Michael Mignano

EXCLUSIVE
  • Technology Entrepreneur, Executive, and Investor
  • Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
  • Co-Founder of Anchor and Former Head of Talk, Spotify
  • Angel Investor and Advisor to over 50 Early-Stage Tech Firms

Technology executive and entrepreneur Michael Mignano is passionate about building products that change the world. After serving as VP of Product for Aviary, and growing the photo editing platform’s audience to over 100M creators before an acquisition by Adobe, Michael co-founded Anchor which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 for $170M and is the world’s largest podcasting platform. His work on Anchor transformed podcasting from a niche medium into a universal form of creative expression adopted by millions worldwide. After Anchor was acquired by Spotify, Michael served as Head of Talk Audio for Spotify, where he lead the podcast, live, and video businesses for the world’s leading audio streaming platform. Michael has joined Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, as a partner.

Michael has been recognized by Fortune on their “40 Under 40” list, and he is an angel investor and advisor to more than fifty of the world’s most promising early-stage technology companies, including Cameo, Coda, The Infatuation, Parade, Pipe, and Stir. His career has been focused on building world-changing products that scale to hundreds of millions of users and empower people to express themselves creatively across mediums. In compelling keynote and conversations, Michael shares insights on shifting global culture through powerful ideas, leveraging your passion into an impactful career, and maximizing productivity through communication at work and in life.

 


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Analysis - AI is the most exciting consumer tech breakthrough since the iPhone, says Lightspeed's Mignano | CNBC Closing Bell [4:22] - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Michael Mignano
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The Power of SuperGoals: Overcoming High-Stakes Challenges When Everything is On the Line

Most great teams would agree, there’s nothing more powerful for executing on big ambitions than a clearly defined and well-communicated goal. But sometimes the stakes are much higher than usual. In these instances, a goal requires even more focus, execution, and clarity. All of these can be achieved ...

Most great teams would agree, there’s nothing more powerful for executing on big ambitions than a clearly defined and well-communicated goal. But sometimes the stakes are much higher than usual. In these instances, a goal requires even more focus, execution, and clarity. All of these can be achieved through a framework that MICHAEL MIGNANO calls SuperGoals, which drive urgency, unleash creativity, and provide clarity.

Building Products that Change the World

While it’s never been easier to build, deploy, and distribute products globally, gaining scaled adoption and creating new markets requires expertly crafted strategies, universally-accessible product design, and impeccable timing. Drawing on his experience building the world’s largest podcasting plat ...

While it’s never been easier to build, deploy, and distribute products globally, gaining scaled adoption and creating new markets requires expertly crafted strategies, universally-accessible product design, and impeccable timing. Drawing on his experience building the world’s largest podcasting platform, Anchor, as well as his work leading Spotify’s podcast business, MICHAEL MIGNANO speaks about his insights on building products for the masses, unlocking the power to shift global culture.

Turning Your Passion into Your Career

Generations of Americans have been trained to get good grades, earn a college degree, and establish a rewarding career. However, even in 2022, so many people end up spending more than half of their lives in jobs they despise and living paycheck to paycheck. Drawing from his own experience of pivotin ...

Generations of Americans have been trained to get good grades, earn a college degree, and establish a rewarding career. However, even in 2022, so many people end up spending more than half of their lives in jobs they despise and living paycheck to paycheck. Drawing from his own experience of pivoting out of a boring tech job he hated, into one led by his passion for creativity and the arts, MICHAEL MIGNANO shares lessons on how to both love what you do and put a dent in the universe in the process.

Getting Stuff Done at Work

The global pace of innovation is accelerating faster than ever before, yet through myriad global crises, remote work, and shifts in culture, it’s only getting harder to get stuff done at work for companies big and small. Now more than ever, it’s important to adopt frameworks that enable teams to foc ...

The global pace of innovation is accelerating faster than ever before, yet through myriad global crises, remote work, and shifts in culture, it’s only getting harder to get stuff done at work for companies big and small. Now more than ever, it’s important to adopt frameworks that enable teams to focus, execute, and move faster. Drawing on his experience as the co-founder of Anchor, which he sold and integrated with Spotify before leading their podcast business, MICHAEL MIGNANO shares his philosophies around communication, core values, and company culture, all of which help drive cross-functional alignment and foster innovation at companies of all sizes.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI): The world’s top artificial intelligence speakers help businesses and industries plan for what’s next

The Harry Walker Agency represents the world's top Artificial Intelligence thought leaders, business moguls, and tech titans who provide invaluable insight in the rapidly shifting landscape of AI and Chat GPT. Corporate leaders like former CEO & Chairman of Xerox URSULA BURNS and former President, CEO, and Chairman of IBM GINNI ROMETTY inspire their audiences to lean into innovation. Renowned internet pioneers like SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE, JIMMY WALES, and the Statesman of AI DE KAI unpack these exceptional tech advancements. Global tech executives like PayPal’s former President and CEO DAN SCHULMAN, digital entrepreneur and VC investor PHIL LIBIN, and tech entrepreneur and VC angel investor MICHAEL MIGNANO offer actionable insights about building out a data-backed, high-impact strategy for growth. Tech founder and change agent MIKE MUSE, and algorithm expert CATHY O’NEIL speak to how teams can work with AI to achieve astounding results, while emphasizing our values of ingenuity, courage, and inclusion. Data scientist and Cambridge Analytica whistleblower CHRISTOPHER WYLIE explains AI’s potential risks and how to navigate the complex cybersecurity issues.

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Biography

Michael Mignano is a technology executive and entrepreneur who most recently served as Head of Talk Audio for Spotify and lead the podcast, live, and video businesses for the world’s leading audio streaming platform. Michael co-founded Anchor in 2015, which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 for $170M, and is the world’s largest podcasting platform. Through his work on Anchor, Michael is responsible for democratizing podcasting globally, transforming it from a small, niche medium into a universal form of creative expression adopted by millions of people worldwide.

Michael is an angel investor and advisor to more than 50 of the world’s most promising early stage technology companies, including Cameo, Coda, The Infatuation, Parade, Pipe, and Stir. He has joined Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, as a partner.

Michael’s career has been focused on building world-changing products used by hundreds of millions of people and empowering people to express themselves creatively across a variety of mediums, including podcasts, photos, music, and software. In 2019, Michael was recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the most influential young people in business in their annual 40 Under 40 List.

Prior to founding Anchor, Michael served as VP of Product for Aviary, growing the photo editing platform’s audience to over 100 million creators before being acquired by Adobe in 2014. He previously led Digital Product Development for Atlantic Records after starting his career as a consultant.