Nike — it’s perhaps the most iconic and most prolific brand of the modern era. On any given day, swooshes adorn the feet of more people on earth than any other footwear company — by a long shot. If you read Shoe Dog or watched Air, you may think you know its history. But Shoe Dog ends in 1980, and Air… well let’s just say it’s an enjoyable piece of fiction. And it turns out (as always) that the real story is filled with far more drama, twists and business lessons than either of those works. We’ve been wanting to cover Nike for a long time, and thanks to our LPs who voted to choose this episode it’s finally here. So lace up your Vaporflys, Air Maxes, Dunks or Jordans (or your Monarchs, hey we don’t judge), head out for a long run or walk and enjoy! Sponsors: Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get: Free access to Blinks of our episode research on Blinkist Scalable, clean and low-cost cloud AI compute from Crusoe All of your product growth powered by StatsigRegister for Statsig’s SF Event with Ben and David! More Acquired!: Get email updates (+ hints on the next episode topic) Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Become an LP and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and more Links: Episode sourcesCarve Outs: Marc Andreessen on Lex Fridman and on Ben Thompson Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) ‍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.