The Steve Ballmer Interview

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

24 Apr 20191h 43min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

30 Mar 20192h 21min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

26 Feb 20191h 15min

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!Sponsors:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

19 Feb 201940min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

3 Feb 20191h 27min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

21 Jan 20191h 27min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

17 Des 20181h 54min

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:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: 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

25 Nov 20181h 29min