Starbucks (with Howard Schultz)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

June 4, 2024

Duration

3h 15m

Channel

Acquired

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Starbucks. You’d be hard pressed to name any brand that’s more ubiquitous in the world today. With nearly half a billion global customer purchases per week across its stores and 3rd party retail channels, a significant portion of the human population gets their daily fix in the green and white paper cup. (Including our own Ben Gilbert who famously enjoys his daily spinach feta wrap. :) But it wasn’t always this way. Long before the frappuccinos and the PSLs and the cake pops, Starbucks was just a small-time Seattle roaster that only sold beans — and was started not by Howard Schultz but rather the guys who later ran Peet’s (!). Starting from six tiny stores when Howard took over in 1987, this quirky coffee company named after a character from Moby Dick has scaled to nearly 40,000 locations worldwide. Today, in a first for Acquired, the protagonist himself joins us as a third cohost to tell the whole story of Starbucks. And Howard is in the perfect moment to do this — after three separate stints as CEO he’s now retired, off the board of directors, and in his own words “not coming back.” So place a mobile order (or not! as you’ll hear Howard speak about), sit back with your own favorite Starbucks items, and enjoy. *Links:*

• Howard’s letter “The Soul of a Brand”: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/howardschultz_the-soul-of-a-brand-activity-7169073767615332352-ONbX/
• Worldly Partners’ multi-decade Starbucks analysis: https://worldlypartners.com/starbucks/
• Starbucks S-1: https://www.scribd.com/doc/11801030/Starbucks-IPO

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_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

• Ben Gilbert

  host

• David Rosenthal

  host

• Howard Schultz

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Acquired, featuring Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) explores Howard Schultz reveals Starbucks’ origin, growth engine, and current challenges Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal interview Howard Schultz to trace Starbucks from a 1971 Seattle bean shop (influenced by Peet’s) to a global “third place” with tens of thousands of stores and a powerful loyalty/app ecosystem.

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