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FoundersMarch 7, 2025

#382 Who Is Michael Ovitz?: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood

About This Episode
At the core of Michael Ovitz's success is his relentless work ethic and commitment to mastering his craft. 50 years ago he founded Creative Artists Agency. CAA starts out as just five young guys in a run down office and eventually becomes the most powerful agency in the world. Ovitz's autobiography explains how that happened. As the Wall Street Journal wrote: When the history of Hollywood is written, few people will have played a larger role than Michael Ovitz. This episode is what I learned from reading (for the 2nd time!) Who Is Michael Ovitz?: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood by Michael Ovitz. ---- Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. ---- Vesto: All of your company's financial accounts in one view. Connect and control all of your business bank accounts from one dashboard. Go to Vesto and schedule a demo with the founder Ben. Tell him David sent you. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
Book Mentions
6 book mentions in this episode.
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Books Mentioned

Andrew Carnegie's biography cover

The speaker references a line from Andrew Carnegie's biography about cost control becoming an obsession, relating it to the theme of the podcast.

ASIN: B000XCQ4A0
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Who is Michael Ovitz? cover

The speaker discusses the importance of autobiographies and reflects on the insights gained from reading 'Who is Michael Ovitz?' by Mike Ovitz, emphasizing its lessons on business and personal struggles.

ASIN: N/A
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Chiefs cover

The first novel given to Ovitz by Mort Janklow, which they sold and turned into a very successful mini series on CBS.

ASIN: 1953563740
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Shogun cover
Shogun
James Clavell

Ovitz discusses how CAA got the mini series Shogun made, which had languished at William Morris for three years, and became one of the most watched mini series of all time.

ASIN: N/A
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Autobiographies cover

Ovitz mentions the importance of autobiographies, including those of James Dyson, Phil Knight, and Sam Walton, as they provide wisdom from experienced individuals.

ASIN: B004Z76OOU
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this autobiography cover

Highly, highly, highly recommend buying this autobiography.

ASIN: N/A
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