Founders

What I learned from reading Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. ---- Cicero, learned man that he was, believed in self-improvement so long as breath lasts.In business we often find that the winning system goes almost ridiculously far in maximizing and/or minimizing one or a few variables-like the discount warehouses of Costco."Invert, always invert." It is in the nature of things, as Jacobi knew, that many hard problems are best solved only when they are addressed backward.It's quite interesting to think about Wal-Mart starting from a single store in Arkansas-against Sears with its name, reputation and all of its billions. How does a guy in Bentonville, Arkansas, with no money, blow right by Sears? And he does it in his own lifetime-in fact, during his own late lifetime because he was already pretty old by the time he started out with one little store. He played the chain store game harder and better than else. Walton anyone invented practically nothing. But he copied everything anybody else ever did that was smart. So he blew right by them all.Charlie's redundancy in expressions and examples is purposeful: for the kind of deep "fluency" he advocates, he knows that repetition is the heart of instruction.He enjoyed challenging the conventional wisdom of teachers and fellow students with his ever-increasing knowledge gained through voracious reading, particularly biographies.He never forgot the sound principles taught by his grandfather: to concentrate on the task immediately in front of him and to control spending.I would say everything about Charlie is unusual. I've been looking for the usual now for forty years, and I have yet to find it. Charlie marches to his own music, and it's music like virtually no one else is listening to. So, I would say that to try and typecast Charlie in terms of any other human that I can think of, no one would fit. He's got his own mold.Charlie Munger has spent a professional lifetime studying lives that have worked well and others that have glitches or have experienced failures.Despite his healthy self-image, Charlie would prefer to be anonymous.I am a biography nut myself. And I think when you're trying to teach the great concepts that work, it helps to tie them into the lives and personalities of the people who developed them. I think you learn economics better if you make Adam Smith your friend. That sounds funny, making friends among 'the eminent dead,' but if you go through life making friends with the eminent dead who had the right ideas, I think it will work better for you in life and work better in education. It's way better than just giving the basic concepts.His underlying philosophical view was one of deep and realistic cynicism about human nature, including a distaste for pure mob rule and demagogues.Find out what you're best at and keep pounding away at it. This has always been Charlie's basic approach to life.Take a simple idea and take it seriously.Charlie likes the analogy of looking at one's ideas and approaches as "tools." “When a better tool (idea or approach) comes along, what could be better than to swap it for your old, less useful tool?Warren and I routinely do this, but most people, cling to their old, less useful tools."Henry Singleton has the best operating and capital deployment record in American business...if one took the 100 top business school graduates and made a composite of their triumphs, their record would not be as good as Singleton's.You have to figure out what your own aptitudes are. If you play games where other people have the aptitudes and you don't, you're going to lose. And that's as close to certain as any prediction that you can make. You have to figure out where you've got an edge. And you've got to play within your own circle of competence.The other aspect of avoiding vicarious wisdom is the rule for not learning from the best work done before yours. . .There once was a man who assiduously mastered the work of his best predecessors, despite a poor start and very tough time. Eventually, his own work attracted wide attention, and he said of his work: “If I have seen a little farther than other men, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants."In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time-none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren reads-and at how much I read.There is no better teacher than history in determining the future. There are answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth.

What I learned by reading Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders by Warren Buffett. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson Sr. and The Making of IBM by Kevin Maney. ---- ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler by Thomas Hager. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Barnstormer and The Lady: Aviation Legends Walter and Olive Ann Beech by Dennis Farney. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Onassis: The Definitive Biography by Willi Frischauer. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World by Jill Jonnes. Jeff Bezos on The Electricity Metaphor for the Web's Future ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy. --- In my Confessions of an Advertising Man I told the story of how Ogilvy & Mather came into existence, and set forth the principles on which our early success had been based. What was then little more than a creative boutique in New York has since become one of the four biggest advertising agencies in the world, with 140 offices in 40 countries. Our principles seem to work. I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.’ Does old age disqualify me from writing about advertising in today’s world? Or could it be that perspective helps a man to separate the eternal verities of advertising from its passing fads? Consumers still buy products whose advertising promises them value for money, beauty, nutrition, relief from suffering, social status and so on. All I do is report on how consumers react to different stimuli. I ask you to forgive me for oversimplifying some complicated subjects, and for the dogmatism of my style – the dogmatism of brevity. We are both in a hurry. I have seen one advertisement actually sell not twice as much, not three times as much, but 19½ times as much as another. Both advertisements occupied the same space. Both were run in the same publication. Both had photographic illustrations. Both had carefully written copy. The difference was that one used the right appeal and the other used the wrong appeal. Do your homework You don’t stand a tinker’s chance of producing successful advertising unless you start by doing your homework. I have always found this extremely tedious, but there is no substitute for it. On product positioning: Now consider how you want to ‘position’ your product. This curious verb is in great favor among marketing experts, but no two of them agree what it means. My own definition is ‘what the product does, and who it is for.’ I could have positioned Dove as a detergent bar for men with dirty hands, but chose instead to position it as a toilet bar for women with dry skin. This is still working 25 years later. When asked what was the best asset a man could have, Albert Lasker – the most astute of all advertising men – replied, ‘Humility in the presence of a good idea.’ It is horribly difficult to recognize a good idea. I shudder to think how many I have rejected. Make the product the hero. There are no dull products, only dull writers. The idea of a positively good product: It may be sufficient to convince consumers that your product is positively good. If the consumer feels certain that your product is good and feels uncertain about your competitor’s, he will buy yours. ‘If you and your competitors all make excellent products, don’t try to imply that your product is better. Just say what’s good about your product – and do a clearer, more honest, more informative job of saying it. Repeat your winners If you are lucky enough to write a good advertisement, repeat it until it stops selling. Scores of good advertisements have been discarded before they lost their potency. You aren’t advertising to a standing army; you are advertising to a moving parade. In my experience, committees can criticize, but they cannot create. Search the parks in all your cities You’ll find no statues of committees. The good ones know more. I asked an indifferent copywriter what books he had read about advertising. He told me that he had not read any; he preferred to rely on his own intuition. Why should our clients be expected to bet millions of dollars on your intuition?’ This willful refusal to learn the rudiments of the craft is all too common. For 35 years I have continued on the course charted by Gallup, collecting factors the way other men collect pictures and postage stamps. If you choose to ignore these factors, good luck to you. A blind pig can sometimes find truffles, but it helps to know that they are found in oak forests. Most good copywriters all into two categories poets and killers. Poets see an ad as an end. Killers as a means to an end. If you are both killer and poet, you get rich.Set yourself to becoming the best-informed person in the agency on the account to which you are assigned. If, for example, it is a gasoline account, read books on oil geology and the production of petroleum products. Read the trade journals in the field. Spend Saturday mornings in service stations, talking to motorists. Visit your client’s refineries and research laboratories. At the end of your first year, you will know more about the oil business than your boss, and be ready to succeed him.Be personal, direct and natural. You are a human being writing to another human being. Neither of you is an institution. You s

What I learned from reading Rolls-Royce: The First Forty Years of Britain's Most Prestigious Company by Peter Pugh. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Today and Tomorrow by Henry Ford. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark How is it that Charlie—who trained as a meteorologist and a lawyer and never took a single college course in economics, marketing, finance, or accounting—became one of the greatest business and investing geniuses of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? Therein lies the mystery. [0:44] Charlie Munger was learning this important investment skill while playing poker with his army buddies. That’s where he learned to fold his hand when the odds were against him and bet heavy when the odds were with him, a strategy he later adapted to investing. [11:12] Charlie thought a lot about business during that time. He made a habit of asking people what was the best business they knew of. He longed to join the rich elite clientele his silk-stocking law firm served. He decided that each day he would devote one hour of his time at the office to work on his own real estate projects, and by doing so he completed five. He has said that the first million dollars he put together was the hardest money he ever earned. It was also during that period that he realized he would never become really rich practicing law; he’d have to find something else. [12:18] Warren, in summing up Charlie’s impact on his investment style over the last fifty-seven years, said, “Charlie shoved me in the direction of not just buying bargains, as Ben Graham had taught me. This was the real impact that he had on me. It took a powerful force to move me on from Graham’s limiting view. It was the power of Charlie’s mind.” [15:33] Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant. [17:39] “People are trying to be smart—all I am trying to do is not to be idiotic, but it’s harder than most people think.” [17:58] All good things in life come from compounding. [19:34] This important investment philosophy assumes that one is better off buying a business with exceptional business economics working in its favor and holding it for many years than engaging in a lot of buying and selling. [19:42] Charlie knows that time is a good friend to a business that has exceptional economics working in its favor, but for a mediocre business time can be a curse. [20:25] Andrew Carnegie says in his autobiography you should study how the great fortunes are made. It's not a scattershot approach. They identified the best business possible and they put all their energy and effort into it. That's certainly what Andrew Carnegie did. [22:39] Charlie makes the point that Berkshire Hathaway probably has the most successful investment record in humanity. That is a hell of a statement and he is probably right. [26:10] Charlie advocates keeping $10 million in cash, and Berkshire keeps $72 billion sitting around in cash, waiting for the right deal to show up. The lousy return their cash balances are getting is a trade-off—poor initial rate of return in exchange for years of high returns from finding excellent businesses selling at a fair price. This is an element of the Munger investment equation that is almost always misunderstood. Why? Because most investors cannot image that sitting on a large pool of cash year after year, waiting for the right investment, could possibly be a winning investment strategy, let alone one that would make them superrich. [27:11] “I think that, every time you see the word EBITDA, you should substitute the word ‘bullshit earnings.’ ” [28:52] You have to wait for the right company—one with a durable competitive advantage—that is selling at the right price. And when Charlie says wait, he means wait as long as it takes, which can mean years. Warren got out of the stock market in the late 1960s, and he waited five years before he found anything he was interested in buying. [31:10] When Charlie and Warren say that they intend to hold an investment forever, they mean forever! Who on Wall Street would ever make such a statement? That’s one of the reasons Charlie and Warren have never worried about anyone mimicking their investment style—because no other institution or individual has the discipline or patience to wait as long as they can. [31:46] Charlie and Warren’s theory is that a company with a durable competitive advantage has business economics that will expand the underlying value of the business over time, and the more time passes, the more the company’s value will expand. Thus, once the purchase is made, it is wisest to sit on the investment as long as possible, because the longer we own the company, the more it grows in value, and the more it grows in value, the richer we become. [34:48] “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent. There must be some wisdom in the folk saying: ‘It’s the strong swimmers who drown.’ ” [36:14] One is actually better o

What I learned from reading Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing by Randall Stross. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Return to the Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs and the Creation of Appleby Michael Moritz. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Henry Clay Frick: The Life of the Perfect Capitalist by Quentin Skrabec Jr. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Carnegie. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America by Les Standiford. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee by Stan Lee and George Mair. Marvel is a cornucopia of fantasy, a wild idea, a swashbuckling attitude, an escape from the humdrum and prosaic. It's a serendipitous feast for the mind, the eye, and the imagination, a literate celebration of unbridled creativity, coupled with a touch of rebellion and an insolent desire to spit in the eye of the dragon (1:15) discovering his love of reading at an early age (8:45) accidentally finding his life's work at 17 years old / hilarious level of optimism (12:35), there is opportunity in things that other people say will rot your brain (22:30) Stan Lee's advice on writing (26:00) be your own biggest fan (28:00) the turning point of Stan Lee's life (38:20) humans scorn the abstract (45:20) a lesson in human nature (51:30) the power of direct sales (55:29) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

"To read Bezos’ shareholder letters is to get a crash course in running a high-growth internet business from someone who mastered it before any of the playbooks were written." ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World by Mark Spitznagel. Klipp's Paradox (0:01) the whole point of my approach to investing is that we must be willing to adopt the indirect route to achieve our goals (14:00) finding his life's work (19:00) if my children will only read one book on economics I would be Economics in One Lesson (25:30) why it is always possible to start new, successful companies (30:00) the point is not to go slow to stay glow. it is to go slow now so you can go faster later (34:15) Robinson Crusoe and roundabout production (39:30) Henry Ford as the quintessential roundabout entrepreneur (45:00) how Mark uses roundabout in his investing (54:00) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Goodyear Story: An Inventor's Obsession and The Struggle For A Rubber Monopoly by Richard Korman. An obsessive quest to find the recipe for rubber (0:01) Charles Goodyear epitomized the spirit of the upstart American technologists (6:15) the early life of Goodyear's family (20:10) coming up with the idea for a domestic made only hardware store (29:00) a crushing failure + debtor's prison (35:20) accidentally finding his life's work (38:18) optimism + positive mental attitude (44:30) Patent #3633 (1:03:30) why Charles did what he did (1:11:30) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. The cameraman was excited and more than a little nervous. In a matter of moments he would enjoy a unique opportunity: the chance to snap the first unposed picture ever taken of the richest man in the world. The strange thing was that most Americans had never even heard of Daniel Keith Ludwig.How could a man in these days of mass media coverage and public obsession with world records, manage to accumulate a $3 billion fortune with hardly anyone becoming aware of it?Obsessed with privacy, he reportedly pays a major public relations firm fat fees to keep his name out of the papers.Daniel Ludwig is a man nobody knows yet his tanker fleet rivals those of the fabulous Greeks whose names are symbols of wealth. His empire began with shipping, grew big with shipbuilding, is branching out now into other fields.With Ludwig, work is almost an obsession. Spartan in personal habits, business gets almost 100% of his attention. Once a project begins Ludwig doesn't rest easy until completion date. Ludwig’s most notable characteristic, besides his imagination and pertinacity, is a lifelong penchant for keeping his mouth shut.He is interested in achievement, not fame.I'm in this business because I like it. I have no hobbies.D.K. was strictly a solo act. His zest for these operations is that of the lone wolf. He shares neither the rewards nor the risks with anyone.Ludwig doesn't drink much, he doesn't smoke at all, he doesn't entertain lavishly. He counts cakories religiously. His only bad habit is work and that he can't stop.Even as a boy Daniel exhibited a strong drive toward the acquisition of money.During the mid-to-late-1920s Ludwig was more involved in buying and selling ships than he was in operating them.The result was that hundreds of government-owned vessels, built at taxpayers' expense, were being sold off at well below cost both to legitimate shippers and to speculators who did the minimum required renovation work and then sold the ships for a quick profit.He never liked spending money unless there was a good chance that it would make him more.The advantage of bulk carriers was versatility; these ships were to be designed in such a way that they could haul either dry cargo (coal or metal ores) or liquids (petroleum or gasoline) without expensive, time-consuming structural conversion. If the oil market fell off, a bulk carrier could haul ore for a while. Or it could haul oil in one direction and coal or ore on the voyage home.Ludwig needed a way to obtain ready money without either taking partners or assuming heavy mortgages. His early experiences with partnerships had been costly, and borrowing to finance ship renovation was no better. It was at this time that D.K. came up with the "two-name paper" arrangement he later said was the chief reason for his wealth. It all sounded so simple: go to an oil company; get it to sign a long-term charter to ship so much oil on a regular basis; take the charter to a bank and, using it as collateral, obtain a loan to build or renovate a ship to haul the oil to fulfill the charter. The plan was legal, logical, and ingenious.He was able to start his climb toward being the world's biggest shipper mainly because he had finally managed to hook into the big time. He was now hauling oil for the Rockefeller empire.One of the main reasons he had been buying old ships was to salvage and sell the parts removed during renovation. When he purchased a surplus ship he could recoup much of his investment by selling off the old engine and other machinery. Marine salvage was as familiar to D.K. as his own face in the mirror.Some years later, the captain of a Ludwig ship made the extravagant mistake of mailing in a report of several pages held together by a paper clip. He received a sharp rebuke: "We do not pay to send ironmongery by air mail!"D.K.'s tightfistedness, however, persisted after the Depression, putting him in sharp contrast to such free spenders as Onassis and Niarchos. It also was largely responsible for many of his innovations in the shipbuilding industry.Most of Ludwig's shipbuilding innovations were aimed toward a single goal: increasing payload without increasing cost. He was ever on the lookout for ways to reduce tanker design to the bare-bones minimum. His ships had much thinner decks than the industry standard. A modification that meant less weight and a smaller fuel bill.D.K.'s ridding his ships of any feature that did not contribute to profits pleased his own obsessive sense of economy and kept him a step ahead of the competition. When someone asked why he didn't put a grand piano aboard his ships, as Stavros Niarchos did, Ludwig snapped, "You can't carry oil in a grand piano."He had learned something by now. Opportunities exist on the frontiers where most men dare not venture, and it is often the case that the farther the frontier, the greater the opportunity.Much of Ludwig's success was d

What I learned from reading The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty by J. Randy Taraborrelli. 100 years ago he was a man with $5000 to his name (0:01) the curse of the ambitious/early life + work (6:35) Conrad Hilton is inspired by Helen Keller's optimism (13:00) the first Hilton hotel + more failed businesses (14:45) Conrad at 32 years old /falling back into the Hotel business by accident (25:30) losing it all / The Great Depression (35:00) The Great Depression's effect on his business and marriage (49:00) Conrad's advice on how to make decisions (56:22) Conrad Hilton's philosophy on money (1:03:47) it is important to have friends around you that increase your ambition (1:11:30) the regrets of Conrad Hilton (1:23:48) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Henry J. Kaiser: Builder in the Modern American West by Mark Foster. He built giant businesses in roads, bridges, dams, housing, cement, aluminum, chemicals, steel, health care, and tourism. (0:01) starting a joint venture with Howard Hughes (6:40) learning how not to run a business (12:00) how Kaiser was able to start his own business with no money (18:00) I decided to pick one fellow I wanted most to work for and concentrate on him. (23:15) how Henry Kaiser used passion and enthusiasm to start a construction company in Vancouver (30:00) using the leverage that technology provides or how to make big jobs small (44:00) very difficult work + fewer people willing to do it = opportunity (50:40) how Kaiser goes from never building ships to having 200,000 employees building ships (1:00:00), Kaiser promoted himself as an industrialist populist (1:13:00) Kaiser's managerial style (1:15:00) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History by William C. Rempel. ---- [0:16] He was a humble man privately proud of his accomplishments, a business genius who ignored his MBA advisers, a daring aviator and movie mogul, a gambler at the casino and on Wall Street who played the odds in both houses with uncanny skill. [4:34] Kirk believed there was no point in placing small bets. [16:48] He was a day laborer at MGA studios. He made $2.60 a day. Thirty years later he owned MGM and his investment was returning $260,000 a day. [21:27] His low tolerance for mistakes and recklessness made him a demanding instructor. He often repeated the mantra: There are old pilots and there are bold pilots—but there are no old, bold pilots. [46:54] He still relished big risks. And he subscribed to the logic of his friend and casino owner Wilbur Clark of the Desert Inn: “The smaller your bet, the more you lose when you win.” Besides, what’s the point—where’s the thrill—winning a small wager? Betting the limit became Kirk’s trademark. [53:26] Kirk was now sitting on stock worth more than $66 million, a vast fortune by any measure. And no one was more surprised than he was. [1:09:03] Kirk blamed Kirk. He had let himself become vulnerable. He hated that. He hated feeling helpless and at the mercy of forces beyond his control. He vowed never to let anything like that happen again. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets. ---- It is my work I am congratulated on, and to me, that's the only thing that counts (0:01) I've been miserable in a life that from the outside seemed magnificent (4:15) The maxims of Coco Chanel (6:43) Coco on marketing (13:22) Coco's early life (15:15) My need for independence began to develop when I was very young. (18:53) Coco Chanel at 20 (28:15) the beginning of her empire (34:00) I have nothing and I know I can do anything. (37:00) relentlessly resourceful / a metaphor on how to create opportunity (41:04) Coco goes to war for her profits - and wins (48:45) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned by from reading The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich by Daniel Ammann. ---- The spot market for oil was one of the most lucrative ideas of the twentieth century. [0:01] the historical events intertwined with the career of Marc Rich [5:15] how his family escapes the Nazi's [12:00] his first jobs + learning from his father + finding his vocation [14:30] learning the commodities business from A to Z [20:00] his work environment was training for entrepreneurship + how he thought about the opportunity in oil [30:30] Marc gets screwed on pay so he starts his own company [35:00] why Marc chose Switzerland as the headquarters of Marc Rich + Co. [37:00] why the invention of the spot market was important [43:00] why Marc Rich thought he was exempt from Jimmy Carter's executive order [46:15] the state of his business in 1990 [1:01:00] how to lose $172,000,000 [1:14:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin. ---- [0:01] Why Ben Franklin wrote an autobiography [4:50] Ben Franklin's early education and first job [7:30] starting out in the printing business [11:00] Writing had been of great use to me in the course of my life, and was a principal means of my advancement [16:45] his humble arrival in Philadelphia [25:00] Ben Franklin's time in London [29:00] how the mind of Benjamin Franklin worked [34:30] the opportunity to start your his own business [41:15] industry is virtuous [46:20] Ben understood branding [48:15] Ben Franklin creates the first subscription library [54:30] Ben Franklin's 13 virtues ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. ---- Such was the beginning of a revolution [0:01] The economic benefits arise not from innovation itself, but from the entrepreneurs who eventually discover ways to put innovations to practical use. [15:30] the basic idea was around for decades [17:30] Malcom's early life and first business [23:00] McLean had an obsessive focus on cutting costs [33:00] the beginning of Malcom McLean's idea [37:00] McLean's definition of total commitment [41:00] McLean's fundamental insight [48:00] fixing the business by focusing on the customer's real problem [53:40] the surprising reason containers are standardized [1:00:00] Daniel K. Ludwig and Malcom McLean [1:07:00] Malcom McLean sells his business [1:13:00] Starting another business [1:21:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Responsible Company: What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 Years by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley. ---- When I die and go to hell, the devil is going to make me the marketing director for a cola company. I’ll be in charge of trying to sell a product that no one needs, is identical to its competition, and can’t be sold on its merits. (0:01) What Patagonia was meant to be (8:25) Everyone wants to feel useful (11:00) a short history of companies (14:30) the definition of meaningful work (26:00) more human, less corporate (40:30) Yvon's ancestors and their working conditions (46:00) the benefits of long term thinking (49:00) build something useful and don't bullshit (57:00) Don't do things that have no useful purpose / being bold can lead to new discoveries / we need more small businesses (1:04:00) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters; The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire. ---- He was a film director, a producer, a test pilot, inventor, investor, and entrepreneur [0:01] the start of Hughes Tool Company [13:00] during a gold rush sell pickaxe's / great idea about leasing drill bits [19:00] Howard Hughes Jr is on his own at 18 years old [26:00] starting out in the movie business [32:00] his first plane crash/divorce [38:00] Howard Hughes goes broke [48:00] Howard Hughes breaks the world record for the fastest flight around the world / Hitler was always an asshole [56:00] Henry Kaiser and the birth of The Hercules [1:05:00] his 4th plane crash and descent into madness [1:14:00] Howard Hughe's M.O. on corruption and bribes [1:26:00] I am not really interested in people. I am interested in science. –Howard Hughes [1:29:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John Bogle ---- Gentlemen, cut your costs. [4:00] the benefits of being forced to work early on in life [7:00] I'll never forget the inspiration when I read this quote: The force of his mind overcame his every impediment. [9:30] the traits he needed to found Vanguard [12:00] what John thinks we should be doing better [13:30] create things that help other people/Charlie Munger [17:30] When a business fails people want to know their revenue. I want to know their costs [19:30] the past is not a prologue in the financial markets... please, please, please don't count on it. [23:00] Einstein well understood the limits of quantification / the way we act and the way we measure are in conflict [26:00] Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome. –Charlie Munger / If you get the incentives right when you start the company you will grow. [35:00] A rule of life: Press On, Regardless [39:00] 10 reasons why I bother to battle [44:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Stay the Course: The Story of Vanguard and the Index Revolution. ---- This is a story of a revolution [0:01] what Vanguard does and why? [7:00] the seed of the idea that eventually becomes Vanguard [10:00] switching from conservative investing to speculation / when humans are scared they copy the behavior of those around them [17:00] John gets fired. He decides to fight back. [31:00] if you know why you are doing what you are doing you are less likely to quit [41:00] staying the course gives you a massive advantage because most humans quit [53:00] We must never underrate the power of compounding investment returns, and always avoid the tyranny of compounding investment costs.