Acquired · June 27, 2023 · 250m

Porsche (with Doug DeMuro)

The story of Porsche: from Ferdinand Porsche designing the Volkswagen Beetle for Hitler to the company's dramatic 2022 IPO at a $75B valuation. How one family's obsession with engineering produced the most profitable car company per unit.

Highlights

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Porsche survived by being too small to notice and too good to ignore

Porsche's survival strategy for 75 years: stay small enough that larger competitors don't bother competing directly, but make products so excellent that a fanatical customer base keeps the company profitable.

Claude ChatGPT Gemini

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The Porsche-VW takeover saga: the minnow that tried to swallow the whale

In 2008, Porsche — 20x smaller than VW — attempted a hostile takeover of Volkswagen using options derivatives. The audacious bet nearly succeeded before the financial crisis destroyed it.

Claude ChatGPT Gemini