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(212)

Season 2, Episode 8: T-Mobile / Sprint

Season 2, Episode 8: T-Mobile / Sprint

If you thought the telecom business was boring, think again! Acquired brings you an episode packed with more drama than an entire season of Game of Thrones. Starting with a death in the family, we fol...

21 Mai 20181h 27min

Season 2, Episode 7: PowerPoint

Season 2, Episode 7: PowerPoint

Acquired returns with a classic, delving into Microsoft’s first acquisition ever: Forethought Inc, the makers of PowerPoint. Hate it or love it, you can’t deny the combined companies’ impact: by the e...

4 Mai 20181h 21min

Season 2, Episode 6: Spotify’s Direct Listing

Season 2, Episode 6: Spotify’s Direct Listing

Acquired wraps up a big few weeks of coverage with not an IPO or an M&A or a fundraising round, but what’s still the largest tech exit in recent memory: Spotify’s $30B direct public listing. We dive i...

6 Apr 20181h 51min

Season 2, Episode 5: The Dropbox IPO

Season 2, Episode 5: The Dropbox IPO

Acquired is live on the scene following Dropbox’s public market debut. From playing a central role in the early days of Y Combinator, to having Steve Jobs famously label the company a “feature not a p...

26 Mar 20181h 44min

Season 2, Episode 4: SoftBank, Fortress and the Vision Fund

Season 2, Episode 4: SoftBank, Fortress and the Vision Fund

Acquired dives into the topic on the minds and lips of just about every VC and founder these days: SoftBank’s $93B+ Vision Fund, and its seemingly-overnight rewriting of the rules of venture capital a...

23 Mar 20181h 34min

Season 2, Episode 3: Nest

Season 2, Episode 3: Nest

Acquired brings it all back home—to the smart home that is—with Google’s 2014 acquisition of Nest for $3.2B. From Nest cofounder Tony Fadell’s first job at General Magic (alongside future Android foun...

20 Feb 20181h 39min

Season 2, Episode 2: Raising a Seed Round with Against Gravity CEO Nick Fajt

Season 2, Episode 2: Raising a Seed Round with Against Gravity CEO Nick Fajt

We launch mini-series on Acquired with a subject near & dear to our heroes’ hearts: startup fundraising! This has been one of our most-requested new topics, and we’re excited to kick things off with m...

7 Feb 20181h 21min

Season 2, Episode 1: Zappos (with Alfred Lin)

Season 2, Episode 1: Zappos (with Alfred Lin)

Former Zappos Chairman & COO (and current Partner at Sequoia Capital) Alfred Lin joins our heroes to kick off Season 2 with a classic: Amazon’s 2009 acquisition of the internet’s quirkiest online reta...

23 Jan 20181h 19min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
utbytte
pengepodden-2
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
okonomiamatorene
rss-sunn-okonomi
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-andelige-tanker-med-camillo
rss-impressions-2
rss-fa-makro