– John Bogle [59:00] eliminating the 50-year tradition of sales commission [1:01:00] a failure caused by focusing on competition and not learning from the past [1:06:00] the Founders Mentality [1:07:30] personal reflections and a memoir of sorts [1:11:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success ---- Reality is chaotic; planning is ordered [0:01] Vince Lombardi is the Steve Jobs of coaches [3:48] how Southwest Airlines is different [11:31] the beginning of Southwest [16:00] fighting anticompetitive practice [24:30] finding a new market by doing the opposite of your competition [29:00] missionaries make the best products [31:00] being forced to innovate leads to questioning assumptions which leads to finding new markets [34:00] how Southwest became the largest liquor distributor in Texas [38:00] remember your fundamental reason for being and don't deviate from that [40:45] optimize for profits, not market share [42:30] know what you are competing with - not who [44:15] how having only one type of airplane gives Southwest an advantage [46:30] how keeping it simple saved Southwest $2 million [51:30] know what you do best - have the discipline to stick to it [53:00] if you are going to be small you have to be fast [1:01:19] the benefits of curiosity are unpredictable [1:03:45] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins ---- Unlike Vanderbilt's other adversaries William Walker was not afraid of Cornelius when he should have been [0:01] Setting up the war between Cornelius Vanderbilt and William Walker [7:32] William Walker's impressive resume [16:44] Betrayal: "Gentlemen, You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you." [27:04] Walker takes Vanderbilt's property. Walker thinks the law protects him. Vanderbilt doesn't care about the law [39:27] Garrison's counter move against Cornelius Vanderbilt [44:36] Vanderbilt funds several Central American governments to destroy William Walker [52:51] The power of having a singular focus on a goal but remaining flexible on the tactics to get there [1:02:10] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned by reading The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by TJ Stiles. ---- His life spanned from the days of George Washington to John D. Rockefeller [0:01] $1 out of $20 in circulation [4:35] an overview of his life [5:35] the environment Vanderbilt was raised in [14:10] love of competition / dislike of school / first jobs [18:00] action for actions sake [22:00] an entrepreneur from the beginning [23:06] expansion fueled by aggressiveness, action, and constraints [30:00] partnering with the rich and powerful Thomas Gibbons [35:00] the solo founder [46:34] starting up with an eye on getting acquired [50:00] frugality wins [56:20] entrepreneurs vs large companies [1:03:45] more frugality and decentralized company structure [1:12:00] the size of his ambition was difficult for others to comprehend [1:19:25] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Who Is Michael Ovitz? by Michael Ovitz. ---- Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first give a gift [0:01] Michael's first jobs + finding his first love [7:02] the foul-mouthed magnates [19:49] starting at the bottom / being hungry for knowledge [24:50] I don't want to be standard in any way [32:30] the revolt begins and the founding of CAA [36:05] know the history of the industry you are in [46:30] a warning for all entrepreneurs [53:44] what influenced CAA's culture [59:27] becoming the thing you hate [1:02:10] a typical day's schedule [1:07:00] problems with co-founders [1:11:30] the fastest animal on the field [1:15:13] I was tired / The end of Michael Ovitz's time at CAA [1:19:15] Ron is gone [1:25:07] a new beginning / meeting Marc Andreessen [1:32:00] reconciliation [1:38:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Republic of Tea: The Story of the Creation of a Business, as Told Through the Personal Letters of Its Founders. ---- A business is born (0:01) don't start a business unless you are the first customer (22:49) what it is like to fall in love with an idea (25:31) starting a business is like making a movie (27:15) on slowing down (32:32) the problem with being able to argue both sides of an idea (37:00) editing & narrowing your focus (46:51) ideas in the form of action (51:39) history doesn't repeat, human nature does (57:00) the doubts of nascent entrepreneurship (59:51) Steve Jobs had one speed: Go (1:07:39) be the customer, not the seller (1:16:21) Bill finally gets it (1:22:00) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Wild Company: The Untold Story of Banana Republic by Mel and Patricia Ziegler ---- For every business, there is an appropriate scale [0:01] Fundamentally Unemployable [5:18] the prehistory of Banana Republic [10:02] "We didn't have any money, we didn't have any technology, and we didn't have a plan." –Jack Ma [14:30] A republic is born [18:13] when something is not selling, increase the price [20:45] relentlessly resourceful [25:45] finding assets hiding in liabilities [28:30] the catalog! [30:33] Eddie Murphy on why you shouldn't have a backup plan [36:40] media was the initial distribution strategy [42:15] Understanding the internet before the internet existed. A lesson on publicity/attention [45:22] when all else fails, expand [51:05] selling the company [56:24] the end of freedom [1:04:40] Misfits, quotes from Steve Jobs and what this has to do with the podcast industry [1:08:00] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Pmarca Blog Archive Ebook by Marc Andreessen. ---- [0:01] In this series of posts I will walk through some of my accumulated knowledge and experience in building high-tech startups. [3:15] Great things about doing a startups: Most fundamentally, the opportunity to be in control of your own destiny — you get to succeed or fail on your own, and you don’t have some bozo telling you what to do. For a certain kind of personality, this alone is reason enough to do a startup. The opportunity to create something new — the proverbial blank sheet of paper. You have the ability — actually, the obligation— to imagine a product that does not yet exist and bring it into existence, without any of the constraints normally faced by larger companies. The opportunity to have an impact on the world — to give people a new way to communicate, a new way to share information, a new way to work together, or anything else you can think of that would make the world a better place. The ability to create your ideal culture and work with a dream team of people you get to assemble yourself. Want