Holiday Special 2023
Discover the significant strides and broadened horizons of the "Acquired" podcast in the past year, as hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, along with guest David Senra, celebrate the growth of their listenership and the expansion of their content coverage in the Holiday Special 2023. They journeyed beyond tech to explore businesses across diverse sectors like sports and luxury, and revisited the evolution of legendary companies like Nintendo and Nike, while also unfolding the layers of Visa's story which Rosenthal highly regards.
In a reflection of the past year, "Acquired" offers insights into their varied favorites, with Gilbert expressing a penchant for LVMH’s luxury tales and Visa's narrative, while Rosenthal shares a personal, albeit challenging, connection with the Nike episode. They pledge to continue producing evergreen episodes that outlive the transient news cycle, promising to enrich their community engagement and honor the listener feedback that shapes their journey. The hosts' genuine gratitude is palpable as they look forward to another year of sharing influential business tales with their devoted audience.
This is a preview of the Shortform summary of the Dec 17, 2023 episode of the Acquired
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1-Page Summary
Acquired Franchise Year-in-Review
State of growth
This year, the "Acquired" podcast experienced a significant increase in listenership, doubling in size from a quarter million to half a million. The hosts, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, express great appreciation for this growth and credit their audience's engagement and their commitment to delivering quality content for the podcast's success.
Recap of 2023 Acquired episodes
In 2023, "Acquired" widened their episode range, highlighting various companies' intricate details and successes. Their coverage spanned multiple industries, from the NFL to luxury conglomerate LVMH, helping Ben Gilbert appreciate the world of luxury brands. They delved into the stories of iconic brands such as Nintendo, Lockheed Martin with special guest Doug DeMero, and Nike, a personal but challenging episode for David Rosenthal, finishing with the unique business model of Costco.
Nvidia part 3
One standout discussion featured Nvidia and included a mention of Crusoe, a provider that utilizes Nvidia's advanced GPU technology for cloud infrastructure services.
Visa (David's pick for best episode)
Rosenthal singled out the Visa episode as a personal best, capturing what he describes as an "NFL Sunday" flow state, achieving the ideal balance during the recording process, which enhanced the overall enjoyment and quality of the episode.
Evolved from tech companies focus to great companies broadly
Initially concentrating on technology companies, "Acquired" has seamlessly transitioned to feature stories of outstanding business achievements across a wider array of sectors. Episodes about non-tech companies such as Costco and LVMH provided valuable lessons that are surprisingly relevant to the tech industry.
Favorite episodes
While Ben Gilbert favors the episodes on LVMH and Visa, David Rosenthal has a special connection with the Nike episode, despite feeling it wasn't his finest work due to over-preparation.
Approach is focusing on evergreen, high-quality content vs. news, events, interviews
Rather than following current trends, the hosts of "Acquired" strive to create timeless content. They only conduct interviews when they can delve deep into a subject, leveraging their extensive knowledge, as demonstrated in conversations with well-known figures like Daniel Ek and Charlie Munger.
Team focusing more on investing in community directly
The hosts acknowledge the valuable role of listener engagement and feedback, as seen in the corrected information provided for the Visa episode. Going forward, they plan to enhance their direct investment in the listener community.
Gratitude to community and commitment to keep improving
The team behind the "Acquired" podcast extends their sincere thanks to their listeners for their crucial role in the show's continued growth. They remain committed to improving and deliver top-tier content, looking forward to the advancements the coming year may bring.
1-Page Summary
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- Crusoe is a company that repurposes natural gas flaring into energy-intensive computing. They use Nvidia's advanced GPU technology to power their cloud infrastructure services, leveraging the GPUs' processing power for their computational needs. This partnership allows Crusoe to efficiently process complex computations while reducing waste and environmental impact.
Counterarguments
- While the podcast's growth is commendable, doubling listenership may not necessarily indicate a deeper level of engagement or loyalty from the new listeners.
- The wide range of companies covered could potentially dilute the podcast's brand if listeners originally came for tech-focused content and are not interested in other sectors.
- The transition to covering various business sectors might leave some long-time listeners who prefer tech content feeling alienated or less interested.
- Focusing on evergreen content is a strategic choice, but it may result in the podcast being less responsive to current events that listeners might expect them to cover.
- Investing more in the listener community is positive, but it could also lead to challenges in scaling this engagement as the audience continues to grow.
- Expressing gratitude to listeners is important, but it must be paired with tangible actions that benefit the community to ensure that it's not perceived as mere lip service.
- Personal connections to episodes, such as David Rosenthal's with the Nike episode, might bias the content, potentially affecting the objectivity and balance of the discussion.
- The emphasis on high-quality content over interviews assumes that interviews cannot be evergreen or high-quality, which may not always be the case.
