Season 3, Episode 8: Netflix (Part 1)

Ben and David return to make their first foray into enterprise software, covering Salesforce’s $2.5B acquisition of ExactTarget in 2013 with the help of special guest and ExactTarget cofounder & CEO, Scott Dorsey.   Technical note: due to an issue we didn’t catch during recording, audio quality is significantly lower than usual for this episode (especially David’s voice). We apologize but hope you’ll give it a chance anyway— Scott offers great wisdom & insights, and the ExactTarget success story is a inspiring one underdog entrepreneurs, especially (but not limited to!) anyone located in the Midwest or elsewhere outside of traditional "Silicon Valley-style” tech hubs. Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCTopics covered include: The decision to start ExactTarget post-internet bubble and in Indianapolis, with zero software experience between Scott and cofounders Chris Baggott & Peter McCormickRaising initial money from friends & family, followed by early investment and mentoring from Indianapolis venture pioneer Bob ComptonBuilding and scaling a great sales organization within a technology companyThe importance of focusing early on a clearly defined target market (SMBs in the case of ExactTarget), and then “stair-stepping” up as the product and business scale grow over timeExactTarget’s unsuccessful first IPO filing during the financial crisisBuilding a "capital-efficient” early stage company, and the value of raising growth capital at the right time to step on the acceleratorThe value of “secondary” investments allowing founders, employees & early investors to “stay hungry” by achieving some liquidity along the wayWhen and how to expand internationally and the importance of strategic resellersExactTarget’s second successful IPO filing and life as a public company with quarterly financial reporting to Wall StreetHow the acquisition process played out with Salesforce and other bidders (including reference to ExactTarget’s incredible SEC filing detailing the entire negotiation—scroll down to "Background and Reasons for the ExactTarget Board’s Recommendation”, starting at the bottom of page 13)Approaching the difficult task of integrating a major acquisition involving thousands of peopleThe fun story of ExactTarget’s winning Microsoft as a large customer—including actual sledgehammersScott’s new Indianapolis-based venture studio, High AlphaPlus as always the "hard hitting" analysis across acquisition category, what would have happened otherwise, tech themes—and final grading  The Carve Out Ben: The Talk Show live at WWDC 2016 with Phil Schiller & Craig FederighiDavid: The Score Takes Care of Itself by legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh, originally recommended by Jack Dorsey [no relation to Scott :) ] at YC Startup School '13Scott: 2016 Scipps National Spelling Bee, including one of the finalists’ favorite words: indefatigable  Followups: Instagram’s incredible user numbers announcement: 500M monthly active users / 300M daily active users

5 Juli 20161h 15min

Ben and David cover the 3-day-old acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft for $26.2 billion. They cover LinkedIn’s founding story by Reid Hoffman, break down their core businesses, analyze recent stock behavior, and speculate on the future of the company inside Microsoft. The big question - were they worth the price tag?Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCItems Mentioned On The Show: Adweek: Snapchat Launches a Colossal Expansion of Its Advertising, Ushering in a New Era for the AppThe Facebook Effect - David KirkpatrickLinkedIn’s Series B pitch deck  LinkedIn’s S-1Microsoft and Apple Double Down - Stratechery NYT Dealbook on stock based compensation at LinkedIn Josh Elman - When people get confused about “BS metrics”Fred Wilson: The Dentist Office Software StoryThe Carve Out: Jeff Bezos at Code 2016 Elon Musk at Code 2016

16 Juni 20161h 7min

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:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCHighlights Include: The founding story of Push Pop Press by Kimon Tsinteris and Mike Matas.The evolution of Facebook Creative Labs, Facebook Paper, and eventually, Facebook Instant Articles.Facebook's role in the changing media landscape today.GeekWire's experiments with Facebook Instant Articles, Google Accelerated Mobile Pages, and live video.The Carve Out: The Startup Podcast Season 3 The Future of Technology is in Your Ear (Link to product) The Risk Not Taken

6 Juni 20161h 3min

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 would be different inside of Facebook, and what the future holds.Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCItems mentioned in the show:The Inside Story Of Snapchat: The World's Hottest App Or A $3 Billion Disappearing Act?Inside Evan Spiegel's very private Snapchat Story

23 Maj 20161h 2min

Ben and David return to technology acquisitions by examining a classic: eBay's 2002 purchase of PayPal.Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCItems mentioned in the show:  How the 'PayPal Mafia' redefined success in Silicon Valley  - Tech Republic Instagram Will Be a $3 Billion Business This Year: Analyst President Obama and Bill Simmons: The GQ Interview"The Carve Out": Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder -  The Bill Simmons Podcast - Chris Sacca

9 Maj 201658min

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 Virgin America by Alaska Airlines was so fascinating, we had to do it!Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCItems mentioned in the show: Louis C.K. - Everything is Amazing and Nobody is HappyAlaska Acquires Virgin America Investor Deck“Measuring The Moat” Paper - Michael J. MauboussinBusiness Adventures - Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall StreetCarve Out:Michael Mauboussin: "The Success Equation:Untangling Skill and Luck" | Talks at Google

27 Apr 201654min

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 Upstartle (company behind Writely) acquisition, founded by Sam Schillace, Steve Newman and Claudia Carpenter.SaaS offerings in cloud productivity today.Was this a good idea for Google?Google's future bets.A new section: The Carve Out!Sponsors:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

29 Mars 201649min

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:Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

29 Feb 20161h 2min