How We Got Here with Chris Kohler

IKEA is a barn filled with two types of things - furniture... and psychology.The story of the world's biggest furniture business is one filled with tricks and traps that are designed to exist just below our awareness. The origins of the business are also a mix of things the company does, and doesn't, want you to know about.

Australia just gave gig delivery workers a legal minimum wage. It's a big win for workers - and it means your Uber Eats order is about to get even more expensive. Here's how UberEats built an empire on the bait... and made billions on the switch. 0:00 Intro 6:00 Two truths and a lie 8:13 The guy who couldn't get a car 20:42 The deal 26:59 How they get you 34:50 The business in the middle of it 38:17 Last one standing 40:08 A tricky business to actually run 41:40 Solving the pay problem 48:10 Two truths and a lie

Chris and Alan Kohler talk about the housing crisis that is shaping the Australian economy. It's a puzzle, so Chris made Alan a crossword - can he crack it while simultaneously explaining why nobody can afford homes anymore? 0:00 Intro 5:05 Supply 17:30 Demand 24:00 Density 26:30 Auction 30:50 Incentives 34:05 Transport 42:30 Investor & Rent 55:00 Summary

The video game industry makes more money than movies and music combined - and it got there by deploying the greatest hits of dark consumer psychology. Gambling, paywalls, and slowly but surely chiselling ownership out of the hands of their customers. It’s doing so well, in fact, that it’ll start growing outwards.  This episode explores the origin of modern gaming and the moments that ensured it ended up being a sinkhole for money and frustration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we watch a movie we see 4-5 brands every 10 minutes. The advertising is hidden in plain sight and this episode goes looking for where and how that trick first came to Hollywood. E.T. and a bag of Reese's Pieces, Lois Lane chain smoking Marlboros, Happy Gilmore’s Subway t-shirts… and Jerry McGuire taking Reebok’s money and then screwing them over. All steps on the path to the situation audiences now find themselves in - marketing campaigns dressed up as movies. All that… plus a two truths and a lie with a twist - one "casual" mention in this very episode was a paid placement. Check out Cool Shirtz - https://shirtz.cool/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tupperware is one of those words so common we forgot it's a brand. It's also one of the great untold business stories, with a pioneer who was deliberately erased from view. Did she design a pyramid scheme? Not really. There's more to it than that. This is the story of Brownie Wise... and what it costs to build something you don't own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cheap flight… that ends up feeling expensive.  This episode: how Ryanair and Michael O'Leary perfected drip pricing and made billions doing it.  Removing olives, lukewarm off-brand soft drinks, expensive wheelchair hire… and the hardest two truths and a lie segment yet. 0:00 Intro 5:05 Two Truths & A Lie 7:10 The Industry That Counts Olives 11:00 Enter The Accountant 16:10 The Southwest Effect 21:55 O'Leary Takes The Controls 28:02 Since When Is A Wheelchair A Frill? 35:52 The Charge Sheet - And Why It Works 41:05 The Point Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kodak didn’t make a mistake. The digital camera was invented in their own building but it was missing more than film. It was missing a business model. 0:00 Intro 3:15 Two Truths & A Lie 4:15 The Man Who Gave Everyone A Camera 15:40 Advertising Done To Perfection 23:06 Welcome Steve 35:25 The Point 39:15 The Ending 44:10 Two Truths & A lie Madmen Scene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq3n2sJ43Hg&t=4s A Long Time In Finance w/ Steve Sasson - https://open.spotify.com/episode/407q6PT4umq9BVECyJsLhy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode contains adult topics and themes Ever wondered how the world's most popular cereal ended up in your breakfast bowl? The story behind Cornflakes is stranger than you'd think, meet John Harvey Kellogg, the man whose obsession with gut health and moral purity accidentally changed the way the world eats breakfast. 0:00 Intro 5:40 Two truths and a lie 7:30 The religious pipeline 10:40 Picking the doctor 13:35 The San 17:45 Gut Health 24:34 The anti masturbation crusade 29:41 The accidental invention 35:11 The rival next door 37:26 The brothers split 43:52 A note on more dark stuff 46:06 The end 50:42 Two truths and a lie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A complete corporate disaster. Blockbuster stuffed up so badly that the world started walking down a path away from one-off payments and towards subscriptions. And the best part is, Blockbuster's demise was baked in from the start. It just grew so fast the problems were hard to see... for a few years. 0:00 Intro 9:10 The VCR 19:09 The War 24:42 Hello Rental Industry 28:15 Welcome To BlockBuster 36:00 Huizenga 40:27 Viacom Era 44:51 Injured By DVD 48:59 Enter The Wolf 50:43 The Collapse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adidas vs. Puma. Two brothers. One town. A feud that changed sport forever.   Adolf and Rudolf began as partners, cobbling shoes together in central Germany before a family fallout split them into bitter rivals. What followed was decades of corporate warfare, played out on the world's biggest stages, that transformed sports marketing into one of the most powerful industries of the 20th century. Howe We Got Here   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Business history is wilder than you think.   Join finance journalist and digital storyteller, Chris Kohler, as he delves into the corporate moments that were too ridiculous to make up, but too important to ignore. The deals that collapsed empires. The decisions that accidentally built them. The scandals that still echo through every boardroom today. Tested and refined through millions of social media views, these are the stories that explain why modern business looks the way it does. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.