What if we told you that the most important company in US healthcare was run from a farm in rural Wisconsin? And that farm contained the world’s largest subterranean auditorium, as well as Disneyland—style replicas of Hogwarts and the Emerald City? What if we told you that the person who started, runs and owns this establishment has legally ensured that it will never be sold, never go public and never acquire another company? And that this person, Judy Faulkner, is also likely the wealthiest and most successful self-made woman in history? Welcome to the story of Epic Systems, the software company that underpins the majority of the American healthcare system today. Epic isn’t “just” an electronic medical record (the category it’s usually lumped into), or an online patient portal (which is how most of the US population interacts with it via its MyChart application). It’s more akin to a central nervous system for hospitals and health clinics. Almost everything in a hospital — from patient interactions to billing, staffing, scheduling, prescriptions and even research — happens on Epic’s platform, and over 90% of American medical schools’ graduating doctors, nurses and health administrative staff are trained on it during their educations. Tune in as we dive into the almost-unbelievable story of how this epic company came to be! Sponsors: Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredrippling [https://bit.ly/acquiredrippling] Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25 [https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25] Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlots [https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlots] ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn [https://bit.ly/acquiredsn] Links: * Save the date, July 15 in NYC! [http://acquired.fm/nyc] * Epic’s Verona campus [https://www.epic.com/visiting/] * Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Epic Systems Study [https://worldlypartners.com/businesshistory] * Episode sources [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uuw2GygyesM-0nM4ZHVL95XQYhntAnXqRLiHNx8v7RU/edit?usp=sharing] Carve Outs: * Ken Block in San Francisco [https://youtu.be/LuDN2bCIyus?si=rHU8CjPAoeHck0uK] * Nintendo Switch 2 [https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/?srsltid=AfmBOoq-kZTYsNm0_if1ONE-8GV0k1x77Nv41aWbkSpgrqSU9zcyQAog] * Knives Out [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/] * Brat by Charli xcx [https://open.spotify.com/album/2lIZef4lzdvZkiiCzvPKj7?si=bdGrTidgRIKMMBNvjHzbWQ] * Music To Refine To: A Remix Companion to Severance by ODESZA [https://open.spotify.com/album/7bNj7hUkbRbZzn36MdyvUk?si=tL7uLI15QVasFLXuRaKkZQ] More Acquired! * Get email updates [https://www.acquired.fm/email] with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes * Join the Slack [http://acquired.fm/slack] * Subscribe to ACQ2 [https://pod.link/acquiredlp] * Merch Store [https://www.acquired.fm/store]! © Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC ‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.