Best Nick Dyson Podcasts (2025)

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Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac Founder 59:48

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1h ago59:48

59:48

I'm reposting one of my favorite founder stories. If you listened to this first time I recommend listening again. If you missed this before, you're about to hear one of the wildest founder stories of all time. A few surprising things I learned from reading about Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull: 1. He started the company when he was 41 year…

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#405 How Rockefeller Worked 58:00

7d ago58:00

58:00

This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of John D. Rockefeller—and nothing else. I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this obscure biography of Rockefeller that costs $1,000 I then spent several days editing down 25 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not How Rockefeller Works Episode s…

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My conversation with Todd Graves 2:00:40

9d ago2:00:40

2:00:40

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living founders. He owns over 90% of Raising Canes — a business that is worth at least $20 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." It is impossible not to be inspired by his terminator levels of determination. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Episode show notes:…

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#404 How Larry Ellison Thinks 1:02:21

21d ago1:02:21

1:02:21

This episode covers the unique way Larry Ellison thinks. I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this book on Ellison written by Matthew Symonds. ⁠ I then spent several days editing down 40 pages of notes into a one-hour nonstop stream of Larry Ellison's ideas. Episode sponsors: ⁠Ramp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gives you everything you need to control spend, wa…

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My Conversation with Brad Jacobs 2:04:09

22d ago2:04:09

2:04:09

I’ve started a new show where I have conversations with the greatest living Founders. The show is called David Senra. It will be on a separate podcast feed from Founders. So it is very important that you follow David Senra on ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, or ⁠wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss future episodes⁠. Nothing is…

1
Maggi Hambling 34:38

1M ago34:38

34:38

In this special episode with the brilliant British artist Maggi Hambling, released on Maggi's birthday, host Janet Ellis finds out about Maggi's love for all things 'Just William'. Having been introduced to the books by Richmal Crompton at a young age, and often identifying with the lead character, Maggi tells Janet how the books have continued to …

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#403 How Jensen Works 55:00

30d ago55:00

55:00

This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of Jensen Huang—and nothing else. I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this book on Jensen and Nvidia written by Tae Kim I then spent several days editing down 30 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not How Jensen Works. List of ideas: 1. Professo…

1
My Conversation with Michael Dell 1:31:48

1M ago1:31:48

1:31:48

I’ve started a new show where I have conversations with the greatest living Founders. The show is called David Senra. It will be on a separate podcast feed from Founders. So it is very important that you follow David Senra on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss future episodes. Nothing is changin…

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#402 Thomas Peterffy: The $80 Billion Founder Who Automates Everything 31:42

1M ago31:42

31:42

I didn’t know who Thomas Peterffy was. I was shocked to learn that he is 81 years old, worth $80 billion dollars, and has built his $120 billion company, Interactive Brokers, into one of the most efficient companies in the world. I discovered Peterffy by reading this incredible profile about him. I couldn’t put it down. That’s what this episode is …

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My conversation with Daniel Ek: Founder of Spotify 2:09:59

2M ago2:09:59

2:09:59

I started a new show so I can have long-form conversations with the greatest living founders. You can watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, X, or the web. The new show is on a separate feed so don't forget to follow David Senra so you don't miss future episodes. Nothing is changing with Founders. I will never stop making that podcast. Thanks f…

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#401 How Bill Gates Works 1:08:10

2M ago1:08:10

1:08:10

This episode is about Bill Gates' obsessive drive and hardcore work ethic. Bill Gates had the rarest entrepreneurial talent—the ability to see the leverage point in a new industry, seize it with relentless intensity, and *will* Microsoft into one of the most successful companies in human history. To make this episode I read Bill's new autobiography…

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#400 The Stubborn Genius of James Dyson 1:13:03

2M ago1:13:03

1:13:03

This episode covers the extreme perseverance and the stubborn genius of James Dyson. Dyson has a business philosophy which is very different from anything you might have encountered before. A philosophy which demands difference from what exists and retention of total control. For almost four decades, James Dyson has been building one of the most va…

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#399 How Elon Works 1:33:02

3M ago1:33:02

1:33:02

This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of Elon Musk—and nothing else. I spent well over 60 hours reading (and rereading) the biography of Elon Musk written by Walter Isaacson. I then spent several days editing down 40 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not about How Elon Works. This episode fo…

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#398 Steve Jobs In His Own Words (Make Something Wonderful) 2:01:22

3M ago2:01:22

2:01:22

A curated collection of Steve’s speeches, interviews, and correspondence, Make Something Wonderful offers a window into how one of the world’s most creative entrepreneurs approached his life and work. In these pages, Steve shares his perspective on his childhood, on launching and being pushed out of Apple, on his time with Pixar and NeXT, and on hi…

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#397 Jiro Ono: Simplicity Is The Ultimate Advantage 41:02

4M ago41:02

41:02

Jiro Ono is the greatest living sushi chef. He was kicked out his house when he was 9. He started working in a restaurant so he wouldn't have to sleep under a bridge. He never stopped. Over his 75 year career he rose to the very top of his profession. People travel from all over the world to eat at his restaurant. The meal costs $400 per person and…

