Masters of Scale

Masters of Scale
Presentation
Hosted byReid Hoffman
GenreBusiness
FormatDocumentary storytelling
Created byJune Cohen, Deron Triff
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesWeekly
Length30-45 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Production
No. of seasons13 (as of May 30, 2023)
No. of episodes250+
Publication
Original releaseMay 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)
ProviderWaitWhat
Related
Websitemastersofscale.com

Masters of Scale is a business podcast and media brand owned and produced by WaitWhat, the media company founded and led by former TED executives June Cohen and Deron Triff.[1] In 2017, Masters of Scale launched as a business and leadership podcast hosted by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock Partners.[2] Masters of Scale aims to “democratize entrepreneurship” and has since extended into multiple podcasts, a learning app (Masters of Scale Courses), a book.,[3] and events, including the Masters of Scale Summit.[4]

Podcast guests have included President Barack Obama, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Huffington Post & Thrive Global founder Arianna Huffington, and Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson.

History

Executive producers Deron Triff and June Cohen approached Reid Hoffman with the idea for the podcast, pitching it as a way of "sharing his ideas on scale in a way that could, well, scale."[5] The first episode of Masters of Scale, featuring Airbnb CEO and cofounder Brian Chesky, aired on May 3, 2017.[2]

In 2018, Masters of Scale was the first American media program to commit to a 50/50 gender balance for guests.[6][7] Hoffman told Quartz: "Silicon Valley prides itself on being a meritocracy, but the data shows it's not. [Masters of Scale] launched with and maintained our commitment to a 50/50 gender balance of guests on each season. It's important to not just talk about this topic, but to take action ... set an example."[6]

In March 2020, the team behind Masters of Scale launched a spinoff podcast, Masters of Scale: Rapid Response, on the Masters of Scale feed, to cover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business community.[8] Hosted by Bob Safian, former Editor of Fast Company, the series has expanded beyond covering the pandemic, offering guidance from business leaders making decisions in turbulent situations.[9] These podcast episodes tackle such issues as managing through crisis, the challenges of rebuilding, and changes to leadership.

In 2021, the Masters of Scale Courses app launched.[10] The courses are rooted in the experience and insights of Reid and well-known entrepreneurs and leaders. Also in 2021, the Masters of Scale Complete Interviews became available exclusively to members in the app.

In September 2021, the Masters of Scale book was published.[11]

In October 2022, the inaugural Masters of Scale Summit was held in San Francisco, California.[12]

Podcasts

Each classic episode of Masters of Scale is rooted in one of host Reid Hoffman's counterintuitive theories on how companies scale. Over the course of each episode, guests share their scale journey alongside insights and additional analysis from Hoffman that support the theory statement. Each episode is scored with original sound design.

A typical episode of Masters of Scale features the scale story of a founder or co-founders. The story is further contextualized through additional cameo guests. These cameo guests come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, and have included Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman, Hall of Fame sportscaster Dick Stockton, National Geographic explorer Andrés Ruzo and Olympic runner Natasha Hastings.[13]

Masters of Scale: Rapid Response episodes track real-time insights from business leaders who are navigating fast-changing situations, such as global health crises, political unrest, and economic uncertainty. In each episode, host Bob Safian, editor at large of Masters of Scale and the former Editor of Fast Company, interviews a guest with extensive experience and insights related to the topic at hand.[9][14] Episodes have featured guests such as award-winning chef José Andrés, Las Vegas Raiders' President Sandra Douglass Morgan, Delta CEO Ed Bastian, Leadership Now Project's founder and CEO Daniella Ballou-Aares and Moviepass founder Stacy Spikes.

