Episode · Acquired · 2026-09-14
Books mentioned on The Home Depot
The Home Depot's founding story is like an Avengers movie… if the Avengers got fired, went broke, and stacked empty paint cans ten feet high to look legitimate.
David Rosenthal discussed Kick Up Some Dust by Bernie Marcus and I Love Capitalism! by Ken Langone. Ben Gilbert recommended Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus and others, and discussed 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Kick Up Some Dust
Discussed“I discovered hilariously reading Bernie's book, Kick Up Some Dust. Uh, the forward of which was written by his good friend, the rapper Pitbull.”
Where to get it
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Built from Scratch
Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Bob Andelman tells the canonical entrepreneurial story of how Home Depot grew from a modest concept into a retail giant.
Recommended“All right. So, I I looked this up, David, in the book Built from Scratch, which is the awesome book that uh is kind of the canonical Home Depot story written by Bernie and Arthur.”
Where to get it
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I Love Capitalism!
I Love Capitalism! by Ken Langone is a memoir and business book detailing the co-founder's journey of building Home Depot and his perspectives on the American capitalist system.
Discussed“This leads to a big fight, like a big fight between Arthur and Bernie and Ken, as chronicled in Ken's book, I Love Capitalism, because Bernie's still on the board at this point, and I think pretty severely damages their relationship going forward.”
Where to get it
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7 Powers
7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer is a seminal business strategy book that outlines the foundational economic frameworks companies use to build enduring competitive moats and secure persistent differential returns.
Discussed“So listeners, this is the part where we do the seven powers framework from Hamilton Helmer's book of the same title where we try to figure out what does a company have that enables it to get persistent differential returns”
Where to get it
