What makes Spotify CEO Daniel Ek unique? In his own words: “I’m relatively decent at most things, but not really great at anything,” he told me during an interview at Spotify’s New York City offices for Fast Company‘s September cover story on him and the company. “I can dabble enough where most people would say, ‘Oh, this guy is really good.” So what specifically is Ek “decent” at?
1. Sports
Ek played club soccer while growing up in one of Stockholm’s working-class neighborhoods, hung out with other budding jocks, but says, “I realized I wasn’t the best at it very early.” He didn’t have the drive–or the talent–of some others. “I remember one friend, he was at the soccer field alone every day, just working,” he recalls. That friend went on to play professionally, in Italy and briefly for the L.A. Galaxy. And this pal wasn’t the only one among Ek’s local crew to become what he calls “hyper successful” in sports: “I have two soccer pros, one basketball pro, and three hockey pros.”
2. Ping-Pong
When Scooter Braun, the music impresario who manages Justin Bieber, mentioned to Ek one day that Bieber was a whiz at Ping-Pong, Ek contended that he could take him.
It didn’t turn out that way. “When we visited Stockholm,” Braun recalls, “there was a Daniel-Justin tournament. And let’s just say that Daniel knows he’s not the best at Ping-Pong anymore.” (The score was reportedly 21-1.) When Bieber’s song “What Do You Mean” set records on the streaming service in its first week, Ek presented Bieber with a specially designed Golden Ping-Pong Paddle award.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