Masters of Scale Episodes

Season 1
Episode Title Airdate
1 "Do Things That Don't Scale" with Brian Chesky of Airbnb 5/3/2017
2 "Raise More Money Than You Need" with Mariam Naficy of Minted 5/10/2017
3 "Learn From Every "No"" with Tristan Walker of Walker & Co. 5/17/2017
4 "Imperfect Is Perfect" with Mark Zuckerberg of Meta 5/24/2017
5 "Lead, Lead Again" with Sheryl Sandberg of Meta 5/31/2017
6 "Innovation Is Managed Chaos" with Eric Schmidt of Google & Schmidt Futures 6/7/2017
7 "Your Plan B Needs A Plan B" with Nancy Lublin of Crisis Text Line 6/14/2017
8 "Why Culture Matters" with Reed Hastings of Netflix 6/28/2017
9 "What's The Next Silicon Valley?" with Linda Rottenberg of Endeavor 7/12/2017
10 "Let Fires Burn" with Selina Tobaccowala of Gixo, Evite, & SurveyMonkey 7/19/2017

Masters of Scale: Rapid Response Episodes

App

The Masters of Scale Courses app features exclusive courses, podcast episodes, and bonus content for subscribed members.

The Masters of Scale courses are short-form audio courses aimed at building an "entrepreneurial mindset." According to the website, each course covers an overarching core business topic, e.g. branding, pivots, mission, and consists of multiple Daily Practices. All Daily Practices are approximately 10 minutes long and include relevant excerpts from an interview with an industry leader, along with new additional commentary and insights from Reid Hoffman. At the end of each Daily Practice, an Action Item is provided so that learners can apply what they learned from the course to their own work.[15]

In 2022, the app received a Webby Award for Best Education & Reference App.

Book

Released in September 2021, Masters of Scale: Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs is based on the podcast and contains anecdotes and learnings gleaned from the hundred plus podcast interviews. The book aims to "tease out and distill the essential attributes of people who start and grow businesses." A review published by Business Insider notes that while translating from a podcast to book should lead to "unsatisfying" results, the book "manages to work" due to the "combined impact of the stories."[16] It became a Wall Street Journal Bestseller in October 2021.[17]

Event

The inaugural Masters of Scale summit was held in San Francisco, California from October 18–20, 2022. The audience, who attended in person or via livestream, consisted of a wide range of companies in all stages of growth, leaders across industries, executives of non-profit and cultural organizations, investors, artists, and the media. Stage sessions centered on themes such as, the art of pivoting, technological revolutions, creative innovations, holistic wellness, humanity & culture, diversity & inclusion, and disruption, and “the discussions ranged from the power of psychedelics to the joys of rural life.” The sessions included interviews, presentations, and group conversations, as well as featured live performances by a variety of performing artists. Speakers included 15 Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Tyler Perry Studios founder and CEO Tyler Perry, Turning Red film director and Pixar animator Domee Shi, Microsoft co-founder and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Bill Gates, and Imagine Entertainment co-founder Ron Howard.[18][19][20]

Awards

As of January 2023, Masters of Scale has won a total of 32 podcast industry nominations, including 13 wins.[21] The wins include the 2018 Webby Award for Best Business Podcast,[22] the 2023 Signal Award for Best Commute Podcast and the 2022 Webby Award for Best Individual Episode, for the episode with President Barack Obama.[23]

