#284 Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets. They're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high. So I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today. And I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. The presenting sponsor of this episode is Tiny. Tiny is the easiest way for you to sell your business. They provide straightforward cash exits for founders. I've told you before, one of the best things about making this podcast is I get to talk to a ton of founders. And one of the themes that pops up again and again in the conversations I get to have with other founders is that a large part of our life is actually searching for what we're going to call our life's work, something that is unique to us, something that we can do forever. And in that search, in almost every single case, that means starting more than one company. This is so common that Tiny has built an entire business around buying other businesses. If you go to tiny.com, you'll be able to see the way they differentiate their offering compared to other people that buy businesses. Tiny has been referred to as the Berkshire of the Internet. In fact, if you stick around to the end of this episode, the last six minutes is actually a master class on product differentiation from Warren Buffett. And I compare the ideas that Warren writes about in his shareholder letters to Tiny's approach to building their business.
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One of America's wealthiest men, his holdings valued at more than $100 billion in today's dollars, sat up in his sickbed in his Manhattan home and called to one of his caregivers for pen and paper.
Andrew Carnegie, 83, once the mightiest industrialist in all the world, was now an influenza-ravaged man. He took up his pen and began to write as if possessed. When he was finished, he summoned to his chambers his longtime personal secretary, James Bridge.
Take this to Frick, Carnegie said, as he handed the letter to his old confidant.
It would have been enough to snap Bridge upright, surprised enough to hear Carnegie mention that name, much less hand over a letter to that person. True, Henry Clay Frick was a fellow giant of industry, and he and Andrew Carnegie had been partners once.
Frick had been the man Carnegie trusted, above all others, to manage the affairs of Carnegie Steel. But the two men had not exchanged a word in nearly 20 years.