show. We apologize!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:Kortina: The Myth Of Sisyphus by Albert CamusDavid:  Startup by Jerry KaplanBen:  Halide on the new iPhone XS camera and computational photography

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!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, LLCLinks:Scott’s great new book,  The Messy Middle, out today!