Success: A Business History Podcast: Recent Episodes

Success: A Business History Podcast

Six degrees of separation, but make it business. Success is a storytelling podcast that investigates the origins of iconic businesses, their secret connections, and how they're embedded into our everyday lives. Co-hosted by Tanya Young and Charles Young, Success examines these historic wins and what we can learn from them.

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Schlitz beer has always been intertwined with Pabst Brewing Company, but in its heyday, Schlitz was actually the beer of choice. Through a series of unfortunate events, the Uihlein brothers found themselves as the owners of Schlitz Brewing Company by 1875 and were ready to take the company to new heights. Some would even argue that without Schlitz, Milwaukee wouldn’t be the successful city it is today. This episode we’re talking about an escape from Germany, all the reasons you’ll ever need to never want to take a trip on a ship again, and the start of a family dynasty.

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Resources

  • Ambitious Brew by Maureen Ogle
  • Immigrant Entrepreneurship
  • History of Milwaukee
  • Brookston Beer Bulletin
  • Encyclopedia of Milwaukee
  • Wisconsin History
  • Leadership and Social Movements: The Forty-Eighters in the Civil War by Christian Dippel and Stephan Heblich
  • Milwaukee Public Library
  • Milwaukee Magazine
  • United Press International
  • New York Times
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • Herald-Tribune
  • Northern Illinois University Digital Library
  • Wisconsin Harness Racing Hall of Fame
  • US Trotting News

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American Cheese has been a fan favorite of children and adults for decades, but most cheesemakers feel very differently about it. We’re delving into James Krafts’ entrepreneur spirit, the ins and outs of “process cheese”, and the ingenious business strategies that made Kraft Foods a household name. This episode is all about Kraft Foods history starting from a little town in Canada to a big jump across the Niagara River. It’s time to stir up a pot of mac and cheese while we talk about how a horse named Paddy, a little blind ambition, and cheese changed the world.

ArticlesBritannica

History of Business

Harvard Business School

American National Biography

Today

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

My Companies

Wisconsin State Farmer (2)

WebsitesKraftwood

Bon Appétit

Culture Cheese Magazine


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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When Henry Heinz lost everything to a bad business investment, he turned to his family for help to build a ketchup kingdom. With a little creativity and a lot of business sense, Henry was able to create America’s most beloved condiment. Grab some fries and layer on the ketchup as we dish on ketchup, rotting cucumbers, and a sinking ship (metaphorically and literally).

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WebsiteSenator John Heinz History Center

Heinz

ArticlesH.J. Heinz Pickle Factory

TV ShowsThe Food That Built America

BooksIn Good Company by Eleanor Dienstag


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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You’ve seen Pabst Beer in the grocery stores for decades, but it was not any easy road to success for this two hundred year old company. It all started with the Best family’s decision to leave Germany and take a chance on building a new business in a budding new American town, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pour a Blue Ribbon brewski and settle in as we uncover the story of Pabst that was brewed with company pivots, family shame, and a hostile takeover.

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BooksThe Pabst Brewing Company by Thomas C. Cochran

Ambitious Brew by Maureen Ogle

WebsitesUrban Milwaukee

Pabst Mansion

Pabst

Sussex-Lisbon Amea Historical Sociaty, Inc.

VideosPabst Farms: Pabst in Cow Country USA

Business ReferencesForbes

Zen Business


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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182 years ago the foundation was put in place for one of the world’s largest conglomerates. And it all started in a little town in Massachusetts. This episode, we’re headed down the Berkshire Hathaway rabbit hole to figure out how one boat ride from London to New York set off the events that would lead Warren Buffet to owning one of the most well-known businesses in the nation. Strap in for the journey as we talk cotton mills, sibling rivalries, and blind revenge.

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BooksElizabeth Buffman Chace, 1806-1899: Her Life and Its Environment by Lillie Buffum Chace Wyman

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. by Seabury Stanton

Memoir of Samuel Slater by George S. White

The Textile American, Volumes 9-10

WebsitesGreener Pastures

Explore Adams

Find a Grave

Britannica

National Parks Service

ArticlesThe Berkshire Bunch

Warren Buffett’s $200B Berkshire Blunder and the Valuable Lesson He Learned

Berkshire Hathaway, The Legacy of a Yankee Carpenter

Nylon: A Revolution in Textiles

VideosBerkshire Cotton Mfg. Co., Adams, Massachusetts, circa 1917


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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We have chocolate on the mind so there was no way we could do Mars, Incorporated without an episode on Hershey too! Milton Hershey's desire to be the greatest son ever created a lot of business setbacks in his life, but with William Murrie at the wheel, Hershey Chocolate Company could weather any storm. This episode we're talking about love, triumph, and a blood bath that changes American history.

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Podcasts

Business Wars

Hershey vs Mars - Chocolate Town

Hershey vs Mars - Blast Off

Hershey vs Mars - A Candy-Coated Prayer

Hershey vs Mars - Mars Attacks!

Hershey vs Mars - A Chocolate Rolls Royce

Hershey vs Mars - Global Chocolate Domination

Chocolate and Sustainability

The Food That Built America

The Great Chocolatiers

BooksChocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury

The Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner

Crisis in Candyland by Jan Pottker

WebsitesHershey Archives

ArticlesHow Hershey’s Chocolate Helped…


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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Those M&Ms you're reaching for did not have a sweet beginning. We're going back to the early 1900s as we talk about Frank Mars' chocolate-coated ideas, Forrest Mars' unrelenting tenacity, and the unlikely story that is Mars, Inc. In this debut episode, we'll walk through Mars, Inc. history and uncover the most pivotal moments that made it possible for this secretive company to exist today. Grab a Snickers, as we talk deceit, nepotism, and espionage.

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BooksChocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury

The Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner

Crisis in Candyland by Jan Pottker

WebsitesMars History

The Five Principles

PodcastsBusiness Wars

Hershey vs Mars - Chocolate Town

Hershey vs Mars - Blast Off

Hershey vs Mars - A Candy-Coated Prayer

Hershey vs Mars - Mars Attacks!

Hershey vs Mars - A Chocolate Rolls Royce

Hershey vs Mars - Global Chocolate Domination

Chocolate and Sustainability

The Food That Built America

The Great Chocolatiers


This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app