service / likes
Vanguard
“Ben and David love their index funds. You know, we love Vanguard here. If you had bought the S&P 500 with that same $1,000, instead of $17 million today, you would have $170,000.”
Public evidence record
Ben Gilbert
Host · Acquired
- Claims
- 500
- Episodes
- 23
- Shows
- 1
- Named items
- 46
Books, apps, and tools
The evidenced stack.
other / recommends
Defunctland
“There's a great one on the Florida Project, so I highly recommend Defunctland.”
other / recommends
Animagraffs
“I highly recommend the channel, Animagraffs.”
hardware / likes
Disneyland
“The sightlines, man. The, the—I, I like going to Disneyland just to walk around.”
other / recommends
Tifosi
“I highly recommend Tifosi. They're also pretty cheap. I bought three pairs. They're goofy in different colors and they're fun.”
book / uses
Last Man Standing
“One great book I read for research was Last Man Standing to prep for the Jamie Dimon interview.”
other / uses
Invest Like the Best
“I listened to an episode of Invest Like the Best about a year ago, which was a really, really long interview with Graham Duncan.”
app / uses
Gemini
“I find switching costs to be relatively low. I use Gemini for some stuff, then it’s really easy to switch away.”
other / uses
Glass
“I watched the Google IO keynote with Glass and I watched a bunch of Glass content.”
paper / uses
Worldly Partners research
“In fact, in particular, for each of these episodes now, I read the Worldly Partners research on the company we’re covering from front of the show, Arvind.”
app / uses
Netflix
“Think about how I watch Netflix. I will watch Netflix tonight after we record on my Apple TV upstairs.”
other / recommends
Visa
“I highly recommend the Visa one as discussed earlier in the Network of Networks idea, if you haven't heard that”
Claim ledger
What Ben said.
81 transcript-backed records
01 / evaluation
Yes, home improvement is just a massive category, way, way bigger than I realized.
“Yes, home improvement is just a massive category, way, way bigger than I realized.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Home Depot
- Publisher
- Acquired
02 / evaluation
The Lucasfilm guys are wondering what's going on, and it turns out this is right in the middle of when Steve is getting fired from Apple and ousted from his own company.
“The Lucasfilm guys are wondering what's going on, and it turns out this is right in the middle of when Steve is getting fired from Apple and ousted from his own company.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
03 / evaluation
Michael is supposed to get the job that Barry had as chairman of the movie studio over at Paramount, and he doesn't get that job largely because of internal politics and who's making how much money, those sort of games.
“Michael is supposed to get the job that Barry had as chairman of the movie studio over at Paramount, and he doesn't get that job largely because of internal politics and who's making how much money, those sort of games.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
04 / evaluation
There are a few things left, but Iger kind of saw this before anyone else, went in with a bigger checkbook than I think a lot of people would have been willing to go in with, diluted Disney to do it.
“There are a few things left, but Iger kind of saw this before anyone else, went in with a bigger checkbook than I think a lot of people would have been willing to go in with, diluted Disney to do it.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
05 / evaluation
It's going away. They had a very profitable box office, especially in the golden era where you could make and market a film like Avengers, the original one, for, I don't know, $200, $300 million and then gross $1.
“It's going away. They had a very profitable box office, especially in the golden era where you could make and market a film like Avengers, the original one, for, I don't know, $200, $300 million and then gross $1.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
06 / evaluation
Halfway through construction, they discover that Rivers of America almost doesn't work at all.
“Halfway through construction, they discover that Rivers of America almost doesn't work at all.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Walt Disney Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
07 / evaluation
Listeners, for anyone who isn't tuned into our Visa episode, it took a similarly—I'm not sure if "selfless" is the right word—but a person who was not motivated by getting to own the fruits of their labor, where Dee just decided this is the best structure if all these banks link arms and collectively create this thing that if memory serves, it might have even been a nonprofit or some sort of strange structure.
“Listeners, for anyone who isn't tuned into our Visa episode, it took a similarly—I'm not sure if "selfless" is the right word—but a person who was not motivated by getting to own the fruits of their labor, where Dee just decided this is the best structure if all these banks link arms and collectively create this thing that if memory serves, it might have even been a nonprofit or some sort of strange structure.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
08 / evaluation
" Then he went and talked to a second doctor, and that doctor said, "Why don't you get a place out in Cape Cod and stop working and enjoy the last few years you have left? Don't work anymore.
“" Then he went and talked to a second doctor, and that doctor said, "Why don't you get a place out in Cape Cod and stop working and enjoy the last few years you have left? Don't work anymore.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
09 / evaluation
Now, up until this point in time in the history of American financial organizations, that's a footnote, right? That doesn't matter.
“Now, up until this point in time in the history of American financial organizations, that's a footnote, right? That doesn't matter.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
10 / evaluation
" If you're interested in the market, it has historically performed well because it essentially captures the productivity growth and innovation of the world's most successful economy.
“" If you're interested in the market, it has historically performed well because it essentially captures the productivity growth and innovation of the world's most successful economy.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
11 / evaluation
The industry ignored it for decades because conventional wisdom sort of "felt", felt in quotes, correct.
“The industry ignored it for decades because conventional wisdom sort of "felt", felt in quotes, correct.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
12 / evaluation
Now, all of that wasn't because of the assets decreasing in value. A lot of that was redemptions where investors are taking their money and going elsewhere.
“Now, all of that wasn't because of the assets decreasing in value. A lot of that was redemptions where investors are taking their money and going elsewhere.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Vanguard
- Publisher
- Acquired
13 / evaluation
Which means, David, that Ferrari has the highest ratio of people who know about their products to people who actually own their products of any company in human history.
“Which means, David, that Ferrari has the highest ratio of people who know about their products to people who actually own their products of any company in human history.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Ferrari
- Publisher
- Acquired
14 / evaluation
We’ve thrown a lot of missives here and there, but we should just say like this is an unbelievable fantastic company that makes a remarkable product, and the strategy and execution by which they’ve executed that is best in the world ever.
“We’ve thrown a lot of missives here and there, but we should just say like this is an unbelievable fantastic company that makes a remarkable product, and the strategy and execution by which they’ve executed that is best in the world ever.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Rolex
- Publisher
- Acquired
15 / evaluation
In part, the lesson is it is incorrect to describe markets by the products in them.
“In part, the lesson is it is incorrect to describe markets by the products in them.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Rolex
- Publisher
- Acquired
16 / evaluation
James Cameron, on a man submersible, takes the Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge—it actually is (I think) all of those brands; they include the sub-brand with the parent brand in this thing—down to the Marianas Trench to the deepest part of the ocean.
“James Cameron, on a man submersible, takes the Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge—it actually is (I think) all of those brands; they include the sub-brand with the parent brand in this thing—down to the Marianas Trench to the deepest part of the ocean.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Rolex
- Publisher
- Acquired
17 / evaluation
Unlike everything else that is incredibly tight inside a watch, this component, the balance almost floats and it moves with really low friction. It’s weird because it’s the opposite of everything else that’s in the whole watch.
“Unlike everything else that is incredibly tight inside a watch, this component, the balance almost floats and it moves with really low friction. It’s weird because it’s the opposite of everything else that’s in the whole watch.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Rolex
- Publisher
- Acquired
18 / evaluation
Fascinatingly, and I’m not sure if this is counterintuitive or not, I don’t remember 2014 thinking about the watch industry because I didn’t, but it was the best thing to ever happen to Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek, et cetera.
“Fascinatingly, and I’m not sure if this is counterintuitive or not, I don’t remember 2014 thinking about the watch industry because I didn’t, but it was the best thing to ever happen to Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek, et cetera.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Rolex
- Publisher
- Acquired
19 / evaluation
In some ways, we have to tell a whole industry history here. But in other ways, these are all the same company, because they're all stacked learnings from Sol Price and his various brain children over the years to create the Costco that it is today.
“In some ways, we have to tell a whole industry history here. But in other ways, these are all the same company, because they're all stacked learnings from Sol Price and his various brain children over the years to create the Costco that it is today.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
20 / evaluation
There was a Deutsche Bank analyst that said, "It is better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder," which Costco management would say, yeah, that's literally like we've printed it.
“There was a Deutsche Bank analyst that said, "It is better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder," which Costco management would say, yeah, that's literally like we've printed it.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
21 / evaluation
The split is just significant enough for the retail business where you're like, okay, yeah, we should care about growing sales in the retail business. But if it wasn't 70/30, if it was 90/10, or 95/5, you'd be like, well, I'm actually not sure why we care about making a single nother sale of toilet paper, because unless it is increasing the likelihood someone retains, I don't care about it.
“The split is just significant enough for the retail business where you're like, okay, yeah, we should care about growing sales in the retail business. But if it wasn't 70/30, if it was 90/10, or 95/5, you'd be like, well, I'm actually not sure why we care about making a single nother sale of toilet paper, because unless it is increasing the likelihood someone retains, I don't care about it.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
22 / evaluation
There are so many fun, little paradoxical things about this company. They sell goods at the lowest possible price, but that means that they have a wealthy customer base.
“There are so many fun, little paradoxical things about this company. They sell goods at the lowest possible price, but that means that they have a wealthy customer base.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
23 / evaluation
It is such a good value that 55% of US members now do it. But much like everything else we've talked about with Costco, it is also amazing for Costco, because they get your money at the beginning of the year further advantaging their cash flow position.
“It is such a good value that 55% of US members now do it. But much like everything else we've talked about with Costco, it is also amazing for Costco, because they get your money at the beginning of the year further advantaging their cash flow position.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
24 / evaluation
Every single time Costco does something amazing, they needed to because of the trade-offs that they chose.
“Every single time Costco does something amazing, they needed to because of the trade-offs that they chose.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
25 / evaluation
Costco decides, we will only markup anything a maximum of 14%. They actually do mark other things up less than that because things like electronics, they actually can only mark up 6%, 7%, 8%.
“Costco decides, we will only markup anything a maximum of 14%. They actually do mark other things up less than that because things like electronics, they actually can only mark up 6%, 7%, 8%.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Costco
- Publisher
- Acquired
26 / evaluation
It eventually became the sport of rich guys who want to own teams to gallivant around Europe, losing colossal sums of money along the way. And in fact, David, since the sport began, over 100 separate teams have entered and exited the competition, mostly because they went bankrupt.
“It eventually became the sport of rich guys who want to own teams to gallivant around Europe, losing colossal sums of money along the way. And in fact, David, since the sport began, over 100 separate teams have entered and exited the competition, mostly because they went bankrupt.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Formula 1
- Publisher
- Acquired
27 / evaluation
There's a giant compromise here, but it has saved at least three people's lives since then because it can protect a driver even when a car is upside down and skidding.
“There's a giant compromise here, but it has saved at least three people's lives since then because it can protect a driver even when a car is upside down and skidding.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Formula 1
- Publisher
- Acquired
28 / evaluation
The interesting thing too is that the leagues aren't respecting each other's drafts. It doesn't matter if you draft someone in your league, I'm signing him to a contract in mind and that contract is valid in the United States.
“The interesting thing too is that the leagues aren't respecting each other's drafts. It doesn't matter if you draft someone in your league, I'm signing him to a contract in mind and that contract is valid in the United States.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The NFL
- Publisher
- Acquired
29 / evaluation
Then Amazon is having to do make goods with the advertisers because Amazon wasn't able to get enough people to watch the streams because frankly, I think a lot of people want to watch the NFL on TV.
“Then Amazon is having to do make goods with the advertisers because Amazon wasn't able to get enough people to watch the streams because frankly, I think a lot of people want to watch the NFL on TV.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The NFL
- Publisher
- Acquired
30 / evaluation
Players are effectively a partner in the league because the league's success ends up being their success, not necessarily evenly distributed among all players by any means, in fact, quite the opposite.
“Players are effectively a partner in the league because the league's success ends up being their success, not necessarily evenly distributed among all players by any means, in fact, quite the opposite.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The NFL
- Publisher
- Acquired
31 / evaluation
I think the Giants actually got more because Joe Namath was the other one in their city.
“I think the Giants actually got more because Joe Namath was the other one in their city.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The NFL
- Publisher
- Acquired
32 / evaluation
If an agency reaches out and says, we want to place ads on your podcast, we write them a very nice note if we're able to get to the email and say, oh, we don't work with agencies, but thank you so much for your interest.
