Spotify's 35-year old co-founder wrote an emotional letter to investors promising to make users 'empathize' with each other and to 'feel part of a greater whole'
- Spotify CEO Daniel Ek introduced himself to the world with a letter to potential investors.
- At roughly 1,300 words, Ek's letter touched upon the company's business potential.
- "We really do believe that we can improve the world, one song at a time," Ek wrote.
Spotify is ditching underwriters, roadshows and even predetermined price ranges in its unorthodox "Direct IPO." But there's one tradition the music streaming company is sticking with: The founder's letter.
The so-called founder's letter has become a staple of tech IPOs, pioneered by the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter.
And Daniel Ek, Spotify's 35-year-old Swedish cofounder and CEO, did not disappoint.
Ek's letter to investors, titled "Our Path" and contained on page 92 of Spotify's F-1 filing, weighed in at a hefty 1,259 words. That easily topped the 471 words written by Roku CEO Anthony Wood and the brief, perhaps symbolic, 138 words of Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, yet was respectfully shy of the 2,189-word manifesto penned by Mark Zuckerberg in 2012.
In keeping with the genre, Ek used soaring language and details of his personal life to tout the values of the company, the benefits of the product and the limitless potential of the business.
"What started out as an application and grew into a platform must now become a global network," he declared.
But the letter also veered into uncharted territory as Ek let his vision run wild. Ek described a future Spotify that serves as a "cultural platform where professional creators can break free of their medium's constraints" and "where everyone can enjoy an immersive artistic experience that enables us to empathize with each other and to feel part of a greater whole."
The letter's Burning Man-esque feel soon took on a political tone, as Ek preached a global worldview at odds with the isolationist climate sweeping across many countries today.
"This is the future we envision; where artists cross genres and cultural boundaries, creating ideas that propel society forward; where fans can discover something they never would have otherwise; where we're all part of a global network, building new connections, sharing new ideas, across cultures," Ek wrote.
In what may become the letter's most memorable line, Ek signed off on a hopeful note: "We really do believe that we can improve the world, one song at a time."
Here is the full letter, which you can also read here: