
The Barstool MBA
Why Running a Bar Beats Running to Business School
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $33.90
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Dan Maccarone
-
Bob Sullivan
About this listen
What can working in a bar teach you about launching a successful startup? The answer - as bar owner Dan Maccarone and best-selling author Bob Sullivan reveal in The Barstool MBA - is just about everything.
In February 2009, Dan Maccarone, a digital product design executive who works with some of the world’s top brands, walked through the doors of what would be his new bar, Destination, in Manhattan’s East Village. The overwhelming stale-beer smell, ruined floor, and “Happy New Year 2008” banners that hung from the walls were the least of his worries. He had just six weeks and a budget of $150,000 to turn the place into the neighborhood’s new favorite hang-out - and start turning a profit.
For Maccarone, the experience of building out Destination was an unlikely crash course in conceiving, launching, and running a startup. From hiring the right staff to keeping the lights on, from getting patrons through the door to keeping them on their stools, Maccarone saw that the lessons he was learning day in and day out in the bar could be applied broadly to the challenges many of his clients on the digital product side faced when trying to get their businesses off the ground and keep them alive.
To tell this story, Maccarone teamed up with best-selling author Bob Sullivan, whose side-gig as a musician sends him to bars around the country. They spent two years interviewing dozens of bar owners, managers, bartenders, and industry insiders to uncover the secret wisdom behind running a successful bar and what it can teach us about business. With strategies and a-ha insights that can be applied to any new venture, The Barstool MBA is a delightfully unconventional and surprisingly practical resource for anyone weighing the cost of business school versus jumping right in.
This Audible Original is read by the authors.
©2019 Dan Maccarone and Bob Sullivan (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.Behind the Scenes of The Barstool MBA
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Raise the Bar
- An Action-Based Method for Maximum Customer Reactions
- By: Jon Taffer, Karen Kelly
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If there’s anyone who can prevent a bar or restaurant from going belly-up, it’s Jon Taffer. Widely considered the greatest authority in the food and beverage, hotel, and hospitality industries, he runs the biggest trade show in the business and has turned around nearly 1,000 bars and at least that many restaurants.
-
-
Wish Jon was the narrator!!
- By Bonnie on 03-04-15
By: Jon Taffer, and others
-
Trendy Bar & Nightclub Business Startup
- How to Start, Run and Grow a Successful Bar & Tavern Business
- By: Michael Sanders
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Learn everything you need to know about opening and running a bar or nightclub.
-
-
Great book
- By Tamuel on 05-11-19
By: Michael Sanders
-
Restaurant & Bar Marketing
- The No Bulls#it Guide to Improving Guest Counts
- By: Erik Shellenberger
- Narrated by: Erik Shellenberger
- Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real, raw, and relevant look at the reality of marketing your bar or restaurant in today’s noisy online world. Learn why social media marketing has lost its effectiveness over the years and how content marketing can give you a simple, much-needed edge.
-
-
Ehh try something else
- By Chris on 09-06-20
-
Straight Up
- Real World Secrets to Running a Killer Bar
- By: Ramona Pettygrave Shah
- Narrated by: Ramona Pettygrave Shah, Thomas Máthé
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By turns irreverent and profound, Straight Up: Real World Secrets to Running a Killer Bar is your guide to the attitude, organization, and teamwork necessary to absolutely crush it in the world of bartending and bar management.
-
-
Great leadership advice for any audience
- By Smiley on 10-28-24
-
Restaurant Success by the Numbers, Second Edition
- A Money-Guy's Guide to Opening the Next New Hot Spot
- By: Roger Fields
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A one-stop start-up guide from an accountant-turned-restaurateur. Ninety percent of all restaurants fail, and those that succeed happened upon that mysterious X factor, right? Wrong! A man of many hats - money-guy, restaurant owner, and restaurant consultant - Roger Fields shows how a restaurant can survive its first year and keep diners coming back for years. Featuring real-life start-up stories (including many of the author's own), this comprehensive how-to walks listeners through the logistics of opening a restaurant: concept, location, menu, staff, and, most important, profit.
-
-
Everything mentioned I learned as I ran restaurant
- By steve on 01-24-19
By: Roger Fields
-
Creativity
- The Psychology of Discovery and Invention
- By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals what leads to these moments - be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab - so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process.
-
-
squishy
- By GoingGoingGone... on 07-06-16
-
Raise the Bar
- An Action-Based Method for Maximum Customer Reactions
- By: Jon Taffer, Karen Kelly
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If there’s anyone who can prevent a bar or restaurant from going belly-up, it’s Jon Taffer. Widely considered the greatest authority in the food and beverage, hotel, and hospitality industries, he runs the biggest trade show in the business and has turned around nearly 1,000 bars and at least that many restaurants.
-
-
Wish Jon was the narrator!!
- By Bonnie on 03-04-15
By: Jon Taffer, and others
-
Trendy Bar & Nightclub Business Startup
- How to Start, Run and Grow a Successful Bar & Tavern Business
- By: Michael Sanders
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Learn everything you need to know about opening and running a bar or nightclub.
-
-
Great book
- By Tamuel on 05-11-19
By: Michael Sanders
-
Restaurant & Bar Marketing
- The No Bulls#it Guide to Improving Guest Counts
- By: Erik Shellenberger
- Narrated by: Erik Shellenberger
- Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real, raw, and relevant look at the reality of marketing your bar or restaurant in today’s noisy online world. Learn why social media marketing has lost its effectiveness over the years and how content marketing can give you a simple, much-needed edge.
-
-
Ehh try something else
- By Chris on 09-06-20
-
Straight Up
- Real World Secrets to Running a Killer Bar
- By: Ramona Pettygrave Shah
- Narrated by: Ramona Pettygrave Shah, Thomas Máthé
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By turns irreverent and profound, Straight Up: Real World Secrets to Running a Killer Bar is your guide to the attitude, organization, and teamwork necessary to absolutely crush it in the world of bartending and bar management.
-
-
Great leadership advice for any audience
- By Smiley on 10-28-24
-
Restaurant Success by the Numbers, Second Edition
- A Money-Guy's Guide to Opening the Next New Hot Spot
- By: Roger Fields
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A one-stop start-up guide from an accountant-turned-restaurateur. Ninety percent of all restaurants fail, and those that succeed happened upon that mysterious X factor, right? Wrong! A man of many hats - money-guy, restaurant owner, and restaurant consultant - Roger Fields shows how a restaurant can survive its first year and keep diners coming back for years. Featuring real-life start-up stories (including many of the author's own), this comprehensive how-to walks listeners through the logistics of opening a restaurant: concept, location, menu, staff, and, most important, profit.
-
-
Everything mentioned I learned as I ran restaurant
- By steve on 01-24-19
By: Roger Fields
-
Creativity
- The Psychology of Discovery and Invention
- By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals what leads to these moments - be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab - so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process.
-
-
squishy
- By GoingGoingGone... on 07-06-16
-
Running a Bar for Dummies
- By: Ray Foley, Heather Dismore
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bar business continues to grow; however, securing running capital and having knowledge about the business are cited as the two biggest reasons new bars fail. Running a Bar for Dummies, 2nd Edition shines a light on these issues to help bar owners prepare properly. The book helps you find your way through the maze of licensing and permits, developing a business plan, and preparing for your grand opening, plus offers clear, no-nonsense guidance on dealing with tough customers. Every step of the way, Running a Bar for Dummies, 2nd Edition is a reference you can count on.
