We Study Billionaires - The Investors Podcast

On today’s episode, Kyle Grieve discusses the rise of McDonald’s under Ray Kroc and the vision, systems, and persistence that transformed a small burger joint into a global empire. He explores Kroc’s leadership style, business model innovations, and the timeless lessons investors and entrepreneurs can learn from McDonald’s journey. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 03:34 - The grit, adaptability, and salesmanship that made Ray Kroc unstoppable 14:42 - How a hot dog stand inspired the first McDonald’s restaurant 19:04 - Why protecting brand image was so vital to McDonald’s growth story 20:06 - How McDonald’s pivot to real estate fueled expansion 25:21 - Why standardization and systems powered McDonald’s rapid growth 28:49 - Why Kroc’s struggles with the McDonald brothers show alignment is critical 30:22 - What Jobs, Schultz, and Musk shared with Kroc as visionaries 33:54 - How McDonald’s thrived for decades despite fierce competition 40:51 - How Hamburger University aligned franchisees w