Acquired

An excellent podcast diving deep into the history and strategy of iconic companies

If you'd like to learn about the history and strategy of iconic businesses, I recommend the podcast "Acquired". This popular podcast is one of the best I've listened to, filled with deep insights, and compelling storytelling.

What I love about each episode is that it feels like a mini-business documentary, packed with deep research and engaging insights about the strategic decisions that shaped a company’s trajectory — narrated in a lively conversational style by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal.

I recommend starting with the following two episodes:

1. Hermés: This episode has me looking to buy and frame a few Hermés scarves! It is an incredibly entertaining story about the evolution of a sixth generation family-run luxury brand, and how their business strategy has led them to carve out a successful niche in a highly competitive market.

2. Visa: This episode is a deeply insightful story of the origin of the credit card, the evolution of Visa’s business model, and the financial services ecosystem that powers it all. It covers consumer behavior, multi-sided markets, and profiles Dee Hock, the founder of Visa.

I hope you enjoy the content, production quality, and insights from this exceptional podcast.