#46 I Love Capitalism: An American Story
What I learned from reading I Love Capitalism: An American Story by Ken Langone.
---
Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode.
---
His early life: there was never much money (3:30)
Ken's first jobs (5:35)
[At school] I didn't apply myself at all . I did the absolute minimum . I was too busy having fun and working at all my various jobs (12:05)
further adventures in entrepreneurship (13:24)
Looking for work / finding excitement (17:00)
stepping out into the void / getting creative to get a job (23:50)
how he starts growing a business within the firm (26:33)
his first big break (28:50)
You treat a customer right and you never have to worry (32:00)
A lesson about human nature and developing trust (34:45)
Getting rich is one skill. Staying rich is a different skill altogether(43:10)
moral of the story: who wants it the most? (48:25)
Hubris and Redemption: Starting over (50:25)
how he started his own business (54:00)
learning about the opportunity for home depot from other founders and some early tactics to get traction for their stores (59:00)
leave more on the table for the other guy than he thinks he should get (1:03:32)
—
“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast