Google
Acquired30 Kesä

Google

We tell the story of the single greatest business ever created: Google search. From its origins as a Stanford research project called BackRub, Google became the front door to the internet. Today it’s an essential service for over half the world, and one that generates more profit than ANY other US company — more than Apple, Microsoft, or Berkshire Hathaway.

But it wasn’t always so obvious. When Larry and Sergey began working on BackRub in 1996, search was a backwater industry in silicon valley. Existing search companies were eking out a living as vendors to the then-dominant “portals” like AOL and Yahoo. Google’s come-from-behind success was the result of three massive step-function leaps forward in algorithms, infrastructure and business model… some invented by Google and some borrowed (and perfected!) by them.

Today, things are not so obvious once again for Google. Despite earning more profits than all of its big tech peers, its stock trades at significantly lower multiples — a $1 trillion or more discount to Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia. Investors are concerned that AI will render Google’s beautiful business model obsolete, even though Google also basically invented modern AI and continues to lead on many dimensions. This episode begins a multi-part series where we dive into the full history that led us to this point. Tune in and enjoy!

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‍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.

Jaksot(205)

The Shopify IPO

The Shopify IPO

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressLinks: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

6 Elo 20191h 30min

Huawei

Huawei

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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

22 Heinä 20191h 7min

Superhuman (with CEO Rahul Vohra)

Superhuman (with CEO Rahul Vohra)

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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/

27 Kesä 20191h 20min

The Slack DPO

The Slack DPO

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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

25 Kesä 20191h 58min

The Zoom IPO (with Santi Subotovsky)

The Zoom IPO (with Santi Subotovsky)

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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/

19 Kesä 20191h 21min

The Electronic Arts IPO (with Trip Hawkins)

The Electronic Arts IPO (with Trip Hawkins)

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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

27 Touko 20192h 3min

The Uber IPO

The Uber IPO

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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

11 Touko 20192h 24min

The Pinterest IPO

The Pinterest IPO

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:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore 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

24 Huhti 20191h 42min

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