Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy discusses the social aspect of gaming, the growth of Discord beyond gamers, the importance of community, good and bad stress, leadership challenges, hiring practices, content moderation, and the evolution of Discord. Topics also include online socializing, collaborative projects, React, and authentic customer experience.
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Quick takeaways
Discord's evolution from a gaming platform to a broader community hub showcases the importance of adapting to user needs.
The founder's personal challenges, including health issues and immigration, highlight the resilience needed for entrepreneurial success.
Discord's commitment to content moderation and community collaboration over monetization underlines its focus on sustainable growth.
Deep dives
Founding Inspiration and Overcoming Impostor Syndrome
The founder discusses his journey of starting a company, inspired by his passion for gaming and his early experiences playing Final Fantasy. Despite facing deep impostor syndrome, he found success by reflecting on his skills and gaining confidence through meaningful conversations with other leaders. The struggle of balancing self-doubt and building a successful company highlights the importance of trusting one's instincts and seeking reassurance from peers.
Evolution of Discord and Launch Strategy
The podcast delves into the evolution of Discord from its inception to its successful launch. Initially built to aid communication within the founder's gaming community, Discord underwent iterations based on user feedback and rigorous testing. The pivotal moments leading to the official launch reveal a strategic Reddit post and the innovative use of browser-based voice channels to engage potential users effectively.
Impact of Personal Challenges on Entrepreneurial Journey
Personal challenges faced by the founder, including a life-threatening medical condition and immigration experience, shaped his entrepreneurial path. His resilience and determination to create meaningful connections through technology fueled the development of Discord. The founder's introspection on overcoming adversity highlights the transformative power of technology in fostering community and overcoming personal obstacles.
The Evolution of Discord Beyond Gaming
Discord initially positioned itself as a gaming platform but later expanded its focus to serve a broader community. The shift was prompted by insights like the React JavaScript community moving to Discord for collaboration tools. Despite challenges like a failed game store launch, Discord reoriented its strategy to prioritize the needs of its core gaming user base, recognizing the importance of focus and clear decision-making for sustained growth.
Embracing Responsibility and Monetization
Discord acknowledged its responsibility in content moderation and safety, dedicating resources to these critical areas. The company's business model transitioned from focusing on a game store to enhancing its subscription service, Nitro, based on user engagement. By aligning user interests with product development, Discord prioritized community collaboration over conventional monetization methods, demonstrating a commitment to sustainable growth.
Guest: Stanislav Vishnevskiy, CTO and co-founder of Discord
For many years, the conventional wisdom was the gaming was not social because it was something you usually did at home. “But people who play games are often the most social,” says Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy. “They’re spending 10, 20 hours with other people online, hanging out.” As a teenager, Stanislav logged more than 1,000 days playing his favorite video game and socializing with friends around the world, but with 200 million monthly active users, the social platform is appealing to a lot more than hardcore gamers. “People online who need to get together and collaborate ... [want] tp have control and create a place,” he says. “That’s not just a gaming need, right? That’s pretty much any community.”
In this episode, Stanislav and Joubin discuss “Discord moments,” hanging out online, IRC and AIM, Fates Forever, good and bad stress, leadership coaches, Claire Hughes Johnson, socializing online, heart surgery, Slack, Jason Citron, in-browser voice chat, Reddit, authentic CX, hiring slowly, Mitch Lasky, “playing moneyball,” React, content moderation, deprecation plans, and collaborative projects.
Chapters:
(02:09) - Discord’s scale and importance
(07:35) - What is Discord?
(09:43) - Hammer and Chisel
(13:18) - How Stanislav’s role has changed
(15:17) - Imposter syndrome
(17:47) - Doing stuff for the first time
(21:22) - Final Fantasy XI and Stanislav’s parents
(25:12) - YOLO
(27:02) - Games as social networks
(30:49) - The evolution of Discord
(35:58) - Inherent virality
(39:04) - Building the company
(41:39) - The COVID effect
(43:08) - Hiring for slope
(46:43) - Pivoting back to gaming
(51:27) - The Discord Store and Nitro
(54:30) - Emotional stakes
(56:09) - Midjourney and AI art
(59:58) - Virtual worlds
(01:01:30) - Who Discord is hiring and what “grit” means to Stanislav