The NFL is nearly synonymous with America today. Practically nothing is more quintessentially and universally American than tuning in every Sunday (and Monday, and Thursday… and sometimes Saturdays and holidays too) to watch the world’s most beautiful ballet of violence. It generates the most revenue of any sports league globally and sets new records for team valuations each year. But it wasn’t always this way. The history of the NFL mirrors America’s own development: scrappy small-town teams rode the successive growth waves of the automobile, TV, the Internet and social media to grow larger than the even the founders’ wildest dreams. Whether you watch football or not, the NFL is one incredible business story, and one that we’ve taken more lessons from over the years for Acquired itself than perhaps any other episode we’ve made. Note: This is a remastered release of our original January 2023 episode, updated to today's Acquired production standards. It also features a full hour+ followup section at the end covering the seismic shifts in the NFL’s business since the original episode’s release. Much has happened in those three years: Taylor Swift entered the league (via merger 🙂), streaming went mainstream (and took over Thanksgiving and Christmas), sports gambling exploded from 46 million to 76 million bettors, and — in perhaps the most surprising development — private equity finally stormed the gates of the NFL. Oh, and average franchise valuations grew by 60% from $4.5 billion to over $7 billion. Communist capitalism is alive and well! We're also releasing this episode in advance of Super Bowl LX here in San Francisco, where Acquired is hosting the NFL’s inaugural Super Bowl Innovation Summit! Sponsors: Many thanks to our partners: * Vanta * Sierra * Crusoe * Sentry (+ join the list for Sentry & Vercel’s Super Bowl Fan Zone party) Links: * Innovation Summit details and all Super Bowl LX Week events in San Francisco (note content from the Innovation Summit will be posted publicly the week after the Super Bowl — we’ll update this page with links when available) * America’s Game * Sports Illustrated’s oral history of the famous Joe Namath “pool photo” * All episode sources Carve Outs: * The Menu * Peyton’s Places More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:37 Welcome to the Remastered NFL Episode 00:06:05 Origins of Football & the Forward Pass (1869-1905) 00:14:34 The Founding of the NFL (1920) 00:41:52 Bert Bell's "Any Given Sunday" Philosophy (1946) 01:03:28 Pete Rozelle Transforms the League (1960) 01:56:34 The Creation of the Super Bowl (1966) 02:09:47 Monday Night Football Invents Modern Sports TV (1970) 02:37:19 The NFL's Business Model Explained 02:39:28 CTE & the Kaepernick Controversy (2016) 02:48:36 Analysis: Playbook & 7 Powers Analysis 03:21:04 2026 UPDATE: Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Streaming, T-Swift, Gambling & New TV Deals 03:57:11 Private Equity Enters the NFL (2024) 04:14:08 Conclusion & Thank Yous ‍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.

Why has Acquired — seemingly against all odds — “worked”? It's a puzzling question: episodes are four hours long, they come out infrequently, and they usually don’t have guests or video. Hardly the standard-issue playbook for podcasting success! And yet well over a million smart, curious and exceedingly busy humans share their (your!) valuable time with us every month. Why? This is the exact paradox that has been rolling around in the head of Michael Lewis (yes, that Michael Lewis) since he found the show earlier this year. So we asked Michael to be our guest "interlocutor" and share what he thinks is going on here, while we share ten lessons we've stolen (graciously) from companies we've studied and brought into Acquired itself. He takes us through the entire Acquired journey: how we started, why we've never hired anyone or raised money, how we pick episodes, what our business model actually is, why we focus on quality and enjoyment over maximizing enterprise value, and ultimately why we’re all — you, him, us — kindred spirits together. Oh, and just for fun, we recorded this episode where another special journey began — the garage where Google was founded. Thank you for an incredible decade together… here's to the next one! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments (you can watch our full show with them at AWS re:Invent here!) * WorkOS * Sentry * Shopify Thank-yous: * First, to Google for loaning us the garage. The sawhorse table desk, PC and CRT monitor on display in the background were all Google originals courtesy of the Google Founders Collection at the Computer History Museum. So cool! * Second, to our friends at Shep Films for helping us seriously up our game on production quality this episode! Our Favorite Michael Lewis Books: * Home Game * Moneyball * Liar’s Poker * The Blind Side * The Undoing Project (as referenced by Michael in the beginning, about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky) Carve Outs: * Books: * The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss * Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush * Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase by Duff McDonald * The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel * Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner * Morris Chang's Autobiography * Podcasts: * Against the Rules * Revisionist History * SmartLess * The Daily * The Bill Simmons Podcast * Graham Duncan on Invest Like the Best * Glue Guys * Video: * Jay Kelly * The Rehearsal * Doug DeMuro * Tires * F1 The Movie * Andor * Fallout * Severance * Silo * Video Games: * Sea of Stars * Kirby and the Forgotten Land * Products: * ARTEZA Rollerball Pen 0.7mm Fine * Rotring 800 Mechanical Pencil * Fujifilm X100VI * Uniqlo Socks! * On Running Shoes * Rimowa Luggage * Parenting: * Guided Access on iPad * Toy Story * SlumberPod * Bluey Experience in NYC More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most incredible scale economy businesses of all-time. And oh yeah, there’s also cocaine, WW2, Mad Men, Warren Buffett, James Dean, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Michael Ovitz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, McDonald’s and Monsanto. So cozy up to the fire with your favorite images of Santa Claus and Polar Bears and enjoy an ice-cold episode of Acquired — always delicious, always refreshing. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments * WorkOS * Shopify * Sentry — Link to ACQ Cassette Players, use code “audiophile” Links: * Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes! * The Hilltop ad / Mad Men finale * Pepsi Challenge commercials * Pepsi’s Michael Jackson commercials * Coke’s Bill Cosby commercials * Two liter bottles inflating * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Coca-Cola Study * For God, Country, and Coca-Cola * Secret Formula * All episode sources Carve Outs: * SkiErg * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * Claude * Nike Vomero Plus * Hermanos Gutiérrez More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