“If an agency reaches out and says, we want to place ads on your podcast, we write them a very nice note if we're able to get to the email and say, oh, we don't work with agencies, but thank you so much for your interest.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
33 / evaluation
You were discovering these things that nobody's talking about, whereas when we do something like Trader Joe's, someone says, what are you working on, and we're like, Trader Joe's, they're like, I love Trader Joe's.
“You were discovering these things that nobody's talking about, whereas when we do something like Trader Joe's, someone says, what are you working on, and we're like, Trader Joe's, they're like, I love Trader Joe's.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
34 / evaluation
I think we found our way to that probably four-ish years ago, maybe five years ago, where we used to feel like we were bad at podcasting because we couldn't make very many, because we didn't have a whole production team, and we didn't have professional ad salespeople.
“I think we found our way to that probably four-ish years ago, maybe five years ago, where we used to feel like we were bad at podcasting because we couldn't make very many, because we didn't have a whole production team, and we didn't have professional ad salespeople.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Publisher
- Acquired
35 / evaluation
The way in which this giant mass produced thing is created, it’s only stored (I believe) in two people’s head at any given time. They deliberately kept this a trade secret and didn’t patent it, because if you patent something, eventually it does become the property of the public and anyone can use it to further innovate.
“The way in which this giant mass produced thing is created, it’s only stored (I believe) in two people’s head at any given time. They deliberately kept this a trade secret and didn’t patent it, because if you patent something, eventually it does become the property of the public and anyone can use it to further innovate.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Coca-Cola
- Publisher
- Acquired
36 / evaluation
Coca-Cola is one thing that means our formula, our secret formula with this mystery merchandise 7x, which is the real crux of the formula. And there are no other things that can be colas because we created the concept of Coca-Cola and we are N of one.
“Coca-Cola is one thing that means our formula, our secret formula with this mystery merchandise 7x, which is the real crux of the formula. And there are no other things that can be colas because we created the concept of Coca-Cola and we are N of one.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Coca-Cola
- Publisher
- Acquired
37 / evaluation
I would swear up and down too, but yes, this is the best example ever though of someone electing to use a trade secret instead of a patent, and then creating all this lore, secrecy, and myth around it.
“I would swear up and down too, but yes, this is the best example ever though of someone electing to use a trade secret instead of a patent, and then creating all this lore, secrecy, and myth around it.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Coca-Cola
- Publisher
- Acquired
38 / evaluation
I mean, in an era where most grocery chains are being disrupted, Trader Joe's cult following has driven it to be more successful than ever, at least as far as we can tell from the outside, because it is an intensely private company.
“I mean, in an era where most grocery chains are being disrupted, Trader Joe's cult following has driven it to be more successful than ever, at least as far as we can tell from the outside, because it is an intensely private company.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Trader Joe’s
- Publisher
- Acquired
39 / evaluation
Imagine for every dollar you make, 73 cents is getting paid in taxes. He's like, "This is the worst structure imaginable!
“Imagine for every dollar you make, 73 cents is getting paid in taxes. He's like, "This is the worst structure imaginable!”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Trader Joe’s
- Publisher
- Acquired
40 / evaluation
They have healthcare benefits, dental, all that stuff. But the real kicker: they get a 20% discount at Trader Joe's, which no one gets because they never have any sort of discounts.
“They have healthcare benefits, dental, all that stuff. But the real kicker: they get a 20% discount at Trader Joe's, which no one gets because they never have any sort of discounts.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Trader Joe’s
- Publisher
- Acquired
41 / evaluation
Executives who worked for him — stuffed C-suite dullards of the grotesquely self-confident variety — will drop all pretense and describe wanting to wake up early in the morning to race to work because they can't wait to hear what Joe has to say.
“Executives who worked for him — stuffed C-suite dullards of the grotesquely self-confident variety — will drop all pretense and describe wanting to wake up early in the morning to race to work because they can't wait to hear what Joe has to say.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Trader Joe’s
- Publisher
- Acquired
42 / evaluation
"And so if you just want to sell those to me, I'm sure I can unload them on our customers; they're going to love the deal. And then it's actually not a big deal for me when I run out, because that's not a part of our value proposition the way it is for the big supermarkets.
