SONY (75 years of electronics history in 3 hours)

Born in the unlikeliest of places — the terrible, wasteland-like aftermath of post WWII Japan — Sony rose to capture the imaginations (and wallets) of consumers and engineers around the world. The company produced hit after hit after hit: portable transistor radios, CDs, the Walkman, the PlayStation, DVDs, life insurance(!!)... and yet ultimately fell behind its greatest American admirer, Steve Jobs and Apple. This is the incredible story of Sony’s human and technological optimism in the face of overwhelming odds — a story that, given recent world events, remains as relevant today as ever. This episode has video! You can watch it on Spotify (right in the main podcast interface) or on YouTube. PSA: if you want more Acquired, you can follow our newly public LP Show feed here in the podcast player of your choice (including Spotify!). Sponsors: Thank you to our presenting sponsor for all of Season 10, Vanta! Vanta is the leader in automated security compliance – making SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and more a breeze for startups and organizations of all sizes. You might say they’re like the “AWS of security and compliance”. ️ Everyone in the Acquired community can get 10% off using this link: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Thank you as well to Vouch and to SoftBank Latin America. You can learn more about them at: https://bit.ly/acquired-vouch https://bit.ly/acquiredsoftbanklatam Links: Steve Jobs’ Tribute to Akio Morita: https://youtu.be/Drwkvf76Cls Planet Money on Sony and Spider-Man: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076531156/the-spider-man-problem Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LpnPSju5xSPcuaRVd1TYXnL1oGBr4Qs5bRS7owbxoEc/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: How This All Happened by Morgan Housel: https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/how-this-all-happened/ The Model 3 is AWESOME: https://www.tesla.com/model3 ‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

David RosenthalhostBen Gilberthost

Mar 7, 20223h 4mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: March 7, 2022
Duration: 3h 4m
Channel: Acquired
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Born in the unlikeliest of places — the terrible, wasteland-like aftermath of post WWII Japan — Sony rose to capture the imaginations (and wallets) of consumers and engineers around the world. The company produced hit after hit after hit: portable transistor radios, CDs, the Walkman, the PlayStation, DVDs, life insurance(!!)... and yet ultimately fell behind its greatest American admirer, Steve Jobs and Apple. This is the incredible story of Sony’s human and technological optimism in the face of overwhelming odds — a story that, given recent world events, remains as relevant today as ever. This episode has video! You can watch it on Spotify (right in the main podcast interface) or on YouTube. PSA: if you want more Acquired, you can follow our newly public LP Show feed here in the podcast player of your choice (including Spotify!). Sponsors: Thank you to our presenting sponsor for all of Season 10, Vanta! Vanta is the leader in automated security compliance – making SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and more a breeze for startups and organizations of all sizes. You might say they’re like the “AWS of security and compliance”. ️ Everyone in the Acquired community can get 10% off using this link: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Thank you as well to Vouch and to SoftBank Latin America. You can learn more about them at: https://bit.ly/acquired-vouch https://bit.ly/acquiredsoftbanklatam Links: Steve Jobs’ Tribute to Akio Morita: https://youtu.be/Drwkvf76Cls Planet Money on Sony and Spider-Man: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076531156/the-spider-man-problem Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LpnPSju5xSPcuaRVd1TYXnL1oGBr4Qs5bRS7owbxoEc/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: How This All Happened by Morgan Housel: https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/how-this-all-happened/ The Model 3 is AWESOME: https://www.tesla.com/model3 ‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

SPEAKERS

David Rosenthal
host
Ben Gilbert
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Acquired, featuring David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert, SONY (75 years of electronics history in 3 hours) explores sony’s rise from postwar radio repairs to global entertainment conglomerate The episode traces Sony from its 1945 postwar origins—Masaru Ibuka’s engineer-led “haven” and Akio Morita’s business/marketing partnership—through breakthrough consumer innovations like transistor radios, Trinitron TVs, the Walkman, and the CD.

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