How the head of Obsidian went from superfan to CEO
Steph 'Kepano' Ango on why productivity tools need community more than they need AI
Decoder with Nilay Patel · The Verge
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Show Notes
Obsidian is a note-taking and productivity app that occupies the same "second brain" space as competitors like Notion — but in a lot of ways, it's also startlingly different. Obsidian's files are Markdown-based, stored locally on your own devices, and completely free to use.
Steph Ango, the CEO, is also different in a lot of ways: He's not an Obsidian founder, but instead came to the role from being basically a member of the fan development community. His take on software, productivity, and business is refreshingly old-fashioned in a lot of good ways, while he's also leading a very 21st century startup.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
- I’m joining Obsidian as CEO | Obsidian Blog
- About Obsidian (Manifesto) | Obsidian
- Narvar acquires Lumi (2021) | Narvar
- After 15 years whipping the llama’s ass, Winamp shuts down | TechCrunch
- Notion’s Ivan Zhao wants you to demand better from your tools | Decoder
- Book Review: “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” | National Geographic
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt; our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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