Acquired
Podcast

Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

217 episodes

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

What this show covers

business historybusiness strategystreamingmedia strategysports businessretail historyfounderscorporate turnaroundHome DepotacquisitionsDisneyFormula 1media rightsBernie EcclestoneLiberty Media

What listeners will find here

How Home Depot turned a firing into retail’s greatest compounding story
Home Depot traces how Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank went from getting fired at a hardware chain to building an all-time stock market winner. The episode follows the company from scrappy first stores and IPO through leadership crises, cultural resets, and its modern Pro and DIY machine.
How Disney went from near-breakup to the defining media empire of its era
Disney’s modern history is a cycle of collapse, reinvention, and scale. This episode follows the company from its 1984 crisis through the Eisner renaissance, the ESPN windfall, Iger’s acquisition spree, and the streaming-era pressures reshaping the empire again.
Why Formula 1 became a global sports juggernaut—and a $3.6B-per-team business
This preview is based on the published show notes, not the full audio. The episode frames F1 as elite sport, engineering arms race, and high-drama business story, tracing its path from dangerous chaos under Bernie Ecclestone to Liberty Media’s modern, highly valuable era.
How the NFL became America’s biggest sports business machine
This preview is based on the episode’s published show notes, not the audio itself. Acquired frames the NFL as both a cultural institution and a sweeping business story, tracing its rise from small-town teams to a multibillion-dollar media powerhouse, with a long update on streaming, gambling, Taylor Swift’s impact, and private equity.
Why Ferrari’s tiny car business and massive F1 fandom strengthen each other
This preview is based only on the episode notes. Acquired appears to frame Ferrari as a rare company that combines extreme luxury scarcity with one of the world’s most passionate sports brands, tracing how that tension was built across decades of family drama, racing, and business reinvention.

Episodes

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