Episode 8: Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist (w/ Kurt DelBene)
Acquired29 Feb 2016

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 discuss Microsoft’s cloud-first, mobile-first strategy, and the importance of being cross-platform in the modern era. They cover:

  • How the app of Outlook Mobile on iPhone and Android came to be.
  • How to decide whether to build vs. buy, and how it plays into the strategy for Office.
  • How to preserve a culture and a team, and how Javier Soltero came to run all of Outlook at Microsoft.
  • The origin of Outlook on the PC, originally led by Brian MacDonald as “Ren”.
  • How to balance a business with competing priorities, and a decision-making framework for acquisitions in a large company.
  • How to measure the success of an acquisition, and how sometimes, it’s not by measuring revenue at all.

Sponsors:


More Acquired!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

Episoder(213)

Twitter (with Dick Costolo)

Twitter (with Dick Costolo)

A week before the 2020 US Presidential election, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo joins us to tell the story of a company that has impacted all of our lives (political and otherwise) like none other. W...

28 Okt 20201h 25min

Special: Invest Like the Best on Acquired

Special: Invest Like the Best on Acquired

On this special episode of Acquired, we're joined by a master interviewer himself, Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like the Best. We turn the tables and cover the most fascinating story he's never t...

7 Okt 20201h 50min

The NBA

The NBA

On the eve of the 2020 NBA Finals, we dive DEEP into the history and business model of the league behind the world's 2nd largest and fastest growing major sport. How did the NBA grow from merely an ex...

30 Sep 20202h 47min

Special: Acquired x My First Million

Special: Acquired x My First Million

Acquired teams up with the My First Million podcast for a “best of both worlds” crossover episode. First we go deep, “Acquired style”, on the wild story of MFM host Shaan Puri’s bought, sold, and then...

9 Sep 20201h 36min

Epic Games

Epic Games

We go deep behind the "epic" story of a plucky game developer from Cary, North Carolina (by way of Potomac, Maryland) which, after bootstrapping for its first 22 years, has quietly morphed into an $18...

2 Sep 20202h 29min

Eventbrite (with Julia & Kevin Hartz)

Eventbrite (with Julia & Kevin Hartz)

We're joined by two very special guests, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz and her cofounder, spouse and Eventbrite Chairman Kevin Hartz, to tell their story of building Eventbrite together (along with their...

25 Aug 20201h 34min

Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo

We kick off Season 7 with a bang: Pinduoduo, the incredible five year-old Chinese mashup of "Costco and Disneyland" (as self-described in their IPO prospectus) which recently became the fastest compan...

16 Jul 20201h 55min

Oprah (Harpo Studios)

Oprah (Harpo Studios)

We close out Season 6 with the story of perhaps the single most successful media entrepreneur of all-time: Oprah Winfrey, and her juggernaut conglomerate Harpo Studios. Born to a poor single mother in...

25 Jun 20202h 14min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

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