37:54James Garfield's Extraordinary Rise
19K views · 4d ago · 37:54
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Founders Podcast
Lessons from biographies of history's great entrepreneurs.
37:54
53:57The Tycoons: Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould & Morgan
263K views · 2w ago · 53:57
What I learned from reading The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy by Charles R. Morris. Made possible by Ramp: AppLovin: Vanta:
1:09:31Ari Emanuel's Autobiography
44K views · 3w ago · 1:09:31
Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
40:57Mark Zuckerberg's Empire
85K views · 1mo ago · 40:57
What I learned from reading Mark: A journey to the heart of history's largest nonterritorial empire by Jeremy Stern. Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
Topics: "Carthage must be destroyed." — Mark Zuckerberg on Google · Sean Parker observed "this kind of imperial tendency" in Mark. · "Either a Caesar or nothing." (Zuckerberg's shirt) · "I'm never going to stop." — Mark Zuckerberg · "You can't take this away from him. He wouldn't be him if he stopped."
48:52How Sam Walton Worked
72K views · 1mo ago · 48:52
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Topics: "The secret is work, work, work. I taught the boys how to do it." — Sam's father · "Sometimes hardship can enlighten and inspire." · "If they had something good, we copied it." — Sam Walton · "We have a low resistance to change. We call it our RC factor." — Sam Walton
48:38How Michael Bloomberg Works
89K views · 1mo ago · 48:38
What I learned from reading Bloomberg by Michael Bloomberg. Made possible by Ramp: AppLovin: Vanta: Sage:
55:33The Mind of Napoleon
257K views · 1mo ago · 55:33
What I learned from reading The Mind of Napoleon by Napoleon. Made possible by Ramp: AppLovin: Vanta: Sage Some of my favorite quotes
Topics: "Be successful! I judge men only by the results of their actions." · "The truth is that everything around us is miracle." · "What I am, I owe to strength of will, character, application, and daring." · "Imagination rules the world." · " It is better to eat than be eaten." · "Appetite comes with eating."
48:50How Henry Singleton Worked
54K views · 1mo ago · 48:50
What I learned from reading Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and The Man Who Created It by George Roberts and The Outsiders by William Thorndike. Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta: Some of my favorite quotes
1:03:16How to Make Ads That Sell: Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
120K views · 2mo ago · 1:03:16
Claude Hopkins was the greatest copywriter of all time. Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta: Some of my favorite quotes
Topics: "We do best what we like best."
59:50How Bob Dylan Studied His Way to Greatness
61K views · 2mo ago · 59:50
What I learned from rereading Bob Dylan's autobiography Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
51:04How Claude Shannon Invented The Future
53K views · 2mo ago · 51:04
Claude Shannon changed your life and you probably don't even know it. Claude is the father of information theory. He transformed “information” into bits and created the intellectual foundation for computers, the Internet, digital media, high-speed communication, and Artificial Intelligence.
Topics: "Specialization is the death of genius." — Vannevar Bush · "I simply removed everything that was not David." — Michelangelo
37:56How Raymond Plank Made a Fortune in Big Oil's Scraps
34K views · 2mo ago · 37:56
Raymond Plank founded Apache Corporation with just $250,000 in 1954. 50 years later his company was worth $50 billion. Rather than presenting a conventional history of Apache, this episode focuses on the lessons, maxims, and beliefs Plank accumulated over seven decades in business. Written when he was nearly 90, the memoir reads like a lifelong diary of how to think about opportunity, courage, cost control, resourcefulness, and adaptation.
51:10How Obsession Built Christopher Nolan
79K views · 3mo ago · 51:10
Obsession is the engine of Nolan’s career. This episode examines Christopher Nolan’s life, working methods, and philosophy through "The Nolan Variations" by Tom Shone Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
46:05The Merchant Bankers
56K views · 3mo ago · 46:05
Rather than recounting the histories of families like the Rothschilds, Barings, Hambros, Warburgs, and Lehman Brothers, I wanted to extract the principles they shared. personal honor speed of action clear thinking independent judgment seamless webs of deserved trust discretion and willingness to make unconventional decisions.
