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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: <a href="https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-anchor-selling-to-spotify-and-lessons-learned-maya-prohovnik-spotifys-head-of-podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-anchor-selling-to-spotify-and-lessons-learned-maya-prohovnik-spotifys-head-of-podcast/</a>
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Where to find Maya Prohovnik:
• Threads: <a href="https://www.threads.net/@mayafish" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.threads.net/@mayafish</a>
• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaprohovnik/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaprohovnik/</a>
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>
• X: <a href="https://twitter.com/lennysan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>
• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Maya’s background
(04:34) Spotify’s podcasting platform
(06:24) Maya’s personal podcasts
(11:36) The importance of “dogfooding” 
(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’s hockey stick growth
(28:08) How Anchor utilized interns to make the Apple Podcasts integration “magical”
(35:36) Anchor and Spotify’s 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’s 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:
• What is “Dogfooding”?: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/dogfooding.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/dogfooding.html</a>
• The Derry Connection: A Stephen King Podcast: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ixSiYlj3A9NqEXZDBgycf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://open.spotify.com/show/6ixSiYlj3A9NqEXZDBgycf</a>
• Blood on Their Hands: A Big Brother Fancast: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4VP16lTL8sUniQXCFeBInv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://open.spotify.com/show/4VP16lTL8sUniQXCFeBInv</a>
• Time Share: A Children of Time Podcast: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/38yhl2lNOUajccfsdluh5j" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://open.spotify.com/show/38yhl2lNOUajccfsdluh5j</a>
• The End of the World as We Know It: A First-Time Parenting Podcast: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3TUr0LxcueYo2nvnyR5rML" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://open.spotify.com/show/3TUr0LxcueYo2nvnyR5rML</a>
• Forgotify (stream Spotify songs that have never been played): <a href="https://forgotify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://forgotify.com/</a>
 • Michael Mignano on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mignano/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mignano/</a>
• Lessons from scaling Spotify: The science of product, taking risky bets, and how AI is already impacting the future of music | Gustav Söderström (Co-President, CPO, and CTO at Spotify): <a href="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/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">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/</a>
• Radical Candor: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375</a>
• What is the Eisenhower matrix?: <a href="https://www.figma.com/resource-library/what-is-the-eisenhower-matrix/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.figma.com/resource-library/what-is-the-eisenhower-matrix/</a>
• Todoist: <a href="https://todoist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://todoist.com/</a>
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563/r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563/</a>
• Spotify for Podcasters: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://podcasters.spotify.com/</a>
• Children of Time: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/0316452505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/0316452505</a>
• It: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Novel-Stephen-King/dp/1982127791/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.amazon.com/Novel-Stephen-King/dp/1982127791/</a>
• Poker Face on Peacock: <a href="https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/poker-face" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/poker-face</a>
• Barbie on Prime: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Margot-Robbie/dp/B0CB1TMKR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Margot-Robbie/dp/B0CB1TMKR6</a>
• Deadly Games: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096741/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096741/</a>
• 1-800 Contacts: <a href="https://www.1800contacts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.1800contacts.com/</a>
• Lovevery: <a href="https://lovevery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://lovevery.com/</a>
• CoopCrate: <a href="https://www.coopcratechickens.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.coopcratechickens.com/</a>
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Production and marketing by <a href="https://penname.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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Lenny Rachitsky

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

Brought to you by Sidebar—Catalyze your career with a Personal Board of Directors | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies | LinkedIn Ads—Reach professionals and drive results for your business — Maya Prohovnik is currently Spotify’s Head of Podcast Product. She was employee #1 at Anchor, which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 [&hellip;]