Episode 8: Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist (w/ Kurt DelBene)

Ben and David have special guest Kurt DelBene on to discuss
Microsoft's acquisition of Acompli, Sunrise, and Wunderlist. Kurt
is the EVP of Corporate Strategy and Planning at Microsoft, and
joins to discuss Microsoft’s cloud-first, mobile-first strategy,
and the importance of being cross-platform in the modern era.
They cover: 


How the app of Outlook Mobile on iPhone and Android came to
be.

How to decide whether to build vs. buy, and how it plays into
the strategy for Office.

How to preserve a culture and a team, and how Javier Soltero
came to run all of Outlook at Microsoft.

The origin of Outlook on the PC, originally led by Brian
MacDonald as “Ren”.

How to balance a business with competing priorities, and a
decision-making framework for acquisitions in a large company.

How to measure the success of an acquisition, and how
sometimes, it’s not by measuring revenue at all.



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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