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Acquired Franchise Year-in-Review
2023 marks a significant year for the "Acquired" podcast. Hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal reflect on the show’s exponential growth and shared insights from their diverse episodes, while also thanking the community of listeners and committing to continuous improvement.
State of growth: doubled to half a million listeners this year
David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert express their awe and gratitude for the podcast's growth, having doubled its listenership from a quarter million last year to half a million this year. They attribute this success to their community's support and their dedication to creating high-quality content.
Recap of 2023 Acquired episodes
This year, "Acquired" covered a range of topics highlighting the complexities and triumphs of various companies. The episodes delved into the histories of the NFL, LVMH—which opened Ben Gilbert to understanding luxury brands—Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, and Porsche with guest Doug DeMero. They also explored Nike, which although David’s favorite wasn't considered his best due to feeling over-prepared, and Costco.
Nvidia part 3
A notable episode discusses Nvidia, with a shoutout to Crusoe, a cloud infrastructure provider leveraging the latest Nvidia GPUs.
Visa (David's pick for best episode - captured the "NFL Sunday" flow state)
David Rosenthal specifically praises the Visa episode for capturing what he coined an "NFL Sunday" flow state, an episode where they felt the joy of podcasting with just the right amount of preparation.
Evolved from tech companies focus to great companies broadly
The "Acquired" franchise has evolved from a tech-centric focus to covering impactful stories of excellence in business across various industries. Hosts found that lessons from non-tech episodes such as Costco and LVMH were unexpectedly applicable to the realm of technology.
Favorite episodes
Ben Gilbert cites LVMH and Visa as his top episodes, while David Rosenthal holds the Nike feature close to his heart despite its imperfection in his eyes.
Approach is focusing on evergreen, high-quality c ...
Here’s what you’ll find in our full summary
Acquired Franchise Year-in-Review
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- The "Acquired" podcast is a show that delves into the histories of notable companies and explores their successes and challenges. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal are the hosts of the podcast, sharing insights and analysis on various business stories and industry trends. They have a dedicated following and are known for their in-depth research and engaging storytelling style. The podcast has evolved to cover a wide range of companies and industries, offering valuable lessons and perspectives on business excellence.
- The "Acquired" podcast covered a variety of companies in 2023, including the NFL, LVMH, Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, Porsche, Nike, and Costco. Each episode delved into the history and impact of these companies, providing insights into their successes and challenges. The hosts, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, explored different aspects of these companies with the help of guest speakers like Doug DeMero. The episodes aimed to showcase the complexities and triumphs of these businesses while drawing lessons applicable across industries.
- Crusoe Energy Systems is a company that repurposes natural gas from oil drilling into electricity for cryptocurrency mining. They utilize mobile, modular data centers powered by this gas, reducing waste and environmental impact. Crusoe's innovative approach helps oil companies reduce flaring while providing a more sustainable method for cryptocurrency mining. The mention of Crusoe in the context of Nvidia's episode on the "Acquired" podcast highlights their collaboration in utilizing Nvidia GPUs for cloud infrastructure.
- The "Acquired" podcast transitioned its focus from solely covering tech companies to showcasing successful companies across various industries. This shift allowed the hosts to explore diverse business narratives and extract valuable lessons applicable beyond the tech sector. By broadening their scope, they aimed to offer a more comprehensive view of excellence in business and cater to a wider audience interested in compelling company stories.
- The "Acquired" podcast hosts found that lessons learned from episodes featuring non-tech companies like Costco and LVMH could be applied to the tech industry. This cross-industry learning approach allowed them to draw parallels between business strategies, leadership styles, and operational excellence that transcend specific sectors. By exploring diverse business narratives, they discovered universal principles and insights that could be adapted and implemented in the tech realm. This broader perspective enriched their understanding of business success beyond the confines of the tech sector.
- Daniel Ek is the co-founder and CEO of Spotify, a popular music streaming service. Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of Uber, a well-known ride-hailing and food delivery company. Jensen Huang is the co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, a leading technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs). Charlie Munger i ...
Counterarguments
- While the podcast's growth is impressive, doubling listenership may not necessarily indicate a doubling of engagement or listener retention.
- Attributing success solely to community support and content quality may overlook other factors such as marketing efforts, industry trends, or changes in consumer behavior.
- The focus on a range of companies is commendable, but it could potentially alienate long-time listeners who were initially drawn to the tech-centric nature of the podcast.
- The shift from tech companies to a broader range of industries might dilute the podcast's unique selling proposition and expertise in the tech field.
- The hosts' favorite episodes may not align with audience preferences, and the reasons for their preferences might not be fully transparent or relatable to listeners.
- Prioritizing evergreen content over news and interviews could result in missed opportunities to cover timely topics that are of current interest to listeners.
- The strategy of conducting interviews only with extensive past research might l ...
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