Notes
This was the start of Spotify.
$60B of market cap today, just a wireframe at the start.
"We started building the product. That's always what came first for us."
—Daniel Ek
Let's rewind to get the full context:
(As Daniel told Stockholm Tech Fest 2015)
2002
Daniel had the idea of Spotify when he experienced the magic of Napster. He loved the concept but hated the business model. He felt, "Holy shit, this is what I want to do." The timing just wasn't right.
2006
Daniel and his co-founder Martin Lorentzon both had just sold their prior companies. They were figuring out what to build next. They eventually agreed there was a compelling opportunity to make Napster with the right business model.
They started the company with a bunch of people at the KTH Royal Tech Institute in Stockholm. And they communicated a simple vision: "Imagine having all the world's music in your iTunes library."
2007
One of the people making that vision a reality was lead designer Rasmuss Anderson (who has since gone on to also help design the first version of Figma). Working closely with the team, he created this iconic wireframe that defined the Spotify user experience:
Launch app
Login to spotify
Personalize your homepage experience
Discover & play unlimited music
But the Spotify idea didn't start out this perfect. They iterated and iterated until they had something that would not just work, but delight users. The result is these early interactions still define the app we see today.
2008
After two years of iterating on the product, Spotify actually launched in Europe. The team waited until they could "provide the best possible service." And the result was wildfire. Spotify experienced hockey stick growth in Europe, went global in 2011, and public in 2018.
The key lesson? Iterating on wireframes was done extensively before they ever wrote any code.
This is a great takeaway for product builders of all types:
Don't skip your wireframes!
I wrote more in this week's deep dive:
