14 September 2025
TIP753: The Relentless Vision That Made McDonald’s a Global Giant w/ Kyle Grieve
We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network
About
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 with Kroc’s vision
42:42 - The story behind McDonald’s product innovation successes and failures
Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more here.
Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members.
Buy a copy of Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc here.
Follow Kyle on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here.
Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed.
NEW TO THE SHOW?
Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter.
Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs.
Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok.
Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.
Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool.
Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.
Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.
SPONSORS
Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:
SimpleMining
HardBlock
AnchorWatch
Human Rights Foundation
Linkedin Talent Solutions
Vanta
Unchained
Onramp
Netsuite
Shopify
HELP US OUT!
Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it!
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
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 with Kroc’s vision
42:42 - The story behind McDonald’s product innovation successes and failures
Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more here.
Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members.
Buy a copy of Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc here.
Follow Kyle on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here.
Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed.
NEW TO THE SHOW?
Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter.
Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs.
Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok.
Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.
Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool.
Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.
Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.
SPONSORS
Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:
SimpleMining
HardBlock
AnchorWatch
Human Rights Foundation
Linkedin Talent Solutions
Vanta
Unchained
Onramp
Netsuite
Shopify
HELP US OUT!
Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it!
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm