Scott Tingle, NASA Astronaut, talks about his education in mechanical engineering, his time in the Navy as a test pilot, and his astronaut training before his first mission to the International Space Station in December, 2017. HWHAP Episode 23.
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Episode 50: Apple – Beats
Acquired crosses the half-century mark with an instant classic: Apple’s 2014 purchase of Beats, its largest acquisition ever. If you knew Beats as just another headphone company, think again—the history on this one will keep your heads ringin’.
Sponsors:
- Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
- Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
- ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
More Acquired!
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© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs: * Ben: HQ * David: Wooden on Leadership
Astronaut Health
Dr. Natacha Chough, Flight Surgeon, talks about what flight surgeons do and how they work with astronauts to monitor their health during spaceflight. She reveals health concerns that are unique to the space environment. HWHAP Episode 22.
Episode 49: The Stitch Fix IPO
Ben and David dive into the most talked-about tech IPO of 4Q 2017: Stitch Fix. After downsizing the offering and pricing below the range, does this signal a warning that public markets won’t value high-flying silicon valley “disruptors” as high as VCs hope? Or is this a textbook example of a great return for a disciplined management team and well-run company? Most importantly, what happens next? Tune in for our heroes’ take.
Sponsors:
- Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
- Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
- ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
More Acquired!
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- Subscribe to ACQ2
- Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Carve Outs:
Microgravity University
Mike McGlone, NASA Education Specialist, talks about how the different education programs here in Texas influence students to pursue careers in STEM and STEAM fields, including careers here at NASA. HWHAP Episode 21.
Special Delivery with NASA in Silicon Valley
Shane Kimbrough, NASA Astronaut, and Dennis Leveson-Gower, Senior Project Scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, talk about cargo and science going to and from the International Space Station. Houston We Have a Podcast teams up with NASA in Silicon Valley Podcast. HWHAP Episode 20.
Episode 48: Qualcomm – Broadcom
Ben & David cover the proposed largest tech M&A deal of all time, and in the process dive into the evolving dynamics of the industry that started everything in Silicon Valley—silicon. Just when VCs thought innovation was dead in semiconductors, a new wave of startups and large companies are redrawing the lines of competition in an industry dominated for a half-century by the “Wintel” duopoly of Intel and Microsoft.
Sponsors:
- Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
- Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
- ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
More Acquired!
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- Join the Slack
- Subscribe to ACQ2
- Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
- Innovation and disruption in the semiconductor industry over the past two years
- Intel’s acquisition of Nervana
- Graphcore and other ML-focused semiconductor startups
- CDMA and the telephone network effect
- Qualcomm’s early cell phone handsets
- Vertical integration + commoditization in smartphone chipsets
The Carve Out:
- Ben: The de-watering of Niagara Falls
- David: Big Daddy’s Antiques
- Bonus: The Mystery Show
Weather to Launch
Tim Garner, Meteorologist in Charge at the Johnson Space Center, talks about how weather affects human spaceflight, especially for launches, landings, and tests. He also reveals how Hurricane Harvey impacted operations here in Houston. HWHAP Episode 19.
Mars
Dr. Doug Archer, Planetary Scientist, talks about Mars: what its made of, what it’s like on the surface, and why it’s such an intriguing place for humans to visit in the next giant leap. HWHAP Episode 18.
Episode 47: The Atlassian IPO
Ben & David venture to the land down under (and reunite in-person!) to tell the story of the granddaddy of all bootstrapped tech success stories, collaboration software company Atlassian. How did two plucky college grads from Sydney, Australia go from just trying to escape working for the man to becoming two of the top 10 wealthiest people in the entire country, all without raising a dollar of venture capital? We dive in.
Sponsors:
- Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
- Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
- ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
More Acquired!
- Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
- Join the Slack
- Subscribe to ACQ2
- Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include:
- How Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar met in college at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and their decision to bootstrap a startup as an alternative to finding a “real job” after graduation
- Atlassian’s “no sales” model, and the resultant efficiency of their sales & marketing spend relative to other SAAS companies
- Organic product growth and acquisitions over the years, starting with Jira and later adding Confluence, BitBucket, HipChat / Stride, Jira Service Desk and Trello
- Rapid revenue growth and the decision to continue as a bootstrapped company, only raising secondary capital prior to going public
- The IPO in November 2015 and subsequent stock performance (spoiler: it’s been good)
The Carve Out:
- Ben: Phil Knight’s memoir, Shoe Dog
- David: Bruce Springsteen memoir, Born to Run