"We're here to empower creators everywhere to start a podcast." Michael Mignano's vision to democratize audio content creation led to building the world's largest podcasting platform.

From Aviary to Audio

Before Anchor, Michael served as VP of Product for Aviary, growing the photo editing platform's audience to over 100 million users before being acquired by Adobe in 2014. This experience taught him how to build creator tools at scale.

But Michael saw a bigger opportunity in audio. Podcasting was growing, but creating a podcast was still technically complex and expensive.

The 10% Growth Mandate

As an early-stage startup, Anchor struggled with cash flow and fundraising. To expand its roster of active creators and prove their concept, the co-founders landed on an aggressive goal: 10% growth per week.

This wasn't just a metric - it was a survival strategy. They needed to show investors that the idea could scale.

Powering One-Third of All Podcasts

The bet paid off. Anchor's free, easy-to-use platform exploded in popularity. By making podcast creation accessible to anyone with a smartphone, they captured a massive market that others had ignored.

Today, Anchor (now Spotify for Creators) powers approximately one-third of all new podcasts globally.

The Spotify Acquisition

In 2019, Spotify acquired Anchor, recognizing that owning the creation layer was essential for their audio strategy. Michael went on to serve as Head of Talk at Spotify, leading the podcast and video businesses.

He's now a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, investing in the next generation of creator tools, with portfolio companies including xAI, Neuralink, and Suno.