-
-
Great Resource
- By Anonymous User on 12-05-22
By: Ray Foley, and others
-
Driven
- The Never-Give-Up Roadmap to Massive Success
- By: Manny Khoshbin
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind every entrepreneur's success story, there's a never-ending list of gut-wrenching failures, missed opportunities, and jaw-dropping setbacks. Real estate mogul and serial entrepreneur Manny Khoshbin is one of those entrepreneurs with a story of perseverance that will make you believe in the American Dream all over again. Driven: The Never-Give-Up Roadmap to Massive Success goes beyond Manny's personal ride through the entrepreneurial journey to deliver the habits, mindset, and insights aspiring entrepreneurs need to turn dreams into reality.
-
-
Too generic for me
- By Danny M on 09-28-20
By: Manny Khoshbin
-
How I Built This
- The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
- By: Guy Raz
- Narrated by: Guy Raz
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips).
-
-
GET THIS BOOK!
- By Mattye LaSuer on 01-16-21
By: Guy Raz
-
Your Next Five Moves
- Master the Art of Business Strategy
- By: Patrick Bet-David
- Narrated by: Patrick Bet-David
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the creator of Valuetainment, the number-one YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, and “one of the most exciting thinkers” (Ray Dalio, author of Principles) in business today, comes a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious professional goals.
-
-
Mediocre; few actionable take-aways.
- By Michael on 10-31-20
-
The Answer Is...
- Reflections on My Life
- By: Alex Trebek
- Narrated by: Ken Jennings, Alex Trebek
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career. The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation.
-
-
AMAZING.
- By Anonymous User on 07-21-20
By: Alex Trebek
-
Get Out of Your Own Way
- How to Overcome Any Obstacle in Your Life
- By: Larry Winget
- Narrated by: Larry Winget
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You think you know what you want in life. You've tried to achieve those things. But if you still don't have them, the culprit may be closer than you think. In this perspective-altering program, the world-renowned Pitbull of Personal Development(tm), Larry Winget, exposes the things you are doing right now to unknowingly prevent your own success in the most important areas of your life.
-
-
Was just OK
- By KatieReviewsStuff on 01-30-17
By: Larry Winget
-
Change Maker
- Turn Your Passion for Health and Fitness into a Powerful Purpose and a Wildly Successful Career
- By: John Berardi PhD
- Narrated by: John Berardi PhD
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you work as a trainer, nutritionist, functional-medicine doctor, group instructor, rehab specialist, or health coach - or you eventually want to - this step-by-step guide will help you turn your passion for health and fitness into work you find joy in, your clients into raving fans, and your career into something powerful, meaningful, and change-making.
-
-
A must read or listen to!
- By teddy on 12-03-19
By: John Berardi PhD
-
Restaurant & Bar Marketing III
- Marketers Ruin Everything
- By: Erik Shellenberger
- Narrated by: Erik Shellenberger
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erik has been in the industry since he was 13 years old. He’s washed his fair share of dishes. What he’s really done, though, is built a successful corporate restaurant and bar marketing career with clients across the country. He’s got the answers you’ve needed. He will walk you through the ways restaurateurs fail at marketing and clearly explain how to avoid those traps. It isn’t just about the food; it’s the mindset that separates the successful from the “former owners”. Are you ready to build the successful restaurant or bar you’ve always known was attainable?
-
-
raw
- By Anonymous User on 11-01-24
-
A Most Elegant Equation
- Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics
- By: David Stipp
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.
-
-
Good treatment of the subject
- By Kindle Customer on 04-09-18
By: David Stipp
-
The Surprise Restaurant Manager
- By: Ken McGarrie
- Narrated by: Fabio Viviani, Ken McGarrie
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surprise - you’re in charge now! Steady money and new opportunities awaited as you moved up from server or bartender to front-of-house manager. But too often, restaurant management find themselves leading with minimal training, a ton of responsibilities, and no clue how to improve. You’ve run the Friday night rush, you’ve juggled expectations of staff and guests - but have you figured out how to improve while keeping the restaurant profitable?
-
-
A must have for managers
- By antonius h van vuurden on 08-29-24
By: Ken McGarrie
-
Setting the Table
- The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
- By: Danny Meyer
- Narrated by: Danny Meyer
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Danny Meyer started Union Square Cafe when he was 27, with a good idea and scant experience. He is now the CEO of one of the world's most dynamic restaurant organizations, one that includes 11 unique dining establishments, each at the top of its game. How did he do it? How has he consistently beaten the odds in one of the toughest trades around?
-
-
ABRIDGED VERSION!?
- By Gregg Strader on 02-19-18
By: Danny Meyer
-
Start with Why
- How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
- By: Simon Sinek
- Narrated by: Simon Sinek
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The inspirational best seller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our why. Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time - with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the why of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever.
-
-
Useless Dribble
- By Chimdi Azubuike on 03-10-18
By: Simon Sinek
What listeners say about The Barstool MBA
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mel DeLancey
- 10-30-20
Great timing learning important stuff!
This is such a great book on business. Dan and Bob not only have unique and useful experiences to share in helpful ways you can apply to your own life or business but they follow through with a ton of research and insight from other professionals. The bar stories are fun and educational. The writers are generous experts you want to sit down and have another drink with when the book is done.
I wish there was a print version so I could go back and capture some of the bullet points and resonant quotes for reference. Please publish a print copy! Photos would be fun too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- bosam
- 08-10-19
Fun, engaging and informative.
This is a funny, engaging and informative book. Dan and Bob do a great job of balancing humour, with tips on running a successful bar, linking these to to online and startup business. I forgot i was learning, but have loads of takeaways. Highly recommend this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Thomas Sauer
- 07-17-23
Great Book
This is a really comprehensive look at what it takes to open the bar and run a business. Having worked my way through college at bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, the authors stories really resonated with me to the point where I was chuckling out loud. Dan and Bob are also accomplished in the business world so a lot of the names and stories they tell our relatable to someone in the technology space. Would recommend!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 08-25-19
Don't miss this book!
This book is amazing! It was filled with surprising insights, and makes me want to spend all my free time at bars, learning their secrets. Thank you, Bob and Dan, for sharing your passion with us!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 01-11-20
Underlying principles are right
His premise is wonderful and some of the information is great. Being a bar/restaurant owner in NYC for most my life I find his false stories about the bar world ridicules. The whole fake dialogue to tell the story is annoying. 99% of his super important and famous bars he talks about were barely a place worth going. His dig on Iggy’s was just wrong. Stick to telling stories to your hipster friends you are never going to be a Bukowski.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Victor
- 01-03-20
more like a history book
Speaking about opening a bar when the first iPod came out and music hurdle faced makes this story outdated in today's fast moving digital work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris C
- 07-22-19
Informative and Entertaining!
Whether you're thinking, "Help! I'm running a business and can't afford to lose everything," or "I'm just looking for an enjoyable read," this step-by-step guide has you covered. Using their day-job business expertise, personal experience, and the entertaining backstories of popular companies they've advised, this book is a great resource and read for any listener. I have no interest in opening a business, yet loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-19
not my normal book
I am getting ready to start college. Been getting ready for a few years now but serious this time. Anyways business is my degree path so i have been looking for books i can listen to while i drive to help get a better understanding ahead of time. The authors did a great job of teaching the underlying concepts while explaining them in ways i could relate to experiences I have had in the military, maintenance, and my current job. Good job.
One small thing if the authors ever read this. Trust but record, I think it was. Try the military term. Trust but Verify because at the end of the day as the manager you are responsible.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- _HeJo
- 11-14-19
Relevant and insightful — love the creative lens
Yes! I guess I wasn’t expecting a “how to” but it’s perfect! Definitely walks along side other industry launches and I love it. Reminds me of the old days at Mad Anthony’s.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 10-12-22
Must read for any entrepreneur!
Wow, this book hit home on so many levels… as a serial entrepreneur myself this book validated for me much of the struggle, strategy, success and failures I experienced in starting and running my own businesses. Well done, well put together, and very informative and entertaining.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!