Awards
Award Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
Webby 2023 Best Episode: Business Rapid Response: Transforming an idea into a movement overnight, w/Black Women For Black Lives co-founder Tokunbo Koiki Honoree [24]
Best Episode: Business Masters of Scale - Daymond John, Part 1: How to Partner Like a Shark Won [25]
Signal 2023 Best Gateway Podcast - Individual Episodes Chobani's Secret to Scale: Tap into Community, w/Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya Won [26]
Most Innovative Audio Experience - Individual Episodes J. J. Abrams: Make Room for Magic Won
Best Editing - Individual Episodes Won
Best Commute Podcast - Shows Masters of Scale Won [27]
Best Commute Podcast - Individual Episodes Tyra Banks: Personal Brand Power Won
Best Episode: Creativity & Marketing Daymond John, Part 1: How to Partner Like a Shark Nominated [26]
Best Episode: Self-Improvement & Self-Help Improving human dignity is an engine of scale, w/Promise CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins Won
Best Episode: Writing Stacey Abrams: How to Harness Risk Won
Best Episode: Business Won
Best Podcast Ad Masters of Scale & Capital One: Mama Aunties Vegan Goodies Won [28]
Masters of Scale & Capital One Business: Aparna Sarin Won [29]
2022 Best Technology Podcast Masters of Scale Won [30]
Webby Best App: Education & Reference Masters of Scale Courses App Nominated
Best User Experience: Education & Reference Apps Nominated [26]
Best App: Learning & Education Honoree
Best Individual Episode - Overall Masters of Scale Podcast Episode: President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1 Won [31]
Best News & Politics Podcast Won
Podcasts - Best Individual Episode (Features) Masters of Scale - How to Accelerate Expertise, with Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Chair of Starbucks Honoree [32]
Podcasts - Best Podcast Ad (Features) Masters of Scale x Capital One: Village Market Honoree [33]
Best Education & Reference App Masters of Scale Courses App Nominated [34]
Ambies 2022 Best Business Podcast Masters of Scale Nominated [26]
2021 Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction Won [35]
Webby Best Podcast: Business Won [26]
Podcasts - Best Podcast Ad (Features) Hubspot - The Culture Code Nominated [36]
2020 Best Podcast: Business Masters of Scale Nominated [26]
Best Podcast: Live Recording Nominated
2019 Best Podcast: Business Nominated
Best Podcast: Writing Nominated
Discover Pods Awards Business Podcast Nominated [37]
Webby 2018 People's Voice Winner for Best Business Podcast Won [38]

References

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  2. ^ a b Huspeni, Andrea (April 25, 2017). "Check Out a New Podcast Hosted by Reid Hoffman". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  3. ^ Shaywitz, David (September 15, 2021). "Masters of Scale' Review: Make It and 'Blitz' It". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Lee, Dave (October 25, 2022). "Silicon Valley rethinks the corporate conference for the post-pandemic age". Financial Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Ramachandran, Anjali (June 8, 2017). "Masters of Scale: Reid Hoffman Tests His Theories of Success". Other Valleys. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Fessler, Leah (October 30, 2018). "Reid Hoffman Wishes He Could Go Back to Stanford and Befriend More Women". Quartz. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  7. ^ McPherson, Susan (February 7, 2018). "Media Mastermind June Cohen On Why Gender Balance Matters In Storytelling And In Business". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "How all-remote teams work". mastersofscale.com. Masters of Scale. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Lett, Phoebe (May 27, 2020). "Podcasts for the Pandemic Era". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Masters of Scale - Courses". apps.apple.com. Apple. March 12, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Shaywitz, David (September 15, 2021). "'Masters of Scale' Review: Make It and 'Blitz' It". Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Lee, David (October 25, 2022). "Silicon Valley rethinks the corporate conference for the post-pandemic age". Financial Times. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Podcast Episodes". mastersofscale.com. Masters of Scale. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "Podcast episodes - Rapid Response". mastersofscale.com. Masters of Scale. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "Downloaded the Masters of Scale Courses app". mastersofscale.com. Masters of Scale. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
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  17. ^ "Bestselling Books Week Ended October 9". Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. October 14, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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  23. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
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  25. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". webbyawards.com.
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  27. ^ "Signal Award Winner". Signal Awards.
  28. ^ "Signal Award Winner". Signal Awards.
  29. ^ "Signal Award Winner". Signal Awards.
  30. ^ "Masters of Scale". Webby Awards.
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  32. ^ "How to accelerate expertise, with Mellody Hobson". webbyawards.com.
  33. ^ "Masters of Scale x Capital One". webbyawards.com.
  34. ^ "Masters of Scale Courses App". winners.webbyawards.com. The Webby Awards. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  35. ^ "2021 WINNERS & NOMINEES". The Ambies® — Awards for Excellence in Audio.
  36. ^ "Masters of Scale AD: Hubspot —The Culture Code". webbyawards.com.
  37. ^ Goldberg, Kevin (November 21, 2019). "Announcing the winners of the 2019 Discover Pods Awards". Discover Pods Awards.
  38. ^ "People's Voice Winner, Honoree". winners.webbyawards.com. The Webby Awards. Retrieved June 4, 2023.