Episode 27: Special—A Conversation with Microsoft's Head of Strategic Investments Brian Schultz
Acquired16 Des 2016

Episode 27: Special—A Conversation with Microsoft's Head of Strategic Investments Brian Schultz

Topics covered include:

  • Brian’s history working across “both sides of the aisle” as both a startup founder and corporate development leader at a big company, how perspective from each informs the other, and the importance of learning “customer empathy”
  • How Microsoft approaches M&A from an organizational perspective, and the importance of fit with the company’s product roadmap
  • How Brian approaches strategic investments at Microsoft, and the evolution over time of the Microsoft (and large technology companies as a whole) perspective on investing in other companies
  • Balancing the tension between partnering and investing, and what criteria Brian thinks about when evaluating companies
  • Microsoft’s investment in Facebook in 2007 (at a then-crazy-seeming $15B valuation), and more recently Foursquare, Mesosphere, CloudFlare and others
  • The current state of the tech M&A landscape, and the emergence of private equity as tech company acquirers
  • Potentially changing corporate and foreign tax structures and how they impact acquirers’ thinking around deals (or not!)
  • How Microsoft tracks and evaluates success of acquisitions over time, and lessons learned from successes and failures
  • The increasing number of operating companies (technology and otherwise) looking to invest in startups, and how that landscape has evolved over time

Sponsors:


Followups:

  • Snap Inc.’s rumored IPO filing — and bonus discussion of how VC’s and other investors think about “exiting” their investments in companies that have gone public

Hot Takes:

The Carve Out:


More Acquired!

© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC

Episoder(214)

Episode 13: Push Pop Press (Facebook Instant Articles) with Todd Bishop

Episode 13: Push Pop Press (Facebook Instant Articles) with Todd Bishop

Ben and David are joined by Todd Bishop, technology reporter and co-founder of GeekWire, to discuss Facebook's 2011 acquisition of Push Pop Press. Sponsors:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Intapp: https...

6 Jun 20161h 5min

Episode 12: Snapchat

Episode 12: Snapchat

Ben and David tackle their first failed acquisition: Facebook's 2013 offer to buy Snapchat. They cover the fascinating story of Snapchat's creation and growth, their blossoming business model, how it ...

23 Mai 20161h 5min

Episode 11: PayPal

Episode 11: PayPal

Ben and David return to technology acquisitions by examining a classic: eBay's 2002 purchase of PayPal.Sponsors:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Intapp: https://bit.ly/intappcelesteSentry: https://bit.l...

9 Mai 20161h 1min

Acquired Episode 10: Virgin America

Acquired Episode 10: Virgin America

Ben and David deviate entirely from the stated purpose of the show, tackling this non-technology acquisition that is so recent, we have no idea if it went well yet. But, the April 2016 acquisition of ...

27 Apr 201657min

Episode 9: Writely (Google Docs)

Episode 9: Writely (Google Docs)

Ben and David continue the cloud productivity saga with Google Docs. They examine the suite of acquisitions made by Google with a focus on Writely in 2006. They tackle:The nuts and bolts of the Upstar...

29 Mar 201651min

Episode 8: Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist (w/ Kurt DelBene)

Episode 8: Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist (w/ Kurt DelBene)

Ben and David have special guest Kurt DelBene on to discuss Microsoft's acquisition of Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist. Kurt is the EVP of Corporate Strategy and Planning at Microsoft, and joins to d...

29 Feb 20161h 5min

Episode 7: YouTube

Episode 7: YouTube

Ben and David test the widely-held belief that YouTube was one of the most successful tech acquisitions of all time. In today's world of next-generation video platforms, mobile video, streaming, and c...

3 Feb 201653min

Episode 6: Lucasfilm

Episode 6: Lucasfilm

Riding closely on the tails of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ben and David cover Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm. In the episode, they mention Walt Disney's original flywheel diagram, seen belo...

19 Jan 201642min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengepodden-2
utbytte
finansredaksjonen
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengesnakk
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
rss-politisk-preik
liberal-halvtime
lederpodden
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-sunn-okonomi
rss-markedspuls-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse