Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Building Anchor, selling to Spotify, and lessons learned | Maya Prohovnik (Spotify’s Head of Podcast Product)

Sep 28, 2023

01:07:35

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Maya Prohovnik, Spotify's Head of Podcast Product, discusses various topics such as the importance of "dogfooding," balancing data-driven decision making and intuition, preserving startup culture at a large organization, tips for public speaking, and what's next at Spotify for podcasters. They also cover the success story of Anchor's acquisition by Spotify and their integration into Spotify's platform. Additionally, Maya shares lessons in generosity and talks about their personal experience raising backyard chickens.

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Quick takeaways

Anchor successfully integrated into Spotify by aligning with the company's vision and mission, democratizing podcasting.

Operating within a larger company presented challenges, but Anchor maintained its startup mindset by eliminating unnecessary obstacles.

Founders and early employees often experience depression and existential crisis after an acquisition, highlighting the importance of addressing personal feelings and transitioning successfully.

Deep dives

Integration and cultural fit within Spotify

Anchor successfully integrated into Spotify by aligning with Spotify's vision and mission, as well as building strong relationships with different teams within the company. The acquisition was driven by a shared goal to change and democratize podcasting. Anchor remained true to its core values and maintained its startup mentality, while also embracing Spotify's culture. The team worked towards helping Spotify maintain its fast-moving mindset and teaching others within the company how to move quickly. This alignment and collaborative approach facilitated a successful integration.

Passionate Preparation for Public Speaking

03:15

Get people to Scale - Do things that dont Scale

03:40

Using Frameworks and Tools in Leadership The Eisenhower Matrix

00:53

Lessons Learned from Launching a New Podcast App

01:22

Introduction

5min

Building Podcasting on Spotify and Market Share

2min

The Importance of 'Dog Fooding' and Podcast Creation

27min

Anchor's Acquisition Success Story and Integration into Spotify's Platform

6min

Adapting and Navigating Complexity

22min

Books, Movies, and Interview Questions

3min

Lessons in Generosity and Backyard Chickens

3min

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Maya Prohovnik is currently Spotify’s Head of Podcast Product. She was employee #1 at Anchor, which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 and now powers more than 80% of all new podcasts created in the world. In 2023, Maya was named one of the Most Important People in Podcasting by The Hollywood Reporter. In today’s episode, we discuss:• How Maya operationalizes “dogfooding”• How to balance data-driven decision-making and intuition• Strategies for preserving startup culture in a large organization• Tactical tips to improve at public speaking• How Radical Candor and the Eisenhower matrix transformed her approach to managing people• What’s next at Spotify for Podcasters

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-anchor-selling-to-spotify

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Where to find Maya Prohovnik:

• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mayafish

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaprohovnik/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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