your culture to be based on people who have fun every day and enjoy working together? Or, are hyper-competitive both in work and play? Or, are super-focused on creating innovative new rocket science. And finally, money —startups done right can of course be highly lucrative. This is not just an issue of personal greed — when things go right, your team and employees will themselves do very well and will be able to support their families, send their kids to college, and realize their dreams, and that’s really cool. And if you’re really lucky, you as the entrepreneur can ultimately make profound philanthropic gifts that change society for the better. [5:15] However, there are many more reasons to not do a startup. [5:28] First, and most importantly, realize that a startup puts you on an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything you have ever experienced. You will flip rapidly from a day in which you are euphorically convinced you are going to own the world, to a day in which doom seems only weeks away and you feel completely ruined, and back again.Over and over and over. [6:04] Some days things will go really well and some things will go really poorly. And the level of stress that you’re under generally will magnify those transient data points into incredible highs and unbelievable lows at whiplash speed and huge magnitude. [6:42] The best thing about startups: you only ever experience two emotions, euphoria and terror, and I find that a lack of sleep enhances them both. [7:09] In a startup, absolutely nothing happens unless you make it happen. [8:19] As a founder of a startup trying to hire your team, you’ll run into this again and again: When Jim Clark decided to start a new company in 1994, I was one of about a dozen people at various Silicon Valley companies he was talking to about joining him in what became Netscape. I was the only one who went all the way to saying “yes” (largely because I was 22 and had no reason not to do it). The rest flinched and didn’t do it. And this was Jim Clark, a legend in the industry who was coming off of the most successful company in Silicon Valley in 1994 —Silicon Graphics Inc. How easy do you think it’s going to be for you? [10:50] The fact is that startups are incredibly intense experiences and take a lot out of people in the best of circumstances. [14:03] And so you start to wonder—what correlates the most to success— team, product, or market? Or, more bluntly, what causes success? And, for those of us who are students of startup failure—what’s most dangerous: a bad team, a weak product, or a poor market? [15:16] If you ask entrepreneurs or VCs which of team, product, or market is most important, many will say team. This is the obvious answer, in part because in the beginning of a startup, you know a lot more about the team than you do the product, which hasn’t been built yet, or the market, which hasn’t been explored. [16:32] Personally, I’ll take the third position — I’ll assert that market is the most important factor in a startup’s success or failure. Why? In a great market — a market with lots of real potential customers— the market pulls product out of the startup. The market needs to be fulfilled and the market will be fulfilled, by the first viable product that comes along. [17:33] Conversely, in a terrible market, you can have the best product in the world and an absolutely killer team, and it doesn’t matter—you’re going to fail. [18:53] You can obviously screw up a great market — and that has been done, and not infrequently—but assuming the team is baseline competent and the product is fundamentally acceptable, a great market will tend to equal success and a poor market will tend to equal failure. Market matters most. [19:32] Markets that don’t exist don’t care how smart you are. [20:15] The only thing that matters is getting to product/market fit. [21:00] Lots of startu

What I learned from reading Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life by Richard Branson. --- Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. --- — “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography by Richard Branson. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Wayby Richard Branson ---- Business is a fluid, changing substance. A mutating, indefinable thing [0:45] I just pick up the phone and get on with it [7:50] smart ways to get initial traction [9:51] to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent [14:19] Richard Branson's early business philosophy [14:49] the beginning of Virgin [19:00] what he learned from going to jail [23:01] the scope of Richard's ambition at 21 [24:44] a model of compatible businesses [27:00] how Richard Branson made his first fortune [29:00] how Richard Branson gets Necker Island and the idea for Virgin Airways [34:45] protecting the downside risk [38:40] Richard Branson's view on public companies [46:12] taking Virgin private, funding secured [52:00] questioning the direction of his life at 40 years old [59:54] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading I Love Capitalism: An American Story by Ken Langone. --- His early life: there was never much money (3:30) Ken's first jobs (5:35) [At school] I didn't apply myself at all . I did the absolute minimum . I was too busy having fun and working at all my various jobs (12:05) further adventures in entrepreneurship (13:24) Looking for work / finding excitement (17:00) stepping out into the void / getting creative to get a job (23:50) how he starts growing a business within the firm (26:33) his first big break (28:50) You treat a customer right and you never have to worry (32:00) A lesson about human nature and developing trust (34:45) Getting rich is one skill. Staying rich is a different skill altogether(43:10) moral of the story: who wants it the most? (48:25) Hubris and Redemption: Starting over (50:25) how he started his own business (54:00) learning about the opportunity for home depot from other founders and some early tactics to get traction for their stores (59:00) leave more on the table for the other guy than he thinks he should get (1:03:32) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Built From Scratch: How A Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. --- The creation of The Home Depot began with two words: "You're fired!" [0:01] Blinders on focus on the customer [5:45] Learning how not to manage people from Ming the Merciless [8:37] Meeting Ken Langone / the prehistory of Home Depot [11:00] 81% private / 19% public partnerships [18:40] Ken sells to Ming. Predicts Ming will fire Bernie [28:30] Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened [35:00] Bernie Marcus at 49 years old: little cash and a ruined reputation [38:15] How Bernie Marcus walks away from Ross Perot [38:50] The importance of equity [49:19] Do not work with people who don't know how to care about other people [51:00] How they got the money to open The Home Depot [55:30] The critical importance of selling at the right price [58:32] Knowing the right way to do something by seeing it done the wrong way [1:08:54] Mistakes can teach us we're never as smart as we think we are [1:11:25] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen --- I was 21 years old and at loose ends (0:01) how Paul Allen works (4:09) coming up with the idea for Microsoft (4:48) admiring Bill Gates' bravado (7:56) advice from his father: do something you love (12:30) "Paul is an 'enthusiast' and when in the grip of an enthusiasm is almost totally irresponsible in other areas. How can one help such a student to see the error of his ways ? I don't know. He could even be more right than we, who knows ?" (18:30) Going deep on subjects that interested him (20:56) Paul's first jobs (24:14) Paul Allen and Bill Gates first business (26:44) New Mexico and the start of Microsoft (31:37) We were certain that the tech establishment was wrong and we were right (34:40) Unequal cofounders (37:29) Starting to grow Microsoft (39:00) Unequal cofounders part two (41:00) Early Microsoft culture: When I talk about the early days at Microsoft, it's hard to explain to people how much fun it was.( 46:43) Turning down a millions of dollars from Ross Perot (53:37) Unequal cofounders part 3 (56:54) The deal that led to Microsoft becoming the largest tech company of its day (58:00) Health crisis and Paul Allen leaves Microsoft (1:05:30) His most important realization (1:09:27) How Paul makes $75 million from AOL (1:13:00) I start from a different place , from the love of ideas and the urge to put them into motion and see where they might lead (1:18:10) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio --- Whatever success I've had in life has had more to do with my knowing how to deal with my not knowing than anything I know [0:01] Ray's first principle and why [5:35] Ray's key to success [8:07] The similarities between investors and entrepreneurs [9:27] Shift your mindset from I know I am right to How do I know I am right? [13:05] Systemize your decision making [14:09] Ray on his life story [17:30] the quality of your decisions determine the quality of your life [19:50] Like a lot of Founders, Ray was bad at school [21:45] More about his personality: stubborn and determined + his first jobs [22:45] Hungry for knowledge he could actually use [24:28] Terrible is better than mediocre [25:03] What we think to be true that is not: The future is a slightly modified version of the present [25:30] Steve Jobs [26:30] A pivotal lesson for Ray: The same things happen over and over again [28:02] the founding of Bridgewater [32:33] the humble beginning of Bridgewater [35:15] If you know your business A to Z there is no problem you can't solve – Sam Zemurray [36:06] Watching the richest man in the world go broke [38:00] Ray loses everything and has to start all over again [40:30] Successful people change in ways that allow them to continue to take advantage of their strengths while compensating for their weaknesses and unsuccessful people don't [45:10] The new Bridgewater: Systematizing his decision making process [47:35] Developing more products and out teaching his competition [48:11] The results of systematized thinking guided by principles that are written down and adhered to [53:30] Counterintuitive thoughts on public success [55:19] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock --- Walking away at the pinnacle of success was the hardest thing I have ever done (0:01) Through the years, I have greatly feared and sought to keep at bay the four beasts that inevitably devour their keeper – Ego, Envy, Avarice, and Ambition. In 1984, I severed all connections with business for a life of isolation and anonymity, convinced I was making a great bargain by trading money for time, position for liberty, and ego for contentment – that the beasts were securely caged. –Dee Hock (4:14) Visa was little more than a set of unorthodox convictions about organization slowly growing in the mind of a young corporate rebel (9:03) Dee's first jobs (21:44) Learning how mechanistic, Industrial Age organizations really function (28:17) Useful questions to ask in your organization (34:30) A failure at 36 years old (38:33) The environment from which Visa emerged (46:41) Healthy vs Unhealthy Organizations (55:19) Focus on how your product or company "ought to be" and nothing else. (57:30) I had held fast to the notion that until someone has repeatedly said "no!" and adamantly refuses another word on the subject, they are in the process of saying "yes" and don't know it yet. –Dee Hock (1:03:55) His biggest regret: The fight against duality (monopoly) (1:04:35) How Dee Hock dealt with stress (1:07:00) His biggest regret: The fight against duality (monopoly) continued (1:09:52) Dee's surprising conclusion about his work (1:16:50) ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz. --- There's no recipe for complicated, dynamic situations [0:01] Meeting Marc Andreessen [8:30] The co-founder relationship between Marc and Ben [11:00] How they came up with the idea for Loudcloud (Opsware) / A business is just an idea that will make someone's life better. —Richard Branson [13:45] Ben finds value by asking the question: What would I do if we went bankrupt? [21:05] Sell the wrong product to find the right one [22:30] Saving a $20 million a year customer by buying a $10 million company [23:16] Do not play the odds [27:27] Discount praise. Focus on what can be fixed [28:32] Why training is so important (compounding effect) [31:20] Difference between large company executives and founders [32:00] Why it is a good idea to collect good ideas [34:00] Determination is more important than intelligence [35:30] Your culture should be unique / Using shock to create behavioral change [38:24] There is no founder school [40:30] Perseverance is more important than intelligence [41:01] Copy from great founders [46:50] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast