Why deep subscriber compounding matters

Why has Acquired — seemingly against all odds — “worked”? It's a puzzling question: episodes are four hours long, they come out infrequently, and they usually don’t have guests or video. Hardly the standard-issue playbook for podcasting success! And yet well over a million smart, curious and exceedingly busy humans share their (your!) valuable time with us every month. Why? This is the exact paradox that has been rolling around in the head of Michael Lewis (yes, that Michael Lewis) since he found the show earlier this year.

So we asked Michael to be our guest "interlocutor" and share what he thinks is going on here, while we share ten lessons we've stolen (graciously) from companies we've studied and brought into Acquired itself. He takes us through the entire Acquired journey: how we started, why we've never hired anyone or raised money, how we pick episodes, what our business model actually is, why we focus on quality and enjoyment over maximizing enterprise value, and ultimately why we’re all — you, him, us — kindred spirits together. Oh, and just for fun, we recorded this episode where another special journey began — the garage where Google was founded.

Thank you for an incredible decade together… here's to the next one!

Sponsors:

Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners:

• J.P. Morgan Payments (you can watch our full show with them at AWS re:Invent here!)
• WorkOS
• Sentry
• Shopify

Thank-yous:

• First, to Google for loaning us the garage. The sawhorse table desk, PC and CRT monitor on display in the background were all Google originals courtesy of the Google Founders Collection at the Computer History Museum. So cool!
• Second, to our friends at Shep Films for helping us seriously up our game on production quality this episode!

Our Favorite Michael Lewis Books:

• Home Game
• Moneyball
• Liar’s Poker
• The Blind Side
• The Undoing Project (as referenced by Michael in the beginning, about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky)

Carve Outs:

• Books: 
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
  • Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush
  • Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase by Duff McDonald
  • The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel
  • Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner
  • Morris Chang's Autobiography
• Podcasts: 
  • Against the Rules
  • Revisionist History
  • SmartLess
  • The Daily
  • The Bill Simmons Podcast
  • Graham Duncan on Invest Like the Best
  • Glue Guys
• Video: 
  • Jay Kelly
  • The Rehearsal
  • Doug DeMuro
  • Tires
  • F1 The Movie
  • Andor
  • Fallout
  • Severance
  • Silo
• Video Games: 
  • Sea of Stars
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Products: 
  • ARTEZA Rollerball Pen 0.7mm Fine
  • Rotring 800 Mechanical Pencil
  • Fujifilm X100VI
  • Uniqlo Socks!
  • On Running Shoes
  • Rimowa Luggage
• Parenting: 
  • Guided Access on iPad
  • Toy Story
  • SlumberPod
  • Bluey Experience in NYC

More Acquired:

• Get email updates and vote on future episodes!
• Join the Slack
• Subscribe to ACQ2
• Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.