Founders

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 [https://joincolossus.com/article/thomas-peterffy-market-maker/]. I couldn’t put it down. That’s what this episode is about. Episode sponsors: ⁠Ramp⁠ [https://ramp.com]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 and save time and money.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://ramp.com] Automate compliance, security, and trust with Vanta.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Vanta helps you win trust, close deals, and stay secure—faster and with less effort⁠ [https://vanta.com/founders]⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Find out how increased security leads to more customers by going to Vanta⁠⁠⁠. Tell them David from Founders sent you and you'll get $1000 off. ⁠⁠⁠https://www.vanta.com/founders⁠⁠ [https://vanta.com/founders] ⁠⁠⁠ [https://collateral.com] Collateral⁠⁠ [https://collateral.com] transforms your complex ideas into compelling narratives. Collateral crafts institutional grade marketing collateral for private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital, family offices, hedge funds, oil & gas companies, and all kinds of corporations. Storytelling is one of the highest forms of leverage and you should invest heavily in it. You can do that by going to ⁠⁠https://collateral.com [https://collateral.com]

I started a new show so I can have long-form conversations with the greatest living founders.  You can watch on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KPvfGAPcAU9Noktky5pau?si=61449d43a27c4369], Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-senra/id1836497887?i=1000728863493], YouTube [https://youtu.be/qiXH0y2V3_8?si=mxxeYtEeJmzv_VfR], X [https://x.com/davidsenra/status/1972300264922333290], or the web [https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/daniel-ek-spotify].  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 for the support!

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, Source Code: My Beginnings [https://amzn.to/4nPM2iH], and pulled ideas and notes from 4 more books about his singular career: Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire [https://amzn.to/4nmkIZs] Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace [https://amzn.to/48voIlC] Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft [https://amzn.to/4njA40V] In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World [https://amzn.to/4pD65lT] Episode sponsors: Ramp [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://ramp.com%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 and save time and money.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://ramp.com [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://ramp.com%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]⁠⁠⁠ Automate compliance, security, and trust with Vanta. ⁠⁠⁠Vanta helps you win trust, close deals, and stay secure—faster and with less effort [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://www.vanta.com/founders]⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Find out how increased security leads to more customers by going to Vanta⁠⁠⁠. Tell them David from Founders sent you and you'll get $1000 off. ⁠⁠https://www.vanta.com/founders⁠⁠ [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://www.vanta.com/founders]⁠ [https://collateral.com] Collateral⁠ [https://collateral.com] transforms your complex ideas into compelling narratives. Collateral crafts institutional grade marketing collateral for private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital, family offices, hedge funds, oil & gas companies, and all kinds of corporations. Storytelling is one of the highest forms of leverage and you should invest heavily in it. You can do that by going to ⁠https://collateral.com [https://collateral.com]

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 valuable privately-held companies in the world. A company he owns without shareholders — and one that is centered around an obsession with the quality of the product above all. I spent well over 70 hours reading (and rereading) both Against the Odds [https://amzn.to/4nsQ00r] and Invention: A Life of Learning Through Failure [https://amzn.to/4nvwxw8]. These books tell the story of the vision of a single man, pursued with dogged determination, that was nothing less than obsession. Episode sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ramp [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://ramp.com%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 and save time and money.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠⁠ [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://ramp.com%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Automate compliance, security, and trust with Vanta [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://www.vanta.com/founders%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]. ⁠⁠⁠Vanta helps you win trust, close deals, and stay secure—faster and with less effort⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Find out how increased security leads to more customers by going to Vanta⁠⁠⁠. Tell them David from Founders sent you and you'll get $1000 off. ⁠⁠https://www.vanta.com/founders⁠⁠ [%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://www.vanta.com/founders%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Collateral⁠ [%20%E2%81%A0https://collateral.com]transforms your complex ideas into compelling narratives. Collateral crafts institutional grade marketing collateral for private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital, family offices, hedge funds, oil & gas companies, and all kinds of corporations. Storytelling is one of the highest forms of leverage and you should invest heavily in it. You can do that by going to ⁠https://collateral.com [%20%E2%81%A0https://collateral.com]

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 [https://amzn.to/3VhFVqZ]. 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 focuses exclusively on the ideas Elon used to build his companies and his truly singular career. There is no one else like him — living or dead. Episode sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Ramp⁠⁠ [https://ramp.com]⁠⁠⁠ 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 and save time and money.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqblB4ME1tRUFOT0xEWkRXRmJCYzFpUGk1V1k2Z3xBQ3Jtc0tucHRVVW56cUYzSzhqbmJJMmxpdURwcXhOamdUWk9PQU0zMkstWUVUM0syZmJ1V2NNaHVtRlJ0VUVIQXNPTENWQXBQSGlwV2RNN1RYdExrSG9VeFpNblgyTjdSTDNGMThXSkxOcDNlQWg0d2ZIMlA2RQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Framp.com%2F&v=-quUT9uGApo] Automate compliance, security, and trust with Vanta. ⁠⁠Vanta helps you win trust, close deals, and stay secure—faster and with less effort⁠⁠ [https://www.vanta.com/founders]. ⁠⁠⁠Find out how increased security leads to more customers by going to Vanta⁠⁠⁠. Tell them David from Founders sent you and you'll get $1000 off. ⁠https://www.vanta.com/founders⁠ [https://www.vanta.com/founders] Collateral [https://collateral.com] transforms your complex ideas into compelling narratives. Collateral crafts institutional grade marketing collateral for private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital, family offices, hedge funds, oil & gas companies, and all kinds of corporations.  Storytelling is one of the highest forms of leverage and you should invest heavily in it. You can do that by going to https://collateral.com [https://collateral.com]