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Maya Prohovnik is currently Spotify\u2019s 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\u2019s episode, we discuss:\u2022 How Maya operationalizes \u201cdogfooding\u201d\u2022 How to balance data-driven decision-making and intuition\u2022 Strategies for preserving startup culture in a large organization\u2022 Tactical tips to improve at public speaking\u2022 How Radical Candor and the Eisenhower matrix transformed her approach to managing people\u2022 What\u2019s 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:

\u2022 Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mayafish

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaprohovnik/

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Maya\u2019s background

(04:34) Spotify\u2019s podcasting platform

(06:24) Maya\u2019s personal podcasts

(11:36) The importance of \u201cdogfooding\u201d\xa0

(13:24) How Maya operationalizes dogfooding

(16:31) How to balance data-driven decision-making and trusting your gut

(21:38) Building Anchor 2.0

(26:24) The beginning of Anchor\u2019s hockey stick growth

(28:08) How Anchor utilized interns to make the Apple Podcasts integration \u201cmagical\u201d

(35:36) Anchor and Spotify\u2019s successful integration

(37:50) Maintaining a startup culture within a large organization

(39:20) Transitioning from a startup to a large company

(42:02) Challenges brought on by the acquisition

(48:49) How Maya\u2019s leadership approach is guided by Radical Candor

(51:53) The Eisenhower matrix for prioritization and task management

(52:46) Productivity tips

(55:10) How to get better at public speaking

(59:38) The future of Spotify for Podcasters

(1:00:58) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 What is \u201cDogfooding\u201d?: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/dogfooding.html

\u2022 The Derry Connection: A Stephen King Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ixSiYlj3A9NqEXZDBgycf

\u2022 Blood on Their Hands: A Big Brother Fancast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4VP16lTL8sUniQXCFeBInv

\u2022 Time Share: A Children of Time Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/38yhl2lNOUajccfsdluh5j

\u2022 The End of the World as We Know It: A First-Time Parenting Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TUr0LxcueYo2nvnyR5rML

\u2022 Forgotify (stream Spotify songs that have never been played): https://forgotify.com/

\xa0\u2022 Michael Mignano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mignano/

\u2022 Lessons from scaling Spotify: The science of product, taking risky bets, and how AI is already impacting the future of music | Gustav S\xf6derstr\xf6m (Co-President, CPO, and CTO at Spotify): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the-science-of-product-taking-risky-bets-and-how-ai-is-already-impacting-the-future-of-music-gustav-soderstrom-co-president-cpo-and-cto-at-spotify/

\u2022 Radical Candor: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375

\u2022 What is the Eisenhower matrix?: https://www.figma.com/resource-library/what-is-the-eisenhower-matrix/

\u2022 Todoist: https://todoist.com/

\u2022 Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563/

\u2022 Spotify for Podcasters: https://podcasters.spotify.com/

\u2022 Children of Time: https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/0316452505

\u2022 It: https://www.amazon.com/Novel-Stephen-King/dp/1982127791/

\u2022 Poker Face on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/poker-face

\u2022 Barbie on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Margot-Robbie/dp/B0CB1TMKR6

\u2022 Deadly Games: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096741/

\u2022 1-800 Contacts: https://www.1800contacts.com/

\u2022 Lovevery: https://lovevery.com/

\u2022 CoopCrate: https://www.coopcratechickens.com/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.