#408 How to Make a Few MORE Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this episode, David Senra dives deep into Brad Jacobs' latest book "How to Make a Few MORE Billion Dollars," the highly anticipated sequel to his original bestseller. (00:00) Brad Jacobs, who has built eight separate billion-dollar companies, shares his proven strategies for raising capital, executing integrations, and maintaining mental clarity as a serial entrepreneur. (00:18) The episode covers Brad's evolution from having a negative inner monologue to developing a generative, positive fuel source for motivation. (02:18) Senra also reveals how two investors discovered Brad through the Founders podcast and subsequently invested $750 million in his company QXO. (11:04)
- Main Theme: The episode explores Brad Jacobs' comprehensive playbook for building billion-dollar companies, with particular emphasis on capital raising strategies, integration excellence, organizational design, and the critical importance of mental frameworks for entrepreneurial success.
Speakers
Brad Jacobs
Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur who has built eight separate billion-dollar companies over his 40+ year career as a CEO and entrepreneur. He has raised over $50 billion in total capital and authored two books: "How to Make a Few Billion Dollars" and its sequel "How to Make a Few MORE Billion Dollars." He is known for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, organizational integration, and his systematic approach to building and scaling businesses across multiple industries.
David Senra
David Senra is the host of the Founders podcast, where he studies the lives and strategies of history's greatest entrepreneurs by reading their biographies and sharing key insights with his audience. He has had multiple personal interactions with Brad Jacobs, including breakfast meetings and filming sessions at Jacobs' house, and credits Brad with helping him shift from negative to positive mental frameworks for motivation and success.
Key Takeaways
Think Extraordinarily Big From Day One
Brad emphasizes that massive success requires massive thinking from the very beginning. (01:52) As he states, "Nobody achieves massive success by thinking small and hoping to become big." This isn't just about setting ambitious goals, but fundamentally rewiring how you approach every decision and opportunity. When entrepreneurs limit their vision early, they create systems, hire people, and build infrastructure that can't scale to billion-dollar levels. The key is designing everything - from organizational structure to capital strategy - with the assumption that you'll reach extraordinary scale, even when starting from nothing.
Transition from Negative to Positive Fuel Sources
One of the most transformative insights involves shifting your motivational fuel source from negative (fear, scarcity, proving doubters wrong) to positive (love of the work, creation itself, solving problems). (03:34) Brad demonstrates how this generative drive creates a compounding effect where the work itself fuels more motivation, more ideas, and more momentum. Unlike negative fuel sources that can be depleted once goals are achieved, positive fuel sources become self-reinforcing feedback loops that make entrepreneurs more resilient and sustainable over decades of building.
Integration Must Begin Before the Deal Closes
Most acquisitions fail because integration is treated as an afterthought that begins after deal closure. Brad's approach is radically different - he negotiates for "unrestricted access to the company from the moment we sign an agreement." (19:19) This means holding town halls, conducting employee interviews, and starting integration planning immediately upon signing. This approach allows him to identify problems early, gain employee trust, and hit the ground running on day one with a clear integration roadmap already developed.
Ask Three Critical Questions to Every Employee
Brad's employee survey methodology is elegantly simple yet devastatingly effective. He asks just three questions: "What's working really well? What needs fixing? What's your single best idea to improve the company?" (22:30) This approach respects existing knowledge within acquired organizations while systematically identifying improvement opportunities. The magic happens because front-line employees often have the best insights about operational inefficiencies and customer needs, but are rarely asked for their input by previous management.
Master the Art of Organizational Design
Brad treats organizational chart design like a strategic weapon, saying "some people do crossword puzzles, I do org charts." (24:02) His approach focuses on flattening hierarchies, eliminating unnecessary layers, and ensuring every position has clear decision-making authority. He categorizes every role as "must have, nice to have, or what the hell" and ruthlessly eliminates the third category. (25:37) Most importantly, he designs the org chart for what the organization should become, not what it currently is, and isn't afraid to leave seats empty until finding the right people.
Statistics & Facts
- Brad Jacobs has raised approximately $50 billion in total capital throughout his career across eight separate billion-dollar companies. (09:15) This massive scale of capital raising demonstrates his expertise across multiple investor categories and his ability to consistently access capital markets.
- Two top 20 shareholders in Brad's company QXO, representing $750 million in investment, discovered Brad through David Senra's Founders podcast coverage of his first book. (11:04) This shows the power of elevated profile and storytelling in attracting major investors.
- When QXO acquired Beacon Buildings products, 3,600 employees (the overwhelming majority invited) joined a town hall meeting on just three hours' notice. (20:19) This demonstrates the effectiveness of Brad's immediate integration approach and employee engagement strategy.
