Building One with Tomer Cohen – Details, episodes & analysis

Last week we welcomed Spotify Co-President and CPO Gustav Söderström to the show to discuss his professional journey and the evolution of Spotify. We’re back this week with a few more questions for Gustav to get to know him better. Follow Gustav Söderström on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn

For our Season 1 finale, we’ve got a real treat for you. Spotify has been bringing music to listeners' ears since 2008. Today, they are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription, offering over 100 million tracks, 6 million podcasts titles, and 350,000 audiobooks. Spotify Co-President, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Product Officer Gustav Söderström joins us today to discuss the evolution of the platform, Spotify’s future, and his own professional journey. Over the course of his career, Gustav’s resistance to labels and entrepreneurial experience has allowed him to successfully innovate across various disciplines. He sits down with Tomer to discuss Spotify’s long term bets, why the company will never “move fast and break things,” the value of explanations, what AI means for the future of Spotify’s platform, and so much more. Follow Gustav Söderström on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn

Over the years, technology has transformed banking for everyday people. You can now access your money without ever having to touch a dollar bill. But what powers the apps that have so simplified the banking process? Look no further than Plaid. Plaid securely connects apps like Venmo, CashApp and Robinhood and many others to your financial accounts. Today, Plaid co-founder and CEO Zach Perret joins Tomer for a conversation on the intricacies of designing an app for the financial sector. As a highly regulated industry, Zach has a unique design challenge and today he’ll break down how he puts simplicity first for the sake of the user. Follow Zach Perret on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn

Looking for more after last week's episode with Nick Daniel? We're back with four more questions with the Etsy CPO.

In 2005, Etsy staked its claim on a unique piece of the e-commerce landscape– arts and crafts. The site has since become the go to place for one of a kind handcrafted goods. Etsy’s approach has focused on building community amongst their sellers and today’s guest is breaking down how they balance those needs with that of their buyers. Nick Daniel is the Chief Product Officer of Etsy. He sits down with Tomer to discuss how the platform differentiated itself from other marketplaces early on, and what it takes to foster a creative community that feels empowered to make original products.

Since 1982, Adobe has been empowering the world of design. The company tools transformed the way graphic designers, editors, and creators do their jobs. Today’s guest, Scott Belsky, allowed these creatives to share their work seamlessly with Behance, the largest portfolio platform in the world. Adobe acquired Behance in 2012 and Scott became their Chief Product Officer a few years later. While at Adobe, he has brought apps we know and love to web and mobile, like Photoshop and Adobe Reader, while also evolving Adobe’s 3D product landscape. He joins Tomer today to share what inspires innovation, how he leads his team, and the importance of first impressions in design.  Follow Scott Belsky and Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to rate the show!

Last week, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull taught us how he built one of the largest creative companies in the world. We’re getting to know Ed a little better this week with a round of rapid fire questions. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out Ed’s book Creativity, Inc. And don’t forget to rate the show and check out the Building One newsletter.

As one of the biggest names in animation, Pixar has a legendary roster including movies like Toy Story, Up, and Monsters, Inc. Many of their most popular titles would not have been possible without Ed Catmull. Ed is the co-founder of Pixar, and aside from his experience with computer science and computer graphics, his most significant contribution to the company may be fostering a creative company culture that crafted some of our favorite animated characters. He sits down with Tomer in this special episode of Building One to talk with us about how he built a successful creative team by hiring with a growth mindset and how to lead such a team with careful process and without ego. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to rate the show and check out the Building One newsletter.

Looking for more after last week’s conversation with Kim Culmone, Mattel's Head of Design for Dolls? Look no further! We’re back with a rapid fire round of questions with Kim. Follow Kim Culmone and Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out our show page at https://linkedin.com/buildingone

Created in 1945, Mattel is one of the biggest toy companies in the world and home to the iconic doll brand, Barbie. The brand continues to shape how kids play and learn with the careful design of their dolls. In this episode of Building One, Tomer sits down with Mattel SVP and Head of Design for Dolls Kim Culmone to talk about how she has led the brand’s most recent reinventions. Kim is a veteran toy designer. She started at Mattel as a textile designer and now approaches her 25th year with the company. She joins us today to break down the way that kids learn through play, to highlight the importance of staying true to the DNA of your product, and to share what it takes to hone your intuition as a product leader.   Follow Kim Culmone and Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to rate the show and check out the Building One newsletter.