David Senra

Rafael “Raf” Vivas is a founding team member of AppLovin, the digital advertising and marketing company led by Adam Foroughi, where he has worked since 2011 in roles spanning business development, eCommerce and growth marketing, and co-founded the game publisher Lion Studios. He started in performance marketing at 14 working for his older brother, dropped out of high school, and at 17 built his own mobile ad platform, where Adam was one of his customers. When Adam decided to build a competing ad network, he recruited Raf as his first business hire in 2011, and Raf's one condition was that he live in the office. Raf explains how a small, unfunded team beat VC-backed rivals by going all in on technology, why he started Lion Studios to beat one of AppLovin's own partners and grew it to over $250 million in revenue in two years, and why he walked away at 28 and came back after the IPO as the stock collapsed. He also shares why AppLovin is against delegation and keeps its team small, how his mentor Mark Rosner taught him that every detail matters, and the best advice he ever received.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/rafael-vivas

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) Kicked out of his house at 16

(00:06:42) Starting his own ad platform at 17

(00:09:58) “Don't be mad, but I'm going to compete with you”

(00:11:06) His one condition: living in the office

(00:15:40) Turned down by VCs while already profitable

(00:21:00) Why he's against delegation

(00:24:15) Two years of persistence to land one customer

(00:30:42) Lion Studios: built to kill a Cheetah

(00:38:41) Walking away from AppLovin at 28

(00:44:13) The IPO that brought him back

(00:45:44) The stock buyback that made $50 billion

(01:01:01) The mentor who redlined the NDA

(01:03:54) “Do you want to be Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods?”

(01:05:46) The best advice he ever received: stay in the game
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kenn Ricci is the chairman and largest shareholder of Flexjet, a fractional private jet company that operates more than 360 aircraft and is the largest Gulfstream operator in the world. A former Air Force-trained pilot, Kenn bought a small Cleveland charter company in his twenties so he could keep flying, built it into Flight Options, lost control of it to Raytheon in 2002, and bought it back during the 2008 financial crisis before acquiring Flexjet from Bombardier in 2014. He explains how Warren Buffett’s purchase of NetJets unlocked his financing, why he avoids mergers, why he has kept Flexjet private, and why he gave his children their wealth early through a family limited partnership. He also shares the advice from Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh that shaped his idea of a life of significance, and why every Flexjet employee can fix a customer’s problem without approval.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/kenn-ricci

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) Kenn's son had never flown commercial

(00:02:34) Giving your kids their wealth while you're alive

(00:07:03) Charlie Munger: "You give them the money"

(00:15:57) The rule his kids made to avoid jealousy

(00:25:36) Buying a failed charter company for $27,500

(00:35:05) Turned down by every bank until Buffett bought NetJets

(00:39:33) $100 million in sales in 3 months

(00:41:36) Why he hates mergers

(00:42:58) Losing his company: the worst day of his life

(00:52:15) Buying his company back in the financial crisis

(00:56:08) The $600 million problem that led to Gulfstream

(01:03:01) Father Hesburgh's 3 rules for a life of significance

(01:05:47) Why he gave away everything he owned

(01:09:57) Why any employee can comp a $300,000 trip
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nik Storonsky is the co-founder and CEO of Revolut, a digital bank valued at $115 billion that is available in 38 countries. A former trader, he started Revolut with a card for spending abroad without bank fees and expanded it into a full-service bank with the goal of becoming number one in 100 countries. Nik explains why founders have an edge over professional CEOs, how he runs Revolut like a machine, and why he funds product bets algorithmically, doubling down on winners and cutting losers. He discusses hiring self-guided people over experienced executives, what Europe's regulatory constraints taught him, why he keeps VCs off his board, starting the Quantum Light fund, buying ads across Europe's airports, and how AI is changing the way Revolut is organized.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/nik-storonsky

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) Coming for Jamie Dimon's dinner

(00:02:04) Building the #1 bank in 100 countries

(00:06:12) Why founders beat professional CEOs

(00:08:45) Revolut's biggest mistake

(00:12:47) Why legacy banks can't innovate

(00:17:20) Running a company like a machine

(00:20:28) Funding winners and cutting losers like a trader

(00:23:31) How AI is changing Revolut's team structure

(00:25:23) 50 direct reports and spreading innovation fast

(00:29:59) Hiring self-guided missiles

(00:33:31) Too much money makes founders weaker

(00:37:38) What Europe's constraints taught Revolut

(00:41:08) Why VCs are like football cheerleaders

(00:49:28) Starting a fund to compete with VCs

(00:54:28) From zero marketing to buying Europe's airports

(01:00:21) Funding moonshots like a global tech company

(01:03:58) Building an unstoppable machine
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kurt MacAlpine is a partner and the CEO of Corient, which manages approximately $525 billion in client assets. He became a first-time CEO at 39, believes wealth management was built on a flawed incentive structure, and applied a professional services partnership model to the industry. Kurt explains why Corient has one compensation plan and one P&L, how sharing the benefits of scale helps clients and partners, and why he kept building while the stock market questioned his strategy. He discusses buying back shares, taking CI Financial private with Mubadala Capital, integrating acquisitions, and building a business designed to last for generations.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/kurt-macalpine

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) Building Corient and managing $525 billion

(00:05:32) Why wealth management’s incentives are broken

(00:11:42) Bringing the partnership model to wealth management

(00:22:15) Sharing the benefits of scale with clients

(00:24:25) One compensation plan, one P&L, no exceptions

(00:27:58) Why independent wealth managers join Corient

(00:39:21) Staying the course when the stock market disagrees

(00:48:25) Betting on the business through share buybacks

(00:51:52) Taking CI Financial private with Mubadala Capital

(00:59:08) Acquiring great partners and building one company

(01:04:43) Giving employees a voice in building the brand

(01:12:39) Building a business that lasts for generations
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Wilson is the host of “How To Take Over The World,” which is one of my favorite podcasts. How To Take Over The World examines history’s greatest leaders and conquerors, and has benefited millions of people. In this episode, we talk about the common traits among the individuals he has studied such as Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, Joan of Arc, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more.

We also discuss the fact that Ben is battling advanced cancer.

He’s a good guy, a close friend, and one of my favorite podcasters. He has four young children.

Please watch this episode and see if you can help with medicine, introductions, or donations.

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ben-fight-cancer-support-his-treatment

Ben's email: ben@takeoverpod.com

(00:00:00) What Ben has learned from making How to Take Over the World and studying history’s greatest leaders.

(00:55:51) Living like you're dying. Ben on facing cancer.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices