No. 1 CEO: The Strategies I Used to Build 5 Billion-Dollar Companies (And How You Can Use Them)

Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no “playbook” for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all.

Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success.

--

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - The future of AI
03:50 - How to think rationally
05:17 - The major trend
07:26 - The research process
09:58 - On asking better questions
16:04 - On rearranging your brain
18:52 - On music, math, simplicity, and business
28:55 - Leverage, debt, and optionality
31:40 - What it takes to take contrarian bets
37:14 - Confidence and parents
46:50 - Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees
52:43 - Money lessons
54:42 - A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)
01:04:20 - Questions to immediately get to know anyone
01:07:43 - On boards and board meetings
01:13:26 - On decision-making
01:20:06 - The role of capital markets
01:22:10 - The type of person you don't want to hire
01:27:45 - The best capital allocators
01:30:22 - Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year
01:33:49 - On success

--

📈  OUR MOST POPULAR INTERVIEWS

🎙 Listen to the show 

GET IN TOUCH

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT
Like the mentor you’ve always dreamed of having, The Knowledge Project shares timely yet timeless lessons for work and life. Past guests include Naval Ravikant, Daniel Kahneman, Jim Collins, Angela Duckworth, Seth Godin, Melanie Mitchell, & Esther Perel.

[tkppodcast]

Share your favorite part of the convo below 👇

[TheDiaryOfACEO]

Clicked on this thinking it was DOAC 😂 couldn’t remember having this guy on

[justicelaub]

1. Generate exceptional shareholder returns.
2. Incentivize employees for shareholder value creation.
3. Rapidly standardize and integrate acquisitions.
4. Allocate capital to the highest return opportunities.
5. Foster positive culture and relationships.
6. Be contrarian when conviction warrants it.
7. Solve complexity through simplicity and math.
8. Learn from employees at all levels.
9. Validate before providing constructive criticism.
10. Maintain profound curiosity to spot trends.

[syedjameelahmed]

He looked to me as a very well-spoken gentleman with high-level business acumen and a genuinely kind human being.

[adigullia]

It's my first video from this channel.

Hats off to the host for discovering this gem of an entrepreneur and sharing with us.

Brad is remarkably honest and transparent, and is clearly gifted at what he does.

[dr.wezisunkutumd]

Very deep conversation here, greatly appreciate especially as a new CEO in the healthcare industry. I am learning alot from this single podcast conversation. I salute.

[dqkrzct]

Bradley Jacobs is a one of kind entrepreneur. I encourage you to read his background and professional career. Guy perfected the "roll-up" transaction and M&A model. Truly a great operator of companies and understands the entire Big Picture.

[Rajabali]

1 Listening with complete attention.
2 Asking questions.
3 Learning from others.
4 Meeting outcomes by discussing both plus points and things need to get better.

[davideylerYT]

Amazing. I’ve never heard of CEO speak in this manner. So much insight! The long end of the stick indeed!

[stellargal]

I am so impressed with this gentleman. He has such a good heart. Truly a superior human being. In my home country, Romania, we use the word ‘character’ to describe a person’s personality/demeanor. Mr. Jacobs has a beautiful character. I’ll be ordering his book.

[RosaLei]

I'm slowly digesting Brad Jacobs' new book "How to Make a Few Billion Dollars", it's NOT on Audible and my reading time is limited so I'll take a few bites of the book before I turn in, I wish I could say I'm devouring it, but no, some of the paragraphs have a high density of information on how he thinks about things, I have to ponder what he is saying for a while. He is such an interesting guy!🤑

[demetriusdupree]

Boy o boy….I came in for financial insight & the first few minutes Mr. Jacobs brought up psychology & therapy & he is absolutely right: he was able to know himself on a deeper level to be more optimal in the ever changing world we confront on our day-to-day lives. 😢😢😊

[KevinMullaney]

That intro go more hooks than a fishing tournament 🎉

[pankajrathi]

Feedback and Group huddle part is very insightful for team building

[gamal]

What many of us professionals have failed to realize is how much efficiency is important and what actually contributes to achieving that. It isn't merely a systems approach but also very human centric and the feedback/info you gather from that you use to develop effective systems; and the thing that makes this most achievable is transparency! The more you can see of a thing the easier it is to manage and simplify. That's one of if not his main strength/superpower. You don't achieve efficiency by creating layers and barriers, which is a very egocentric approach to leadership.

[leadgenjay]

This is a really insightful interview, especially the part about leveraging AI in business. Integrating AI not just in products but also in optimizing backend processes can significantly cut costs and boost efficiency.

[TimTheInsideMan]

This is brilliant. Need to listen three more times and take copious notes. 👏👏👏

[arigutman]

This is a great podcast series, thank you for sharing these stories.

[sayuristillwater]

I found this quite informative. Thanks for creating such valuable content!

[TalesOfTrillions]

I resonate so much with the idea of being a musician in business. The ability to improvise and adapt to any note life throws at you is what sets true entrepreneurs apart.