Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek is the co-founder and CEO of Spotify. Today, Spotify has more than 140 million active users and has raised over $2.5 billion in venture funding.
“At the end of the day, it’s about trust. If you say what you’re going to do, and then keep on doing that — you’ll do pretty well.”
— Daniel Ek
Normally, trust = consistency + time. But when you’re scaling fast, you must find shortcuts with your partners and your users. When Daniel Ek founded Spotify, he did what few disruptors had ever done before: He worked WITH the industry he was trying to reinvent. How did Ek build a relationship with a music industry wary of piracy? He found shortcuts to trust. And not just with the music industry, but users too.
When Anne Wojcicki co-founded 23andMe, she carved out a brand-new space in personal health — helping people become experts on their bodies right down to the DNA level. Then the federal regulators came calling. But instead of trying to outwit, sneak past or straight-up fight the FDA in the name of moving fast, Wojcicki made the call to work with regulators directly and collaboratively. Hear how (and why) she embraced red tape. Cameo appearance: Daniel Ek of Spotify.