53:44Peter Thiel on How to Build a Creative Monopoly
218K views · 3mo ago · 53:44
What I learned from reading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters (for the 3rd or 4th time) Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
48:05The Practical Genius of Honda
27K views · 4mo ago · 48:05
What I learned from reading Honda: The Man and His Machines by Sol Sanders. Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
52:25Joseph Pulitzer: The Inventor of Mass Media
15K views · 4mo ago · 52:25
Guest: Joseph Pulitzer
What I learned from reading Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power by James McGrath Morris. Made possible by Ramp: Applovin: Vanta:
52:31The Simple Genius of Jony Ive
26K views · 4mo ago · 52:31
What I learned from reading Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products by Leander Kahney. Made possible by Ramp: Axon by Applovin: Vanta:
53:32Steve Jobs in Exile
55K views · 4mo ago · 53:32
What I learned from reading Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary by Geoffrey Cain Made possible by Ramp Axon by Applovin Vanta
1:03:01Phil Knight: Founder of Nike
50K views · 5mo ago · 1:03:01
Guest: Phil Knight
What I learned from reading Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike Made possible by Ramp Axon by Applovin Vanta:
43:29How Arnold Schwarzenegger Won
32K views · 6mo ago · 43:29
What I learned from reading Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Made possible by Ramp Axon by Applovin Vanta:
54:40The Relentless Missionary Creating AGI: Demis Hassabis
31K views · 7mo ago · 54:40
This episode is about a once-in-a-generation mind working on what may be the most important problem in history. Based on the new book The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence by Sebastian Mallaby
51:11How Elon Thinks
105K views · 7mo ago · 51:11
My friend Eric Jorgenson spent years—and thousands of hours—studying Elon Musk. Eric read everything Elon has written, read everything written about Elon, and watched every interview Elon's given. He distilled all of Elon's insights into his new book. This episode is all about How Elon Thinks based on The Book of Elon: Elon Musk's Most Useful Ideas in His Own Words
40:52How SpaceX Works
79K views · 7mo ago · 40:52
SpaceX is one of the most dominant companies on the planet and their performance gap just keeps getting bigger. In 2025, SpaceX launched more mass to orbit than every other provider on Earth combined. MUCH more: every payload from China, Russia, Europe, and all American launchers wasn’t even a fifth of what SpaceX put into orbit. They’re the only company producing rockets at an industrial scale. The practices that made SpaceX dominant aren’t unique to rockets.
31:11How To Run Down A Dream
34K views · 8mo ago · 31:11
Runnin' Down A Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love by Bill Gurley has been one of the most valuable talks I've heard. For years I've been using ideas from that talk to build this podcast. Bill has written a new book based on that talk: Runnin' Down A Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.
48:26How Roger Federer Works.
65K views · 8mo ago · 48:26
The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer based on this biography of Roger Federer Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to to learn how they can help your business save time and money.
1:01:04Tortured Into Greatness: The Life of Andre Agassi
33K views · 8mo ago · 1:01:04
Guest: Tortured Into Greatness
Andre Agassi's autobiography is a brutally honest story about a tennis legend who hated the game that made him famous. Agassi traces his journey from a harsh, obsessive childhood training regimen to superstardom, burnout, rebellion, and eventual redemption—revealing the psychological cost of greatness, the search for identity beyond winning, and how he ultimately found purpose on his own terms.
37:26Excellent Advice For Living: 79 Maxims from a Wise Old Man
37K views · 9mo ago · 37:26
On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonishing range, from right living to setting ambitious goals, optimizing generosity, and cultivating compassion.
1:20:30How Rick Rubin Works
18K views · 9mo ago · 1:20:30
There's no one like Rick Rubin. He's a legendary music producer known for his minimalist approach and relentless pursuit of greatness. This episode is what I learned from reading Rick Rubin: In The Studio by Jake Brown
42:53The Creative Genius of Rick Rubin
24K views · 9mo ago · 42:53
I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” —Rick Rubin. This episode is what I learned from reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform.
Topics: How to get ideas from your subconscious. · Faith allows you to trust the direction without needing to understand it.
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