We dive into the history behind Meituan, the juggernaut Chinese “super-app” which dominates China’s services economy, offering consumers everything from food delivery, restaurant reviews, travel booking, bike-sharing, movie ticketing, and countless other entertainment and lifestyle services all at the touch of a button. Already China’s 3rd largest tech company by market cap (behind just Tencent and Alibaba), Meituan did $15 billion in net revenue in FY2019 and continues to grow rapidly. What makes it so special, and how were they able to become the market leader in such a competitive space? This story is packed with lessons that apply equally beyond China tech to high-growth company building and investing everywhere.
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The Meituan Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/meituan
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Experts from NASA’s Mars Architecture Team gather to discuss the mechanics of returning the first astronauts from the surface of Mars back home to Earth on the final episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 185.
George Abbey, former center director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, former Expedition 1 training integrator Ginger Kerrick, and Expedition 1 crew members Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev gather to relive the first long-duration mission aboard the International Space Center. HWHAP Episode 184.
Mark Fernandez, principal investigator for the Spaceborne Computer-2, details the experiment on the International Space Station that will further test the capabilities of in-space computing which may help humans explore deeper into space. HWHAP Episode 183.
For the entire 20th Century, you’d be hard pressed to find a better business than an American newspaper — Warren Buffett famously described them as “franchises” — and no American newspaper stood taller than the New York Times. Controlled by a single family bound by a legal oath “to maintain the editorial independence and integrity of The New York Times and to continue it as an independent newspaper, entirely fearless, free of ulterior influence and unselfishly devoted to the public welfare”, the Times served as the paper of record for generations of Americans and people around the world. But no good thing lasts forever, and the dawn of the 21st Century saw both the Times and this once-mighty industry devastated by the dual disruptive forces of the internet and the 2008 financial crisis. And yet by 2021, The Times, essentially alone of its former peers, has reemerged from the American newspaper wreckage and transformed itself into a thriving digital business with an order of magnitude more subscribers than its print heyday. Curious how it all happened? We dive into 170 years of history to find out!
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© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
The New York Times Company Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-new-york-times-company
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Chloe Sackier, entry, descent, and landing communications systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, illustrates the shortest and most intense phase of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission. HWHAP Episode 182
Natalie Mary, spacesuit systems engineer, explains what needs to be considered in the design and operation of a spacesuit that will be used to explore the surface of the Red Planet on the tenth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 181.
We cover Sequoia Capital a lot on this show. Not only across our now four(!) dedicated episodes, but across a stunning nearly 50% of recent season companies where Sequoia was a primary or only investor — the most of any venture firm by an enormous margin. Today in this very special episode, we dive into the principles that have led to the firm’s 49 years of unparalleled success in venture, and the playbook behind how they identify markets and companies that create outcomes worthy of the firm’s namesake tree.
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© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
The Sequoia Capital Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/special-sequoia-capitals-investment-playbook-with-alfred-lin
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Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, breaks down the intricate planning and integrated teams that are preparing the next missions to the Moon. Sarafin details the mission profile for Artemis I. HWHAP Episode 180.
Brock Howe, Bishop Airlock program manager at Nanoracks, details the history, design, and capabilities of the permanent commercial module that is now attached to the International Space Station. HWHAP Episode 179.
