Acquired
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Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)

September 30, 2024

AI Summary

5 min read

Acquired LIVE from Chase Center: A Night of Founders, Foresight, and the Long Game

The Acquired podcast threw out its usual playbook for a live event at San Francisco's Chase Center, and the result was something closer to a state-of-the-industry summit than a typical episode. Over the course of the evening, hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal brought Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang (via video), and Mark Zuckerberg on stage for a series of conversations that, taken together, told a coherent story about how the most successful technology companies think about time, iteration, and identity.

The State of Acquired and the Medium

Daniel Ek opened the evening by walking through Acquired's growth data on Spotify: over five million hours listened in the past year alone, with subscriber growth tripling. The hosts noted that the show has never done paid marketing—its growth comes entirely from word of mouth, with each listener telling roughly one other person per year. Ek pointed out that the show's audience is genuinely global, with Mexico growing five times and strong numbers in Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:02) **Show Open & Housekeeping** - Ben and David fumble over a missing thumb drive, then the live show theme song plays.
  • 2 (04:09) **Act I: The State of Acquired** - Ben and David explain the live format and share the show's growth story.
  • 3 (10:35) **Daniel Ek (Spotify) on Acquired's Growth** - Spotify's CEO joins to discuss the show's data and the podcasting industry.
  • 4 (18:49) **Daniel Ek on Spotify's Strategy & Social Music** - The conversation shifts to Spotify's product philosophy and the evolution of social listening.
  • 5 (33:58) **Daniel Ek on Podcasting & Audiobooks** - How Spotify expanded from music into adjacent listening verticals.
  • 6 (38:46) **Ad Break: Sentry** - Sentry helps developers debug errors; featured case study with Anthropic.
  • 7 (40:57) **Act II: Updating the Acquired Canon with Emily Chang** - Bloomberg's Emily Chang joins to revisit past episode grades and update the record.

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Guests on this episode

Daniel Ek Jensen Huang Mark Zuckerberg

Show Notes

Here it is: the complete video of the most unbelievable night of Acquired’s nine-year life… our sold out live show at the Chase Center in San Francisco. We joked during the months (months!) of preparation leading up to this event that it was like planning a wedding for 6,000 Acquired fans, and the guest list included Jamie Dimon, Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg… no pressure! But thanks to our amazing partnership with J.P. Morgan Payments, together we were able to make something incredible. Tune in and enjoy the celebration!

Sponsors:

Links:

  • Mike Taylor, the truly incomparable performer of Who Got the Truth?
  • Mike Amiri (who designed Mark’s shirt)

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Photo Credit: Mark Zuckerberg by Jeff Sainlar / Meta

© Copyright 2024 ACQ, LLC

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

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