Best Biography Of An Entrepreneur Podcasts (2025)

1
S4E9: A World-Renowned Architect Dedicates His Career to Innovative Design | (Craig Hartman, Architect and Senior Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill ) 42:16

3d ago42:16

42:16

Craig Hartman is an accomplished architect and senior consulting design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious design firms. Craig attended high school in rural Indiana. But it was the education that he received at Ball State University that opened his eyes to the possibility of making a professional …

1
Ken Hershman, "Big Time Boxing" 1:11:58

3d ago1:11:58

1:11:58

Ken Hershman, former Showtime Sports and then HBO Sports President involved in some of the biggest Boxing events over the past 25 years. Great stories from his 25 years at those networks and beyond from Mike Tyson to Don King and Mayweather vs Pacquiao. And his latest project and role as CEO of the Clash Basketball Pro League. Key Highlights Lawyer…

1
#389 The Founder of Jimmy Choo: Tamara Mellon 55:42

7d ago55:42

55:42

When Tamara Mellon’s father lent her the seed money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: “Don’t let the accountants run your business.” Little did he know that over the next fifteen years, the struggle between “financial” and “creative” would become one of the central themes as Mellon’s business. Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion…

51
#388 Jeff Bezos's Shareholder Letters: All of Them! 1:19:28

17d ago1:19:28

1:19:28

(I fixed the audio and uploaded a new episode!) "To read Jeff Bezos’s shareholder letters is to get a crash course in running a high-growth internet business from someone who mastered it before any of the playbooks were written." That is the best description of Bezos's letters I have ever read. I just finished rereading these letters for the 4th or…

1
A conversation on focus and finding your life's work 1:22:05

24d ago1:22:05

1:22:05

My friend Patrick O’Shaughnessy asked me to come to New York and record a conversation. Patrick had just finished listening to episode #383 "Todd Graves and his $10 Billion Chicken Finger Dream" and he believed there was an important conversation to have on focus and finding your life's work. This conversation was off-the-cuff and from the soul. I …

1
#387 Jim Simons Built The World’s Greatest Money-Making Machine 1:08:06

1M ago1:08:06

1:08:06

Jim Simons never took a single class on finance, wasn’t interested in business, and didn’t start trading full time until he was 40. The company he founded — Renaissance Technologies — has made over $100 billion in profits. Starting out with the heretical belief that there was a hidden structure in financial markets, Jim decided to staff his “crazy …

1
S4E8: A Retired CEO and Entrepreneur Reflects on How Ball State Prepared Him For Career Success | (Ron Galbraith, Professor, Consultant, Innovator) 39:45

1M ago39:45

39:45

Ron Galbraith is a retired CEO and entrepreneur with a distinctive career path—one that began in academia, continued in healthcare, and ended as an entrepreneur. But before he enjoyed career success, Ron was a Ball State student who, on his first day on campus, walked into the wrong science class. Ron’s experiences as a first-generation college stu…

151
#386 Akio Morita: Founder of Sony 1:11:32

1M ago1:11:32

1:11:32

Akio Morita was a visionary entrepreneur and co-founder of Sony. Born as the first son and fifteenth-generation heir to a 300-year-old sake-brewing family in Japan, Akio eschewed the traditional path to forge his own legacy in electronics. In post-war Japan, Akio joined forces with Masaru Ibuka to found Sony. They started in a burned-out department…

1
#385 Michael Dell 1:48:16

2M ago1:48:16

1:48:16

This is one of the most extraordinary founder stories you will ever hear. Michael Dell started his company with $1000 when he was 19 years old. The revenues for the first 16 years of Dell look like this: 1984 $6M 1985 $33M 1986 $67M 1987 $159M 1988 $258M 1989 $388M 1990 $546M 1991 $890M 1992 $2B 1993 $2.9B 1994 $3.5B 1995 $5.3B 1996 $7.8B 1997 $12.…

1
#384 Ken Griffin: Founder of Citadel and Citadel Securities 1:06:30

2M ago1:06:30

1:06:30

Because of the podcast I get to meet a lot of super successful people. I'm always asking them "Who is the smartest person you know" and "Who do you think has the best business?". "Ken Griffin" is a very common answer. I've heard Ken described in two ways: "Winner" and "Killer". For years I've come across interesting anecdotes about Ken. Like when h…

1
Lalit Modi, The Founder – IPL .. Episode 4, The End 1:00:13

2M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL, the final episode uncovers how it all went wrong at the end. From threats to his life, assassination attempts, to being banned for life and having to leave the country. One final amazing episode to wrap up our four part series on how Lalit created the IPL. Key Highlights Breaking new grounds and records in first …

1
S4E7: A Trailblazer in Public Service Devotes Her Career to Advocacy and the Law | (Dana Kenworthy, Judge for the Indiana Court of Appeals) 35:18

2M ago35:18

35:18

Dana Kenworthy has dedicated her professional career to serving the people of Indiana—in particular those who have been victims of abuse and neglect. Currently, she serves as a judge for the second circuit of the Indiana Court of Appeals, which is the second-highest court in the state. But prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Ken…

1
The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig 50:00

2M ago50:00

50:00

Daniel Ludwig was the richest man in the world and no one knew his name. I've read almost 400 biographies of history's greatest founders and this book is one of my all time favorites. Daniel Ludwig started his company at 19 and was working on it well into his 90s. He built a massive conglomerate of over 200 companies operating in more than 50 count…

1
#383 Todd Graves and his $10 Billion Chicken Finger Dream 1:08:07

3M ago1:08:07

1:08:07

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living entrepreneurs. He's a great example of Charlie Munger's maxim: Find a simple idea and take it seriously. Todd wanted to create a quick service restaurant that only focused on quality chicken finger meals and nothing else. Everyone told him that couldn't possibly work. The college paper that described the ide…

1
#382 Who Is Michael Ovitz?: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood 1:31:25

3M ago1:31:25

1:31:25

At the core of Michael Ovitz's success is his relentless work ethic and commitment to mastering his craft. 50 years ago he founded Creative Artists Agency. CAA starts out as just five young guys in a run down office and eventually becomes the most powerful agency in the world. Ovitz's autobiography explains how that happened. As the Wall Street Jou…

1
#381 I Had Dinner With Michael Ovitz 27:02

3M ago27:02

27:02

What I learned from having an intense and fun 3 hour dinner with Michael Ovitz. 1: Mediocrity is always invisible until passion shows up and exposes it. 2: There's no ceiling on where you can push your profession. 3: Don't be unequally yoked. Pick partners that have the same ambition as you. 4: Read biographies. Know everything about the history of…

1
S4E6: A Leader in Regional Healthcare Reflects on His Fulfilling Career in Medicine and Hospital Administration | (Dr. Jeff Bird, President of East Central Region for IU Health) 36:59

3M ago36:59

36:59

Throughout Dr. Jeff Bird’s long and fulfilling career in medicine, he has put his patients—and the people of Muncie—first. Dr. Bird grew up in Muncie. After completing his residency at Ball Hospital, he embarked upon a long and fulfilling career in medicine here in his hometown. As the hospital prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Dr. Bird …

1
#380 Four Hundred Pages of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger In Their Own Words 1:21:43

3M ago1:21:43

1:21:43

For over 30 years the Berkshire Hathaway Annual meetings were recorded. Munger and Buffett answered over 1700 questions from shareholders during that period. Alex Morris watched hundreds of hours of these meetings and then he gathered, organized, and edited the most interesting ideas into 450+ pages — all in Buffett and Munger's own words. I though…

1
#379 Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) 59:45

3M ago59:45

59:45

Jerry Jones rolled the dice until his knuckles bled. He started working at 7 years old. Jerry could sell, sell, sell. He sold fruit at his father’s grocery store in grade school and sold shoes out of the trunk of his car in college. After failing to sell pizza franchises he tried real estate and insurance. He never met a high risk deal he didn’t li…

1
#378 The Last Oil Baron: Leon Hess 53:24

4M ago53:24

53:24

Your father goes bankrupt. You work for 50 cents a day to try to help your family survive the Great Depression. At 19 you see an opportunity where others see nothing. You start “a little fuel delivery business” with one used truck. Five years later you have 10 trucks. World War II breaks out and you serve as the fuel supply officer for General Patt…

1
S4E5: A Broadway Stage Manager Reflects on His Humble Upbringing and Undergraduate Education at Ball State | (Brandon Allmon-Jackson, Stage Manager and Storyteller) 32:36

4M ago32:36

32:36

During Brandon Allmon-Jackson’s major theatrical productions, he is never seen by the audiences. But as a stage manager fulfilling his dream of working on Broadway, he’s the person most responsible for making sure big acts—including The Music Man, Back to the Future, and Sunset Boulevard—go off without a hitch. In the years since he graduated from …

1
#377 Expanding A Family Dynasty: Marcus Wallenberg Jr. 1:03:42

4M ago1:03:42

1:03:42

Marcus Wallenberg Jr's impact on Swedish industry was so substantial that during the 1970s, Wallenberg family businesses employed about 40% of Sweden's industrial workforce and represented 40% of the total worth of the Stockholm stock market. The Wallenberg family is one of the most fascinating family dynasties you could read about. The family has …

1
#376 Jensen Huang: Founder of Nvidia 1:40:44

5M ago1:40:44

1:40:44

What I learned from reading The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim. ---- Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business co…

1
Lalit Modi, The Founder – IPL .. Episode 3, South Africa 1:40:34

5M ago1:40:34

1:40:34

In our 3rd episode with Lalit Modi, we will dive deep into the crazy 2nd Season of the IPL (which was held in South Africa) and as a bonus discuss the stories behind the creation of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), including the Mumbai Terrorist attacks. As always fascinating stories and some never before heard details. Key Highlights Year 2 …

1
#375 The Single Biggest Individual Financier In The World. The Richest Woman In America: Hetty Green 53:47

5M ago53:47

53:47

Hetty Green bailed out New York City. Her decisions on what interest rates to charge moved markets and were reported in major newspapers. She was a one woman bank and the single biggest individual financier in the world. She took no partners and ran her own money. She built a financial empire of stocks, bonds, railroads, and real estate. She battle…

1
The Most Inspiring Autobiography I've Read: Chung Ju-yung Founder of Hyundai 1:15:50

5M ago1:15:50

1:15:50

Chung Ju-yung grew up so poor he had to eat tree bark to survive. He founded Hyundai and became the richest person in Korea. When Chung was in his 80s, he wrote an autobiography that tells the devastating reality of growing up in dire poverty, how he escaped through manual labor, and how he founded and grew one of the world's largest conglomerates.…

1
S4E4: A Ball State Student Brings Her Perspective to the Board of Trustees (Hope Churchill, Student Representative, Ball State Board of Trustees) 34:30

5M ago34:30

34:30

Hope Churchill is a senior studying business administration in our Miller College of Business. She’s also our current student representative on the Board of Trustees. In this role, Hope serves as the voice of her peers, advocating for her fellow Ball State students and bringing their perspectives to the board. As she prepares to graduate in May, Ho…

1
#374 Rare Jeff Bezos Interview 36:00

6M ago36:00

36:00

Jeff Bezos on retirement being lame, AI, the electricity metaphor for AI, the good fortune of being alive during multiple golden ages, long term life long passions, refusing to underestimate opportunity, dancing with curiosity, inventing, wandering, crisp documents and messy meetings, willing to be misunderstood, and why he doesn't do many intervie…

1
#373 Breakfast with Brad Jacobs + How To Make A Few Billion Dollars 1:33:57

6M ago1:33:57

1:33:57

Brad Jacobs is one of the most talented living entrepreneurs. Brad has started 8 different billion dollar or multi-billion dollar businesses. He has done over 500 acquisitions and has raised over $30 billion. He started his first company at 23, has over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur, and is the most energetic person I have ever been aro…

1
#372: Amancio Ortega: The Genius Behind the Inditex Group 49:16

6M ago49:16

49:16

Amancio Ortega is one of the wealthiest people in the world. Ortega is the founder of Inditex, a pioneer of fast fashion, an entrepreneur with over 60 years of experience, and has created a business model that is studied in universities that he could not access. His life story is inspiring, educational, and full of valuable ideas for future generat…

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