Trader Joe's breaks every rule of modern retail. They don't do e-commerce. They don't do delivery. No sales, coupons, or loyalty programs. They only stock 4,000 SKUs versus 50,000+ at normal supermarkets. Their parking lots are famously terrible and they're constantly out of your favorite items. Shoppers brave long lines and cramped aisles while overly-friendly employees in Hawaiian shirts try to chat them up. Everything about the Trader Joe's experience seems designed to drive modern consumers away. And yet they generate $2,000+ per square foot in sales — double their nearest competitor in Whole Foods and nearly 4x the industry average — and Americans are obsessed with them. How on earth did a company that so steadfastly refuses to participate in the 21st century build the most beloved grocery chain in America? Today we tell the full story: how “Trader” Joe Coulombe started out cloning 7-Elevens in 1960s Los Angeles, pivoted to slinging hard liquor, discovered the enormous market opportunities for California wine and health food before anyone else, and ultimately built perhaps the most counter-positioned business we’ve ever studied on Acquired by doing almost everything differently than the supermarket-CPG industrial complex. Tune in for a wild voyage on the high seas of grocery retail! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments (And come see us at AWS re:Invent! Discount code: "ACQUIRED") * Sentry * WorkOS * Shopify Links: * Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes! * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Trader Joe’s Study * Becoming Trader Joe * The Secret Life of Groceries * Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's * All episode sources Carve Outs: * AirPods Pro 3 * Mario Kart 8 More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

Google faces the greatest innovator's dilemma in history. They invented the Transformer — the breakthrough technology powering every modern AI system from ChatGPT to Claude (and, of course, Gemini). They employed nearly all the top AI talent: Ilya Sutskever, Geoff Hinton, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei — more or less everyone who leads modern AI worked at Google circa 2014. They built the best dedicated AI infrastructure (TPUs!) and deployed AI at massive scale years before anyone else. And yet... the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 caught them completely flat-footed. How on earth did the greatest business in history wind up playing catch-up to a nonprofit-turned-startup? Today we tell the complete story of Google's 20+ year AI journey: from their first tiny language model in 2001 through the creation Google Brain, the birth of the transformer, the talent exodus to OpenAI (sparked by Elon Musk's fury over Google’s DeepMind acquisition), and their current all-hands-on-deck response with Gemini. And oh yeah — a little business called Waymo that went from crazy moonshot idea to doing more rides than Lyft in San Francisco, potentially building another Google-sized business within Google. This is the story of how the world's greatest business faces its greatest test: can they disrupt themselves without losing their $140B annual profit-generating machine in Search? Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments * Sentry * WorkOS * Shopify Links: * Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes! * Geoff Hinton’s 2007 Tech Talk at Google * Our recent ACQ2 episode with Tobi Lutke * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Alphabet Study * In the Plex * Supremecy * Genius Makers * All episode sources Carve Outs: * We’re hosting the Super Bowl Innovation Summit! * F1: The Movie * Travelpro suitcases * Glue Guys Podcast * Sea of Stars * Stepchange Podcast More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

It’s finally here! Today we are releasing Acquired’s first “concert film” — the full video recording of our Radio City live show from this summer with Jamie Dimon, Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Barry Diller, and cameos from around the Acquired Cinematic Universe including Christina Cacioppo, Ben Clymer, and Howard Schultz. To watch the full production on any device, please head over to Spotify where you’ll find it available for free in the Acquired feed right alongside all our other episodes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/77Kl3BsiEQLpli2Q2ozZuf?si=4f4609e343504fd0 Sponsors: * Live Show Presented By: J.P. Morgan * Shopify * ServiceNow More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on future episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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.

In its first six years from 1998 to 2004, Google built one of the greatest products of all time (and certainly the greatest business of all time) with Search. Then in its next six years from 2005 to 2011, Google built seven (!) more billion+ user products: Gmail, Maps, Drive and Docs, YouTube, Chrome, Android, and Photos — all either started from scratch internally or acquired as startups that were still in their infancy. This six-year period of wild innovation STILL stands unmatched in technology history… no other tech company counts more than four billion+ user products in its portfolio total. And of course, this “Google 2.0” era culminated in the transformation of the very company itself into Alphabet. So the question we answer today is… how did they do it?? And why? What was the strategy that led a once “pure play” search company into such far flung fields as email, mapping, funny cat videos and operating systems? We unpack the brilliant (and sometimes accidental) strategies behind each product, the simultaneous three-front war Google fought against Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook, and the spectacular failure of Google Plus that nearly destroyed the company's culture — before ultimately setting the stage for both Alphabet and the AI revolution to come. Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Summer ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments * Anthropic * Statsig * Vercel Links: * Sign up for email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes! * Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat New Yorker article * Eric Schmidt on stage at the iPhone keynote (!) * Bill Gurley’s classic “Less than Free” Android post * Our recent ACQ2 episode with Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Alphabet Study * Episode sources Carve Outs: * Bluey x Camp in NYC * Steam Deck vs Switch 2 (Part 2) * Claude * Sony RX100 VII * Carissimi clothing More Acquired: * Get email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes! * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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 sit down with Jamie Dimon for a live conversation at Radio City Music Hall, covering the incredible journey from his 1998 firing at Citgroup (where he was widely expected to become CEO) to building the most powerful bank in the world. Today JPMorgan Chase is a juggernaut — the most systemically important non-governmental financial institution in the world, with over twice the market capitalization of its nearest competitor. But it certainly wasn’t always this way! Jamie takes us from his career restart at the struggling Chicago-based Bank One through how he transformed that platform into the foundation for the modern JPMorgan Chase. We dive into the “fortress balance sheet” strategy that has defined his tenure, and cover blow-by-blow Jamie’s approach to the Great Financial Crisis, Bear Stearns, WaMu, First Republic and more. Tune in for an incredible conversation, live from New York City’s most iconic venue! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Summer ‘25 Season partners: * J.P. Morgan Payments * Vercel * Anthropic * Statsig Episode image photo credit: Rockefeller Center More Acquired: * Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes * Join the Slack * Subscribe to ACQ2 * Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! ‍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 sit down with Steve Ballmer, the legendary former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, for an epic conversation covering his 34 years at Microsoft. Steve listened to our Microsoft episodes and had some thoughts to share — and boy, did he deliver. Steve takes us point-by-point through the original IBM DOS deal that started everything, how he built Microsoft's enterprise business from scratch, and offers his candid reflections on missing mobile and search. We also cover the story behind “developers, developers, developers”, the complexities of his relationship with Bill Gates (including a year where they didn't speak), and why he ultimately decided to step down as CEO. Plus, we learn why Steve has held onto his Microsoft stock through it all — giving him arguably the best investment track record in the world over the last 10 years with his net worth growing from $20B to $130B since leaving. And of course, we couldn't resist also talking about his other passion: the Clippers and Intuit Dome. Hit play and get ready to experience the patented Steve Ballmer energy and fun on full display! Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Steve's PowerPoint Slides * Join us July 15 at Radio City! 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍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.

What if we told you that the most important company in US healthcare was run from a farm in rural Wisconsin? And that farm contained the world’s largest subterranean auditorium, as well as Disneyland—style replicas of Hogwarts and the Emerald City? What if we told you that the person who started, runs and owns this establishment has legally ensured that it will never be sold, never go public and never acquire another company? And that this person, Judy Faulkner, is also likely the wealthiest and most successful self-made woman in history? Welcome to the story of Epic Systems, the software company that underpins the majority of the American healthcare system today. Epic isn’t “just” an electronic medical record (the category it’s usually lumped into), or an online patient portal (which is how most of the US population interacts with it via its MyChart application). It’s more akin to a central nervous system for hospitals and health clinics. Almost everything in a hospital — from patient interactions to billing, staffing, scheduling, prescriptions and even research — happens on Epic’s platform, and over 90% of American medical schools’ graduating doctors, nurses and health administrative staff are trained on it during their educations. Tune in as we dive into the almost-unbelievable story of how this epic company came to be! Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Save the date, July 15 in NYC! * Epic’s Verona campus * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Epic Systems Study * Episode sources Carve Outs: * Ken Block in San Francisco * Nintendo Switch 2 * Knives Out * Brat by Charli xcx * Music To Refine To: A Remix Companion to Severance by ODESZA 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍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.

