About Acquired Briefing
Acquired Briefing is a newsletter about a podcast.
It transforms the brilliant insights from Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal's legendary Acquired podcast into actionable written briefings. Each issue distills the most valuable business lessons, strategic frameworks, and historical insights from their deep-dive company stories.
A Massive Thank You to Ben and David
Before anything else, I need to express my profound gratitude to Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal for creating something truly extraordinary. The depth of research, storytelling mastery, and business acumen they bring to every Acquired episode is nothing short of remarkable. They've built more than a podcast—they've created a masterclass in business history and strategy that has educated and inspired thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders. This newsletter exists only because of their incredible work.
The Problem: Great Insights, Hard to Capture
Acquired episodes are packed with golden nuggets of wisdom—strategic insights, historical patterns, and business lessons that can transform how you think about companies and markets. But here's the challenge: with episodes often running 3-4 hours and delivered in audio format, it's nearly impossible to capture and reference all those brilliant moments when you need them most.
Like many of you, I tend to listen while doing the dishes or running. I was constantly finding myself frantically trying to pull out my phone to jot down a specific insight that Ben or David just shared—usually while my hands were covered in soap suds or I was mid-stride on a run.
Then I thought: "Why isn't there a place that has comprehensive notes on these episodes?" I searched everywhere and couldn't find what I was looking for. So I decided to create it myself. These briefings are not intended to replace the podcast, but to serve as a companion to the podcast.
The Solution: Your Personal Research Assistant
That's where Acquired Briefing comes in. I listen to every episode with a strategic lens, capturing the most valuable insights and transforming them into organized, searchable, and actionable written content. Think of it as your personal research assistant for the Acquired universe—I do the heavy lifting of identifying and organizing the gold so you can focus on applying it.
The Format
Each Acquired Briefing takes the most valuable insights from recent episodes and organizes them into seven key sections:
History and Facts - The essential background and context that sets up the story
Transaction - Key details about the deals, acquisitions, or pivotal business moments
Grading - Ben and David's analysis of how well strategies and decisions played out
Tech Trends - Broader technology and market trends highlighted in the episode
Playbook - Actionable strategies and frameworks you can apply to your own business
Carveouts - The hosts' personal recommendations and tangential insights
Additional Notes - Extra gems and quotable moments that didn't fit elsewhere
Every briefing is designed to be referenced, shared, and applied—turning hours of audio into minutes of focused, actionable content.
Ready to Never Miss Another Insight?
If you're serious about learning from the greatest business stories ever told, and you want those lessons in a format you can actually use, then Acquired Briefing is for you.
Subscribe now and join fellow business builders, investors, and strategists who are turning Acquired's wisdom into action.
About Kyle
I'm Kyle Westaway, a self-professed Acquired fanboy. As an entrepreneur, startup lawyer, investor and writer, I've found that the insights from Acquired have genuinely shaped how I think about building companies and understanding markets. My favorite episodes? The deep dives on Hermès and IKEA—both masterclasses in building enduring brands and business models. This newsletter is my way of making sure none of us miss the brilliant lessons Ben and David uncover in their research.
