#335 How To Make A Few Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs

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Jan 23, 2024

A seasoned CEO shares insights from building billion-dollar companies, emphasizing the importance of an unconventional mindset. They discuss finding value in unexpected places and leveraging technology to navigate challenges. Practical strategies are provided for managing anxiety and fostering a high-performing team through effective feedback. The conversation highlights the significance of embracing opportunities with full commitment while cultivating a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Networking among entrepreneurs is also encouraged at an upcoming exclusive conference.

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ADVICE

Unconventional Thinking

Rearrange your brain to achieve big goals in turbulent environments.
Don't rely on conventional thinking, which often fails in these situations.

INSIGHT

First Principles Thinking

Successful people find value where others don't by thinking from first principles.
This approach allows them to identify opportunities that conventional thinkers miss.

ADVICE

Manage Your Mindset

Manage your mindset and expectations for success in the stressful world of entrepreneurship.
Expect positive outcomes and stop beating yourself up over inevitable setbacks.

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How to Make a Few Billion Dollars

Brad Jacobs

In *How to Make a Few Billion Dollars*, Brad Jacobs shares his mindset and strategies that have driven his remarkable success in corporate America. With over four decades of experience as a CEO and serial entrepreneur, Jacobs distills his business brilliance into a tactical road map. The book covers topics such as rearranging your mindset to achieve enormous goals, turning a healthy fear of failure to your advantage, achieving high-quality M&A without imploding, building an outrageously talented team, catalyzing electric meetings, and transforming a company into a superorganism that outcompetes others. Jacobs emphasizes the importance of humility, compassion, and accountability while pursuing the American Dream.

The Everything Store

Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Brad Stone

The Everything Store is a revealing and definitive biography of Amazon.com and its driven founder, Jeff Bezos. The book chronicles Amazon's journey from its humble beginnings as a mail-order book seller to its transformation into a global retail and technology giant. Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members, providing a detailed, fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon. The book highlights Bezos's relentless pursuit of new markets, his innovative ventures such as the Kindle and cloud computing, and how he transformed retail in a manner comparable to Henry Ford's impact on manufacturing.

Zero to One

Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Peter Thiel

In 'Zero to One,' Peter Thiel argues that true innovation comes from creating something entirely new, going from 'zero to one,' rather than incrementally improving existing ideas. He emphasizes the importance of vertical progress through technology and the benefits of monopoly in driving innovation. Thiel also discusses the need for long-term planning, the importance of finding the right co-founders, and the power law in startup success. The book challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to think critically and aim big to build the future[2][3][5].

Can't Hurt Me

Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

David Goggins

In 'Can't Hurt Me,' David Goggins shares his astonishing life story, from a childhood marred by poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse to becoming a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The book reveals Goggins' philosophy, known as the '40% Rule,' which suggests that most people only tap into 40% of their capabilities. He provides a wealth of practical strategies and principles for personal development, emphasizing self-discipline, accountability, and the necessity of embracing discomfort to unlock personal transformation. Goggins' story and advice serve as a blueprint for readers to push past their perceived limits, confront their fears, and unleash their full potential.

The Psychology of Money

Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness

Morgan Housel

In 'The Psychology of Money,' Morgan Housel delves into the psychological and emotional aspects of financial decisions. The book consists of 19 short stories that illustrate how personal history, worldview, emotions, and biases influence financial outcomes. Housel emphasizes the importance of behavior over knowledge in managing money, highlighting the power of compounding, the dangers of greed, and the pursuit of happiness beyond mere wealth accumulation. He advocates for a frugal lifestyle, long-term perspective, and a balanced approach to investing, stressing that financial success is more about mindset and discipline than about technical financial knowledge[2][3][4].

Invent and Wander

The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos

Walter Isaacson

This book provides a rare glimpse into how Jeff Bezos thinks about the world and where the future might take us. It spans topics across business and public policy, from innovation and customer obsession to climate change and outer space. Written in a direct, down-to-earth style, it offers readers a master class in business values, strategy, and execution, covering principles such as the importance of a Day 1 mindset, long-term thinking, customer obsession, and the role of culture and failure in innovation.

Setting the Table

Danny Meyer

In this landmark book, Danny Meyer recounts his experiences and the lessons he learned in developing his philosophy of Enlightened Hospitality. Meyer started Union Square Cafe at the age of 27 and has since built a restaurant empire. His philosophy, which emphasizes strong in-house relationships and customer satisfaction, is applicable to any business. The book covers various aspects of running a restaurant, including selecting real estate, hiring, training, and providing exceptional service. Meyer's approach to hospitality extends to guests, the community, suppliers, and investors, and he provides practical advice on how to maintain long-term success through these relationships.

Andrew Carnegie's Autobiography

Andrew Carnegie

What I learned from reading How To Make A Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs.

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(0:01) I'm what's called a moneymaker. I've started five companies from scratch—seven if you include two spin-offs and turned them all into billion dollar or multibillion-dollar enterprises.

(2:00) I love working with outrageously talented people to deliver outsized returns for shareholders in public stock markets.

(5:00) All of the successful people I know have rearranged their brains to prevail at achieving big goals in turbulent environments where conventional thinking often fails.

(5:00) The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places and they do this by thinking about business from first principles. — Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel (Founders #335)

(7:00) So much of success in business comes from keeping your head in a good place.

(8:00) I'm an ambitious person by nature and a dealmaker by inclination.

(9:00) Episode #295: I Had Dinner With Charlie Munger

(13:00) Listen to Think Big and Move Fast: Brad Jacobs on Invest Like the Best

(14:00) Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer. (Founders #20)

(15:00) If you want to make money in the business world, you need to get used to problems, because that's what business is.

(20:00) I am not surprised when things don’t go perfectly. That is the nature of the universe.

(21:00) Listen to this incredible conversation between Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best.

(28:00) Invest in technology. The savings compound, it gives you an advantage over a slower moving competitor, and can be the difference between a profit and a loss. (Lesson from Andrew Carnegie)

(31:00) How Larry Gagosian Reshaped The Art World by Patrick Radden Keefe. (Founders #325)

(36:00) While the rental industry overall was slow to computerize, the larger regional players were more tech-savvy. By 1997, nearly all of them were running on software developed by a company called Wynne Systems.

I bought Wynne.

Owning Wynne accomplished two things.

We had an industry-best platform that we could continue to develop internally for our own use, and the acquisition gave us access to aggregated, anonymized data on macro-trends across the industry.

This gave us a high-level view of emerging market trends, such as equipment gluts or shortages in the making. We could proactively adjust our pricing and asset management, while the rest of the industry was being reactive.

(40:00) The deals I've avoided have contributed more to my success than the deals I've done.

(42:00) I love these questions for a business and a family:

“What's your single best idea to improve our company?"

and

"What's the stupidest thing we're doing as a company?"

(47:00) There are few mistakes costlier than hiring the wrong person. An empty seat is less damaging than a poor fit.

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Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

----

Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference

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“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

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Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast