The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

#190 Brad Jacobs: How To Build a Billion Dollar Company

Mar 19, 2024

Brad Jacobs is a powerhouse entrepreneur, founder of multiple multi-billion dollar companies, and the current Chairman and CEO of QXO. In this discussion, he unveils how to uncover billion-dollar opportunities and shares insights on spotting trends ahead of competitors. Jacobs emphasizes the importance of questioning, adaptability, and the role of M&A in growth strategies. He also discusses the impact of parental influence on confidence and highlights the value of employee feedback in a thriving workplace.

01:43:10

Episode guests

Brad Jacobs

AI Summary

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Adaptability in business planning is vital for seizing emerging opportunities and navigating changing landscapes effectively.

AI represents a transformative trend in technology with benefits like enhanced medicine and rational thinking, but raises concerns about changing human characteristics.

Rational thinking enhances decision-making and resilience in business, emphasizing the importance of psychological capital and constructive thinking.

A contrarian mindset, positive work culture, and prudent industry selection are crucial for successful ventures, effective leadership, and sustainable growth.

Deep dives

Flexibility and Adaptability in Business Planning

Being flexible in business planning is crucial as life, markets, and economies constantly change. Rigid plans hinder the ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities, leading to missed chances for growth and profitability. Adaptability allows for seizing new prospects and navigating evolving landscapes effectively.

Give full attention and be nonjudgmental

03:06

Investing in Psychological Well-being for Rational Thinking

01:11

Effective Questioning for Company Assessment

01:46

Leverage Advice

01:20

Intro

5min

Futurist Insights: Technology and Humanity's Evolution

7min

The Art of Questioning and Connection in Business

28min

Building Confidence Through Parental Influence

14min

The Role of Money in Personal Identity and Relationships

2min

Strategic Insights into Mergers and Acquisitions

9min

Strategic Insights for Corporate Improvement

25min

Lessons on Teamwork and Technology in Business Success

6min

Brad Jacobs doesn't just build big companies – he builds industry giants. As the founder of eight multibillion-dollar companies, he's cracked the code on scaling businesses from zero to billions. In this conversation, the secrets he's earned over decades.

You'll discover where billion-dollar opportunities are hiding in plain sight, how to spot massive trends years before your competitors, and the most crucial factor determining a company's success.

Currently serving as Chairman and CEO of QXO, Jacobs brings a mathematician's precision and a musician's creativity to scaling businesses. His track record speaks for itself: every company he's founded has reached billion-dollar status or beyond.

(00:00) Intro

(04:44) The future of AI

(07:21) How to think rationally

(08:48) The major trend

(10:57) The research process

(13:29) On asking better questions

(19:35) On rearranging your brain

(22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business

(32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality

(35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets

(40:45) Confidence and parents

(50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees

(56:14) Money lessons

(58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)

(01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone

(01:11:14) On boards and board meetings

(01:16:57) On decision-making

(01:23:37) The role of capital markets

(01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire

(01:31:16) The best capital allocators

(01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year

(01:37:20) On success

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsors:

Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet

Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

#190 Brad Jacobs: How To Build a Billion Dollar Company

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Flexibility and Adaptability in Business Planning

AI and Technological Trends

Importance of Rational Thinking and Psychological Capital

Contrarian Approach and Confidence Building

Creating a Positive Work Culture and Gratitude

Rationale Behind M&A Strategy and Value Creation

Integration Strategy and Standardization

Effective Decision-Making and Capital Allocation

Give full attention and be nonjudgmental

Investing in Psychological Well-being for Rational Thinking

Effective Questioning for Company Assessment

Leverage Advice

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

Share
& Export

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

#190 Brad Jacobs: How To Build a Billion Dollar Company

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Flexibility and Adaptability in Business Planning

AI and Technological Trends

Importance of Rational Thinking and Psychological Capital

Contrarian Approach and Confidence Building

Creating a Positive Work Culture and Gratitude

Rationale Behind M&A Strategy and Value Creation

Integration Strategy and Standardization

Effective Decision-Making and Capital Allocation

Give full attention and be nonjudgmental

Investing in Psychological Well-being for Rational Thinking

Effective Questioning for Company Assessment

Leverage Advice

Get the Snipdpodcast app

AI-poweredpodcast player

Discoverhighlights

Save anymoment

Share& Export

AI-poweredpodcast player

Discoverhighlights

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

Share
& Export

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights