Listen "#104 Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA)"
Episode Synopsis
What I learned from reading Leading By Design: The Ikea Story by Ingvar Kamprad and Bertil Torekull.
----
[0:01] He aims to give his company eternal life
[3:45] Early life and entrepreneurship
[8:00] The beginning of IKEA
[11:40] Learning entrepreneurship by imitating
[16:30] IKEA almost dies in infancy / how Ingvar worked his way through it
[26:00] Ingvar’s greatest regret in life: Neglecting his children for his business. “Everyone with children knows that childhood does not allow itself to be reconquered.”
[32:20] Only those asleep make no mistakes. — Ingvar Kamprad
[36:00] Thinking of the first store as a laboratory
[43:43] Why IKEA stumbled upon self assembled furniture
[46:30] A summary of the early history of IKEA
[49:00] How Ingvar managed
[54:00] Why Ingvar refused to go public
[1:03:30] The IKEA Company Bible: The Testament of a Furniture Dealer
[1:19:10] Ingvar the Misfit
----
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
----
[0:01] He aims to give his company eternal life
[3:45] Early life and entrepreneurship
[8:00] The beginning of IKEA
[11:40] Learning entrepreneurship by imitating
[16:30] IKEA almost dies in infancy / how Ingvar worked his way through it
[26:00] Ingvar’s greatest regret in life: Neglecting his children for his business. “Everyone with children knows that childhood does not allow itself to be reconquered.”
[32:20] Only those asleep make no mistakes. — Ingvar Kamprad
[36:00] Thinking of the first store as a laboratory
[43:43] Why IKEA stumbled upon self assembled furniture
[46:30] A summary of the early history of IKEA
[49:00] How Ingvar managed
[54:00] Why Ingvar refused to go public
[1:03:30] The IKEA Company Bible: The Testament of a Furniture Dealer
[1:19:10] Ingvar the Misfit
----
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
More episodes of the podcast Founders
#409 The Creative Genius of Rick Rubin
08/01/2026
The Life of Jesus
25/12/2025
#406 Christian von Koenigsegg
03/12/2025
Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac Founder
25/11/2025
#405 How Rockefeller Worked
17/11/2025
My conversation with Todd Graves
09/11/2025
#404 How Larry Ellison Thinks
04/11/2025
My Conversation with Brad Jacobs
28/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.