Founders
Learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs. Every week I read a biography of an entrepreneur and find ideas you can use in your work. This quote explains why: "There are thousands of years of history in which lots and lots of very smart people worked very hard and ran all types of experiments on how to create new businesses, invent new technology, new ways to manage etc. They ran these experiments throughout their entire lives. At some point, somebody put these lessons down in a book. For very little money and a few hours of time, you can learn from someone’s accumulated experience. There is so much more to learn from the past than we often realize. You could productively spend your time reading experiences of great people who have come before and you learn every time." —Marc Andreessen
Episodes
December 14, 2025 • 72 mins
A viciously unhappy childhood causes Bruce Springsteen to retreat into work in an extreme way as he searches for success (and control). He channels his pain into focus and drive and gets everything he thought he wanted. He didn’t yet know he was lying to himself. He will find that out soon. He falls into a deep depression. One that almost leads to s*icide. With the help of his true friend Jon Landau he seeks professional help. This...
Mark as Played
December 3, 2025 • 45 mins
Christian von Koenigsegg is unapologetically in the pursuit of greatness. Koenigsegg builds some of the fastest and most expensive cars on Earth, has a cult-like following, and relentlessly seeks out challenges he can innovate on. After building his company for more than 30 years, his love and passion for his craft is still as strong as ever. This episode explores some of the most important ideas I found from studying his life and...
Mark as Played
November 25, 2025 • 59 mins
I'm reposting one of my favorite founder stories. If you listened to this first time I recommend listening again. If you missed this before, you're about to hear one of the wildest founder stories of all time.
A few surprising things I learned from reading about Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull:
1. He started the company when he was 41 years old.
2. He was making $500 to $800 million a year and his 49% stake is wort...
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November 17, 2025 • 58 mins
This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of John D. Rockefeller—and nothing else.
I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this obscure biography of Rockefeller that costs $1,000
I then spent several days editing down 25 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not How Rockefeller Works
Episode sponsors:
Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch y...
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November 9, 2025 • 120 mins
Todd Graves is one of my favorite living founders. He owns over 90% of Raising Canes — a business that is worth at least $20 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." It is impossible not to be inspired by his terminator levels of determination. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.
Episode show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/to...
Made possible by
Ramp: https://ra...
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November 3, 2025 • 62 mins
This episode covers the unique way Larry Ellison thinks.
I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this book on Ellison written by Matthew Symonds.
I then spent several days editing down 40 pages of notes into a one-hour nonstop stream of Larry Ellison's ideas.
Episode sponsors:
Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single ...
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October 27, 2025 • 124 mins
I’ve started a new show where I have conversations with the greatest living Founders. The show is called David Senra. It will be on a separate podcast feed from Founders.
So it is very important that you follow David Senra on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss future episodes.
Nothing is changing with Founders. I will never stop making Founders.
Mark as Played
October 19, 2025 • 55 mins
This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of Jensen Huang—and nothing else.
I spent over 40 hours reading (and rereading) this book on Jensen and Nvidia written by Tae Kim
I then spent several days editing down 30 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not How Jensen Works.
List of ideas:
1. Professor Jensen
2. The Whiteboard
3. Complacency Kills
4. Insist on a Flat Org...
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October 13, 2025 • 92 mins
I’ve started a new show where I have conversations with the greatest living Founders. The show is called David Senra. It will be on a separate podcast feed from Founders.
So it is very important that you follow David Senra on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss future episodes.
Nothing is changing with Founders. I will never stop making Founders.
Mark as Played
October 5, 2025 • 31 mins
I didn’t know who Thomas Peterffy was. I was shocked to learn that he is 81 years old, worth $80 billion dollars, and has built his $120 billion company, Interactive Brokers, into one of the most efficient companies in the world. I discovered Peterffy by reading this incredible profile about him. I couldn’t put it down. That’s what this episode is about.
Episode sponsors:
Ramp gives you everything you need to control s...
Mark as Played
September 28, 2025 • 129 mins
I started a new show so I can have long-form conversations with the greatest living founders. You can watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, X, or the web.
The new show is on a separate feed so don't forget to follow David Senra so you don't miss future episodes. Nothing is changing with Founders. I will never stop making that podcast.
Thanks for the support!
Mark as Played
September 23, 2025 • 68 mins
This episode is about Bill Gates' obsessive drive and hardcore work ethic. Bill Gates had the rarest entrepreneurial talent—the ability to see the leverage point in a new industry, seize it with relentless intensity, and *will* Microsoft into one of the most successful companies in human history.
To make this episode I read Bill's new autobiography, Source Code: My Beginnings, and pulled ideas and notes from 4 more books about hi...
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September 11, 2025 • 73 mins
This episode covers the extreme perseverance and the stubborn genius of James Dyson.
Dyson has a business philosophy which is very different from anything you might have encountered before. A philosophy which demands difference from what exists and retention of total control. For almost four decades, James Dyson has been building one of the most valuable privately-held companies in the world. A company he owns without shareholder...
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August 25, 2025 • 93 mins
This episode covers the insanely valuable company-building principles of Elon Musk—and nothing else.
I spent well over 60 hours reading (and rereading) the biography of Elon Musk written by Walter Isaacson. I then spent several days editing down 40 pages of notes from the book. I deleted everything that was not about How Elon Works.
This episode focuses exclusively on the ideas Elon used to build his companies and his truly si...
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August 13, 2025 • 121 mins
A curated collection of Steve’s speeches, interviews, and correspondence, Make Something Wonderful offers a window into how one of the world’s most creative entrepreneurs approached his life and work. In these pages, Steve shares his perspective on his childhood, on launching and being pushed out of Apple, on his time with Pixar and NeXT, and on his return to the company that started it all. Read the book for free courtesy of The S...
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August 3, 2025 • 41 mins
Jiro Ono is the greatest living sushi chef. He was kicked out his house when he was 9. He started working in a restaurant so he wouldn't have to sleep under a bridge. He never stopped. Over his 75 year career he rose to the very top of his profession. People travel from all over the world to eat at his restaurant. The meal costs $400 per person and lasts 15 minutes. This episode is what I learned from reading the transcript of the...
Mark as Played
July 30, 2025 • 57 mins
I've read hundreds of thousands of words about Enzo Ferrari. For this episode I distilled down his most important ideas into 1 hour. Ferrari was truly one of history's greatest obsessives.
Episode sponsors:
Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how t...
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July 21, 2025 • 64 mins
Those on the margins often come to control the center. That maxim ties together the three remarkable people profiled in this episode:
Colin Chapman, known as “the mad scientist of F1”, did more to influence F1 design than any other person in history.
Bernie Ecclestone, known as “Supremo”, Bernie transformed Formula One from a disorganized, rag-tag, chaotic collection of racing teams, into the world’s premier motor racing series....
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July 12, 2025 • 67 mins
Your dad dies before you’re born. Your mom can’t afford to take care of you. You grow up without a family and in an institution. You learn a trade and start working full time at the age of 14. You work all day and go to school at night. You’re precise, meticulous, restless, and work circles around everyone. You’re promoted to run the factory at 18 but the thought of working for anyone else terrifies you. For your entire life you’ll...
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July 2, 2025 • 54 mins
Your family asks you to take over a failing factory in a remote part of France. This “family business” comes with a stack of unpaid bills, a small team of workers who haven’t been paid in months, and a banker refusing to extend any more credit. You cut every unprofitable product and go all in on making rubber tires. You have no experience and don’t know a single thing about rubber manufacturing. You have a genius insight that selli...
Mark as Played
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