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Podcast · 158 episodes

Founders

by David Senra · English

Learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs. Every week I read a biography of an entrepreneur and find ideas you can use in your work. This quote explains why: "There are thousands of years of history in which lots and lots of very smart people worked very hard and ran all types of experiments on how to create new businesses, invent new technology, new ways to manage etc. They ran these experiments throughout their entire lives. At some point, somebody put these lessons down in a book. For very little money and a few hours of time, you can learn from someone’s accumulated experience. There is so much more to learn from the past than we often realize. You could productively spend your time reading experiences of great people who have come before and you learn every time." —Marc Andreessen

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#435 Mark Zuckerberg's EmpireA long-form profile of Mark Zuckerberg framed as the story of “history’s largest non-territorial empire” (Meta/Facebook), tracing his childhood passions, Roman/Augustus obsession, and the “dictator’s…28 Sep 2026 · 41 min · 13 chapters
#434 Sam WaltonThe episode discusses Vance Trimble’s biography Sam Walton: the Inside Story of America’s Richest Man, focusing on how Walton built Walmart through a few simple, repeatedly applied principles: buy…21 Sep 2026 · 49 min · 18 chapters
#433 How Michael Bloomberg WorksMichael Bloomberg’s career arc and the operating principles behind building Bloomberg (from being fired at Salomon Brothers to founding Bloomberg Terminal and expanding into Bloomberg News and…14 Sep 2026 · 49 min · 20 chapters
#432 The Mind of NapoleonThe host discusses The Mind of Napoleon (J. Christopher Harold, 1955), a curated ~300-page selection of Napoleon’s written and spoken words, arguing it reveals Napoleon’s “mind”: thought-to-action,…5 Sep 2026 · 56 min · 25 chapters
#431 How Henry Singleton WorkedHow Henry Singleton—Teledyne’s founder and CEO—built extraordinary long-term shareholder value through capital allocation, decentralization, and aggressive share repurchases, while ignoring Wall…31 Aug 2026 · 49 min · 16 chapters
#430 How to Write Ads That SellHow Claude Hopkins’ advertising principles (from Scientific Advertising and My Life in Advertising) translate into writing ads that sell: focus on customer psychology, tell the truth in an…23 Aug 2026 · 1 h 4 min · 26 chapters
#429 Bob Dylan's AutobiographyA guided, non-linear walkthrough of Bob Dylan’s Chronicles: Volume 1, focusing on how Dylan “creates himself” through relentless study, public practice, and reinvention—then contrasting early…16 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 23 chapters
#428 How Claude Shannon WorkedThe episode profiles Claude Shannon’s approach to solving problems and how his information theory helped create the digital information age.9 Aug 2026 · 51 min · 22 chapters
#427 How Raymond Plank Built a $50 Billion Oil CompanyRaymond Plank’s memoir “A Small Difference” and how he built Apache Corporation from $250,000 (1954) into a ~$50B oil company by mid-2008, emphasizing lifelong maxims: cost control, long-term…1 Aug 2026 · 38 min · 16 chapters
#426 How Obsession Built Christopher NolanHow Christopher Nolan’s lifelong obsession—especially with craft, control, and analog methods—powered his rise from micro-budget shorts to billion-dollar blockbusters, with emphasis on his working…26 Jul 2026 · 51 min · 28 chapters
#425 The Merchant BankersJoseph Westberg’s 1966 book “The Merchant Bankers” (episode #425) is used to explain how merchant banking dynasties operate: trust-based lending, discretion, fast judgment, minimal bureaucracy, and…19 Jul 2026 · 46 min · 19 chapters
#424 Peter Thiel on How to Build a Creative MonopolyPeter Thiel’s “Zero to One” ideas on building a creative monopoly: reject chance, plan long-term, find contrarian truths, build new categories, and create durable value (not just short-term growth).10 Jul 2026 · 54 min · 18 chapters
#423 Soichiro HondaThe episode is a biography discussion of Soichiro Honda, using Sol Sanders’ 1975 book Honda, The Man and His Machines to explain Honda’s “loop” for improvement: take an existing product, find what’s…28 Jun 2026 · 48 min · 25 chapters
#422 Joseph PulitzerJoseph Pulitzer’s life and media power—how he transformed 19th-century American journalism into mass, politically influential “print power,” using entertainment, technology, business strategy, and…20 Jun 2026 · 53 min · 16 chapters
#421 Jony IveThe episode discusses Leander Caney’s book “Jony Ive” and uses Ive’s career to explain how Apple shifted from engineering-driven to design-driven product development, especially around the Newton,…10 Jun 2026 · 53 min · 23 chapters
#420 Steve Jobs In ExileThe episode discusses Geoffrey Cain’s book Steve Jobs in Exile, focused on Steve Jobs’ 12-year period between being ousted from Apple (Sept 1985) and returning.4 Jun 2026 · 54 min · 24 chapters
#419 Kelly Johnson: Skunk WorksKelly Johnson’s “Skunk Works” approach to building breakthrough aircraft fast and cheaply, based on his autobiography More Than My Share of It All, including his “14 points” operating rules and how…16 May 2026 · 50 min · 23 chapters
#418 Phil Knight: Founder of NikePhil Knight’s origin story for Nike, centered on “crazy ideas,” relentless competition, product obsession, and surviving chronic cash shortages while building a market by celebrating running.7 May 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 29 chapters
#417 Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger’s early drive to become the best bodybuilder in the world, and how he claims the same “mind + discipline + work” blueprint later powered his acting and business ambitions.19 Apr 2026 · 44 min · 8 chapters
#416 The Relentless Missionary Creating AGI: Demis HassabisDemis Hassabis’s “missionary” drive to build AGI, told through his life story and DeepMind’s rise—why he pursued intelligence as a fundamental mystery, how he recruited and funded DeepMind, and how…1 Apr 2026 · 55 min · 29 chapters
#415 How Elon ThinksA compilation of Elon Musk’s “most useful ideas in his own words,” filtered through Eric Jorgenson’s years of reading, watching, and highlighting Musk.24 Mar 2026 · 51 min · 23 chapters
#414 How SpaceX WorksThe podcast episode discusses the success and operational methodologies of SpaceX, a leading aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company.8 Mar 2026 · 41 min · 17 chapters
#413 How To Run Down A DreamLearn from history's greatest entrepreneurs. Each week, the host reads a biography of an entrepreneur, extracting lessons applicable to current work.3 Mar 2026 · 31 min · 16 chapters
#412 How Roger Federer WorksIn this episode, insights are drawn from the biography "The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer" by Chris Clarey.19 Feb 2026 · 49 min · 20 chapters