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#396 The Obsession of Enzo Ferrari 57:21

4M ago57:21

57:21

I've read hundreds of thousands of words about Enzo Ferrari. For this episode I distilled down his most important ideas into 1 hour. Ferrari was truly one of history's greatest obsessives. Episode sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠Ramp⁠⁠⁠ gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. …

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#395 How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport 1:04:57

4M ago1:04:57

1:04:57

Those on the margins often come to control the center. That maxim ties together the three remarkable people profiled in this episode: Colin Chapman, known as “the mad scientist of F1”, did more to influence F1 design than any other person in history. Bernie Ecclestone, known as “Supremo”, Bernie transformed Formula One from a disorganized, rag-tag,…

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#394 An Orphan Who Built An Empire: Leonardo Del Vecchio and The Founding of Luxottica 1:07:46

4M ago1:07:46

1:07:46

Your dad dies before you’re born. Your mom can’t afford to take care of you. You grow up without a family and in an institution. You learn a trade and start working full time at the age of 14. You work all day and go to school at night. You’re precise, meticulous, restless, and work circles around everyone. You’re promoted to run the factory at 18 …

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#393 The Marketing Genius of the Michelin Brothers 54:52

5M ago54:52

54:52

Your family asks you to take over a failing factory in a remote part of France. This “family business” comes with a stack of unpaid bills, a small team of workers who haven’t been paid in months, and a banker refusing to extend any more credit. You cut every unprofitable product and go all in on making rubber tires. You have no experience and don’t…

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#392 Michele Ferrero and His $40 Billion Privately Owned Chocolate Empire 54:55

5M ago54:55

54:55

You take over the family pastry shop and transform it into one of the most valuable privately held businesses in the world. Your father dies young. Your uncle does too. Everyone is relying on you and this keeps you up at night. You insist on differentiation and refuse to make me too products. You obsess over quality. You run tens of thousands of ex…

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#391 Jimmy Iovine 57:05

5M ago57:05

57:05

You grow up in a rough neighborhood in Brooklyn. You drop out of college. Your dad is your best friend but you don’t want to work the docks like him. You’re determined to “do something special.” You get a job sweeping the floor at recording studio. You get fired—twice. You’ll do anything to work in the music business, including working on Easter Su…

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#390 Rare Steve Jobs Interview 40:46

6M ago40:46

40:46

I've read this interview probably 10 times. It's that good. Steve Jobs was 29 when this interview was published, and with remarkable clarity of thought Steve explains the upcoming technological revolution, why the personal computer is the greatest tool humans have ever invented, how the computer compares to past inventions, why software needs to be…

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

6M 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…

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

6M 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…

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

7M 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 …

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

7M 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 …

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

7M 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…

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#385 Michael Dell 1:48:16

7M 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.…

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

8M 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…

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The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig 50:00

8M 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…

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

8M 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…

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

9M 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…

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#381 I Had Dinner With Michael Ovitz 27:02

9M 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…

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

9M 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…

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#379 Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) 59:45

9M 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…

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

10M 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…

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

10M 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 …

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

11M 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…

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

11M 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…

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

11M 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.…

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#374 Rare Jeff Bezos Interview 36:00

12M 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…

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

12M 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…

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

12M 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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#371 James J. Hill: The Empire Builder 58:43

1y ago58:43

58:43

What I learned from rereading James J. Hill: Empire Builder by Michael P. Malone. ---- 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 control your costs a…

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#370 The Founder of IKEA: Ingvar Kamprad 1:05:33

1y ago1:05:33

1:05:33

What I learned from reading Leading By Design: The Ikea Story by Ingvar Kamprad and Bertil Torekull and The Testament of a Furniture Dealer by Ingvar Kamprad. ---- 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 go…

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#369 Elon Musk and The Early Days of SpaceX 1:03:59

1y ago1:03:59

1:03:59

What I learned from rereading Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger. ---- 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 y…

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Steve Jobs and Edwin Land 1:02:18

1y ago1:02:18

1:02:18

What I learned from rereading Instant: The Story of Polaroid by Christopher Bonanos. ---- 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 control your cost…

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#368 Rockefeller's Autobiography 55:53

1y ago55:53

55:53

What I learned from rereading Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller. ---- 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 control y…

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#367 Inside the Contrarian Mind of Sam Zell 50:06

1y ago50:06

50:06

What I learned from reading Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks: Inside the Contrarian Mind of Billionaire Mogul Sam Zell by Ben Johnson. ---- 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 …

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#366 Mr. Beast Leaked Memo 44:41

1y ago44:41

44:41

What I learned from reading How To Succeed in Mr. Beast Production and how ideas from Sam Zell, Charlie Munger, Nick Sleep, Warren Buffett, Sam Zemurray, Bob Kierlin, Steve Jobs, Li Lu, Edwin Land, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, James Cameron, Anna Wintour, Walt Disney, Bernard Arnault, and Brad Jacobs immediately came to mind. ---- Ramp gi…