“"And so if you just want to sell those to me, I'm sure I can unload them on our customers; they're going to love the deal. And then it's actually not a big deal for me when I run out, because that's not a part of our value proposition the way it is for the big supermarkets.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Trader Joe’s
- Publisher
- Acquired
43 / evaluation
The TPU is a giant deal in AI in a way that I think a lot of people don’t realize.
“The TPU is a giant deal in AI in a way that I think a lot of people don’t realize.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part III: The AI Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
44 / evaluation
In theory, this is really bad because it means you would need to be constantly waiting around on any given machine for the other machines to sync their updated parameters before you could proceed.
“In theory, this is really bad because it means you would need to be constantly waiting around on any given machine for the other machines to sync their updated parameters before you could proceed.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part III: The AI Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
45 / evaluation
You don’t know: (a) how far the next breakthrough is because at any given time, there are lots of promising things in the field, most of which don’t work out.
“You don’t know: (a) how far the next breakthrough is because at any given time, there are lots of promising things in the field, most of which don’t work out.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part III: The AI Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
46 / evaluation
One of the reasons that the judge cited of why they weren’t going to really take these actions is because of the race in AI. That because tens of billions of dollars of funding have gone into companies like OpenAI and Anthropic and Perplexity, Google essentially has this new war to fight and we’re going to leave it to the free market to do its thing where it creates viable competition on its own, and we’re not going to hamstring Google.
“One of the reasons that the judge cited of why they weren’t going to really take these actions is because of the race in AI. That because tens of billions of dollars of funding have gone into companies like OpenAI and Anthropic and Perplexity, Google essentially has this new war to fight and we’re going to leave it to the free market to do its thing where it creates viable competition on its own, and we’re not going to hamstring Google.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part III: The AI Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
47 / evaluation
Because this is Google and they have (I think) the most obfuscated financials of any of the companies we’ve studied, they anger me the most in being able to hide the ball in their financial statements.
“Because this is Google and they have (I think) the most obfuscated financials of any of the companies we’ve studied, they anger me the most in being able to hide the ball in their financial statements.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part III: The AI Company
- Publisher
- Acquired
48 / evaluation
You know, what’s a coronary resource? They have built internal software and systems that is better than what is available outside of Google.
“You know, what’s a coronary resource? They have built internal software and systems that is better than what is available outside of Google.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part II: Alphabet
- Publisher
- Acquired
49 / evaluation
Just like we talked about on the Microsoft episodes, it really doesn’t matter when you fail and how many times you fail, even the size of your failures, if your hits are these giant world changing platform type tech businesses that endure for decades and that’s what they had on their hands.
“Just like we talked about on the Microsoft episodes, it really doesn’t matter when you fail and how many times you fail, even the size of your failures, if your hits are these giant world changing platform type tech businesses that endure for decades and that’s what they had on their hands.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part II: Alphabet
- Publisher
- Acquired
50 / evaluation
We had that awkward teenage years where browsers had the URL bar on the left and then the search on the right and it’s clean to think about it on its own because now that we understand that that is sponsored, that I think for the longest time that was not in the public psyche, that whatever search engine appeared in that box in the right hand corner was paying for that placement.
“We had that awkward teenage years where browsers had the URL bar on the left and then the search on the right and it’s clean to think about it on its own because now that we understand that that is sponsored, that I think for the longest time that was not in the public psyche, that whatever search engine appeared in that box in the right hand corner was paying for that placement.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part II: Alphabet
- Publisher
- Acquired
51 / evaluation
Actually traffic acquisition costs originated before Mozilla because it’s effectively the same thing that they were doing with software vendors to include Google toolbar.
“Actually traffic acquisition costs originated before Mozilla because it’s effectively the same thing that they were doing with software vendors to include Google toolbar.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part II: Alphabet
- Publisher
- Acquired
52 / evaluation
They were a systemic disadvantage because they were going to carriers and saying, why don’t you pay us $5, $10?
“They were a systemic disadvantage because they were going to carriers and saying, why don’t you pay us $5, $10?”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part II: Alphabet
- Publisher
- Acquired
53 / evaluation
They’re looking for a CEO. Did they give Bank One shareholders 42% because they were looking for a CEO?
“They’re looking for a CEO. Did they give Bank One shareholders 42% because they were looking for a CEO?”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Jamie Dimon Interview
- Publisher
- Acquired
54 / evaluation
I think you had the same incentives as everyone else, but you behaved very differently.
“I think you had the same incentives as everyone else, but you behaved very differently.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Jamie Dimon Interview
- Publisher
- Acquired
55 / evaluation
I think she’s a business unit manager or something like that, but Google didn’t really have business units.
“I think she’s a business unit manager or something like that, but Google didn’t really have business units.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part I: Origins of Search
- Publisher
- Acquired
56 / evaluation
Advertisers are incentivized to make their ads more relevant, and only bid on the most relevant keywords because it means they don’t have to pay as much.
“Advertisers are incentivized to make their ads more relevant, and only bid on the most relevant keywords because it means they don’t have to pay as much.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part I: Origins of Search
- Publisher
- Acquired
57 / evaluation
Later—there’s an easy point to make—Google got to hoover up all the best talent because they were a solid business after the dot-com crash.
“Later—there’s an easy point to make—Google got to hoover up all the best talent because they were a solid business after the dot-com crash.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Google Part I: Origins of Search
- Publisher
- Acquired
58 / evaluation
You paid for the whole arena and you’re going to have slower payback on that because you have less revenue opportunity.
“You paid for the whole arena and you’re going to have slower payback on that because you have less revenue opportunity.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Steve Ballmer Interview
- Publisher
- Acquired
59 / evaluation
I think Google was making more money off of a PC user than Microsoft was because their business model generated more search revenue.
“I think Google was making more money off of a PC user than Microsoft was because their business model generated more search revenue.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Steve Ballmer Interview
- Publisher
- Acquired
60 / evaluation
IBM thought, oh we’ve got some protection from Microsoft, disintermediating us from all the developers and all the potential customers, because targeting our BIOS is going to be important and unreplicable.
“IBM thought, oh we’ve got some protection from Microsoft, disintermediating us from all the developers and all the potential customers, because targeting our BIOS is going to be important and unreplicable.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- The Steve Ballmer Interview
- Publisher
- Acquired
61 / evaluation
They never raised any venture capital and they’ve never done any acquisitions in their 47 years of existence. They don’t work remotely.
“They never raised any venture capital and they’ve never done any acquisitions in their 47 years of existence. They don’t work remotely.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Epic Systems (MyChart)
- Publisher
- Acquired
62 / evaluation
There are some financial controls of course, but Judy’s got this great story that she used to go see customers and they’d say, oh this is the right thing to do.
“There are some financial controls of course, but Judy’s got this great story that she used to go see customers and they’d say, oh this is the right thing to do.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Epic Systems (MyChart)
- Publisher
- Acquired
63 / evaluation
There was this era where hospitals thought that EMRs should be their IP that they develop and have a competitive advantage over other hospitals because their EMR was better.
“There was this era where hospitals thought that EMRs should be their IP that they develop and have a competitive advantage over other hospitals because their EMR was better.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Epic Systems (MyChart)
- Publisher
- Acquired
64 / evaluation
I think that’s the right way to look at it. They’re customer-obsessed because in the long-term, that is the right thing to do for Epic also.
“I think that’s the right way to look at it. They’re customer-obsessed because in the long-term, that is the right thing to do for Epic also.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Epic Systems (MyChart)
- Publisher
- Acquired
65 / evaluation
Despite being large—I think at this point they’re close to $6 billion in revenue and over 14,000 employees—they have a stated goal to never go public and never be acquired.
“Despite being large—I think at this point they’re close to $6 billion in revenue and over 14,000 employees—they have a stated goal to never go public and never be acquired.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Epic Systems (MyChart)
- Publisher
- Acquired
66 / evaluation
You better get enough cash in just a few years of playing in some new league that it doesn’t matter if you ever need to do anything else again.
“You better get enough cash in just a few years of playing in some new league that it doesn’t matter if you ever need to do anything else again.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Indian Premier League Cricket
- Publisher
- Acquired
67 / evaluation
You just want to assume that if someone knows that they’re about to launch a huge new cricket league that’s not included in your contract and you’re operating under the idea that it is included in your contract, what’s in the contract doesn’t matter as much as what you both feel like you’re agreeing to.
“You just want to assume that if someone knows that they’re about to launch a huge new cricket league that’s not included in your contract and you’re operating under the idea that it is included in your contract, what’s in the contract doesn’t matter as much as what you both feel like you’re agreeing to.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Indian Premier League Cricket
- Publisher
- Acquired
68 / evaluation
What is the actual income statement look like? It’s impossible to know for sure because none of this is public and reported.
“What is the actual income statement look like? It’s impossible to know for sure because none of this is public and reported.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Indian Premier League Cricket
- Publisher
- Acquired
69 / evaluation
One of the things that I think is underappreciated and we didn’t talk that much about with Morris, but the rise of ARM.
“One of the things that I think is underappreciated and we didn’t talk that much about with Morris, but the rise of ARM.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
70 / evaluation
This is why you started TSMC as a pure play foundry business because you didn’t want to compete head-to-head.
“This is why you started TSMC as a pure play foundry business because you didn’t want to compete head-to-head.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
71 / evaluation
I get the sense because the thing that they were good at was this manufacturing angle.
“I get the sense because the thing that they were good at was this manufacturing angle.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
72 / evaluation
Because this was effectively betting a huge amount of the company’s cash on this node, this process, this generation.
“Because this was effectively betting a huge amount of the company’s cash on this node, this process, this generation.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
73 / evaluation
Which is funny because in older interviews sometimes he goes, well, the timing was a little lucky on when fabless happened. But I think he even said to Jensen in the first few years of TSMC, growth wasn’t very high because we were waiting for the customers to emerge.
“Which is funny because in older interviews sometimes he goes, well, the timing was a little lucky on when fabless happened. But I think he even said to Jensen in the first few years of TSMC, growth wasn’t very high because we were waiting for the customers to emerge.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
74 / evaluation
Because you had committed to a schedule of price drops with customers, but you weren’t able to drive down your manufacturing costs at the same rate.
“Because you had committed to a schedule of price drops with customers, but you weren’t able to drive down your manufacturing costs at the same rate.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- TSMC Founder Morris Chang
- Publisher
- Acquired
75 / evaluation
Is it that different if left absorbs right or right absorbs left? If you’re the controlling shareholder of both, no, it doesn’t matter.
“Is it that different if left absorbs right or right absorbs left? If you’re the controlling shareholder of both, no, it doesn’t matter.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)
- Publisher
- Acquired
76 / evaluation
In markets where it is important to be first to market, getting scale quickly so you become the product of record or of reference when people are trying to describe the category.
“In markets where it is important to be first to market, getting scale quickly so you become the product of record or of reference when people are trying to describe the category.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)
- Publisher
- Acquired
77 / evaluation
I thought this was a recent diversification hedge, but here it is effectively at the founding of Mars or at least Forrest’s modern Mars, and he’s in the first second year of business buying and diversifying to pet food. It was immediately a good idea because it became profitable after just a couple of years, and started generating enough cash flow to fund the expansion of Mars bars.
“I thought this was a recent diversification hedge, but here it is effectively at the founding of Mars or at least Forrest’s modern Mars, and he’s in the first second year of business buying and diversifying to pet food. It was immediately a good idea because it became profitable after just a couple of years, and started generating enough cash flow to fund the expansion of Mars bars.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)
- Publisher
- Acquired
78 / evaluation
I probably ate more than a recommended amount because we’ve been sitting here for 5½ hours doing this.
“I probably ate more than a recommended amount because we’ve been sitting here for 5½ hours doing this.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)
- Publisher
- Acquired
79 / evaluation
We will flash all the way forward to modern day. Ingvar always owned 100% of IKEA.
“We will flash all the way forward to modern day. Ingvar always owned 100% of IKEA.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- IKEA
- Publisher
- Acquired
80 / evaluation
The scarce commodity is trust. That is the important lesson here. It’s also a very convenient infrastructure decision, where if these two systems truly don’t need to talk to each other, that’s great.
“The scarce commodity is trust. That is the important lesson here. It’s also a very convenient infrastructure decision, where if these two systems truly don’t need to talk to each other, that’s great.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Meta
- Publisher
- Acquired
81 / evaluation
I don’t think open compute had started yet, but that was right around this time where they were starting to open source their data center designs.
“I don’t think open compute had started yet, but that was right around this time where they were starting to open source their data center designs.”
- Speaker
- Ben Gilbert
- Episode
- Meta
- Publisher
- Acquired