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"If I don't understand what my customers do, I can't do anything for them."

Name: Jared Ariah (he/him)

Role: Product Lead for Anchor @ Spotify

Age: 41

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Status: Married

Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Archetype: The Reliable Leader

Overview

Bio 👤

Jared is a product lead for Spotify's latest acquisition, Anchor - a mobile podcasting platform. He is leading the transition and assuming ownership of the product and with that comes new learning curve. Jared is new to podcast production and is looking to rally his cross functional team by conducting user research that builds empathy for his customers - creators of podcasts so that he can integrate the product and map new product development with confidence and meaning.

Role + Tasks + Goals 🛠️

Responsibilities 💼

• Lead the acquisition and integration of Anchor's product into the Spotify family.
• Create and share common understanding of a podcaster's workflow.
• Establish a roadmap for product integration and product differentiation to establish Spotify as the leading platform for podcasts.
• Identify and groom talent across both Spotify's incumbent team and Anchor's acquired talent to form a new product leadership going forward.

Pain points 😖

• Getting everyone on the same page.
• New to the podcasting world and there's lots to learn about the customer segment of podcast hosts / producers.
• Integrating in leadership from Anchor into Spotify's culture.

Needs 🚑

• Share knowledge base and collaborate with the team on shaping the product going forward.
• Conduct user research with podcasters to understand their needs.