Lockheed Martin

Today we bring you two absolutely incredible stories. The first
is Lockheed’s legendary Skunk Works division — the elite team of
aviation geniuses who produced some of the greatest airplanes in
history: the U-2, the Stealth Fighter, and the incomparable SR-71
Blackbird. The second story is arguably even more important, but
not widely known! It's the secret and true origins of Silicon
Valley — and Lockheed’s primary role in it. We take you from WWII
to the Cold War, all the way to today to unpack and analyze the
industry dynamics of defense contractors in the modern era. Tune
in and prepare to be blown away by what you’ll learn about the
history of our industry!


Links:


Ben Rich’s Skunk Works

Kelly’s 14 Rules of Skunk Works

LMSC’s “Seven Tenets”

Steve Blank’s Secret History of Silicon Valley

Episode sources



Carve Outs:


Nier: Automata

The Blackbird speed check story

EGO Lawn Tools (just in time for Fathers’ Day!)



Sponsors:


WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25

Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra

Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25






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‍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
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