When you saw this episode pop up in your feed, you either jumped for joy and hit play immediately (in which case you’re not reading this), or you said “Huh. That’s a surprising episode.” Well, if you’re in group two, boy do we have a treat for you! IPL is the fastest-growing, most dynamic and most disruptive force in the sports industry today… and this may come as a shock to many Americans, but it might just be on track to surpass the NFL as the world’s most valuable sports league. The IPL is currently valued at $16B, with a TV rights deal that’s higher in per-match dollars than the NBA and the English Premier League. And all this for a league that’s right now just 10 teams who collectively only play 74 total games per season… and oh yeah, the whole thing is only 17 years old! Tune in for an absolutely amazing story, filled with genius, drama (Rupert Murdoch! Disney! Bollywood!) and a perfect encapsulation of the rise of modern India. Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Save the date, July 15 in NYC! * Ed Cowan’s Business Breakdowns of IPL * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade IPL Study * Episode sources Carve Outs: * Severance * Stratechery 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

Rolex is a series of paradoxes. They sell obsolete and objectively inferior mechanical devices for 10-1000x the price of their superior digital successors… and demand is stronger than ever in history! Their products are comparable to a Hermès Birkin bag in price, luxury status and waitlist times… yet they produce over 1m units / year (roughly 10x annual Birkin production). They make the most universally recognized and desired Swiss watches… yet their founder wasn’t Swiss and didn’t start the company in Switzerland! If Rolex were publicly traded, they’d almost certainly be among the top 50 market cap companies in the world… yet they’re 100% owned by a charitable foundation in Geneva that (among other things) literally just gives away money to local people in the city. Tune in for one of the most fascinating and admirable companies we’ve ever covered on Acquired. We had an absolute blast making the episode, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * The Renaissance of the Swiss Watch Industry - Marc Bridge * HODINKEE - Inside All Four Rolex Manufacturing Facilities * “If you were…” campaign * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Rolex Study * Episode sources Carve Outs: * Bluey * Acquired on Armchair Expert * Eleven Reader 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍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 flew to Taiwan to interview TSMC Founder Morris Chang in a rare English interview. In fact, the last long-form video interview we could find was 17 years ago at the Computer History Museum… conducted by the one-and-only Jensen Huang! This episode came about after asking ourselves a version of the Jeff Bezos “regret minimization” question: what conversations would we most regret not having if the chance passed Acquired by? Dr. Chang was number one on our list, and thanks to a little help from Jensen himself, we’re so happy to make it happen. Dr. Chang shares the stories of a few crucial moments from TSMC’s history which have only been written about in his (currently Chinese-only) memoirs, including how TSMC won Apple’s iPhone and Mac chip business and a 2009 discrepancy with NVIDIA that almost jeopardized their relationship, and the lessons he took from them. We can’t think of a better way to kick off 2025. Please enjoy! Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade TSMC Study * Karina Bao’s writing Carve Outs: * AAA * Defunctland * Everything Everywhere all at Once * Asianometry 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC 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 dive into the unbelievable and unlikely history behind the quietest technology giant of them all: the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Founded in 1987 by the then-56 year old Morris Chang, already a legend in the semiconductor industry by virtue of his meteoric rise and fall at Texas Instruments, TSMC today manufactures nearly all the leading-edge chips for Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom, Qualcomm, AMD, and yes — even Intel. Tune in for an incredible story of innovation, perseverance and lasers. Lots and lots of lasers! Note: this is a remastered version of our original 2021 episode. We don’t often re-release old episodes, but in this case we have a very timely reason for doing so. Stay tuned! :) Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Episode Sources Carve Outs: * Ted Lasso (Season 1) * Greek * Who is Michael Ovitz? 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍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.

M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, Double Mint, Ben’s Rice, Pedigree, Whiskas, VCA, Banfield… all the brands you know, owned by the company you know nothing about: Mars, Incorporated. And Mars itself is 100% owned and deeply intertwined with the Mars family, who are currently the second wealthiest (and perhaps first most secretive!) family in the United States. Tune in for one of the 20th century’s most incredible entrepreneurial stories across candy and pet care, and one that’s all the more incredible because it’s so little-known! Sponsors: * WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25 * Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra * Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry * Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Links: * Hershey’s M&M response: Hershey-ets * Our past episodes on Berkshire Hathaway, LVMH, and Novo Nordisk * Worldly Partners Multi-Decade Mars Study * Episode sources Carve Outs: * Dandelion Chocolate and the Dandelion Advent Calendar * Tesla Model Y + repair service * Silo * Home Alone 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 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍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.