When Spotify launched a few years ago, it changed the way the world downloaded and listened to music. There was a time when piracy ruled over the internet, and most people listened to their music from free pirated sources, but little did we know that a young entrepreneur could change the face of music and the business world in a short duration of time. This is the story of Daniel Ek, a young and far-sighted entrepreneur from Sweden.
Growing up
Born and raised in Rågsved, Sweden, Daniel Ek studied engineering but soon dropped out to follow a career in information technology (IT). However, it was long before he entered college, that his focus had already been shifted to the things he loved the most. A young Daniel taught himself coding at the age of 13 all by himself. In fact, he started building websites for local enterprises as a child. He used to work in his school’s computer lab or his bedroom at the time.
He also had a good sense of money. Even as a child, Daniel charged between $100 and $200 to design a website’s home page. He was able to ride over the wave of change and make the most of the internet revolution of the 90s.
Daniel was so successful in his designing business that he soon outdid his father by the time he turned 16 years old. He was earning a lot more than his parents and also showed the potential to go places in life. Surprisingly, he once revealed that his parents had no idea of his earning capacity until they spotted some costly guitars, TVs, and video games in his room. Little did they expect that by the time he was 18 years old, he would already have 25 employees working for him with a monthly turnover of over $50,000.
Taking matters forward
Daniel Ek joined the KTH Royal Institute of Technology but dropped out just eight weeks after the commencement of the course. He wanted to concentrate on his IT career at the time. This led him to find his own marketing company called Advertigo. But Advertigo was never a long term plan for him. It was just a stepping stone for the young entrepreneur. He later sold the company for $1.25 million.
By the time Daniel Ek hit his early twenties, he had everything most people aspire for. VIP passes, a Ferrari, a hefty bank balance, and more. However, his mind was not at peace. The successful businessman struggled with depression and mental health issues at an early age. This led him to venture into other fields, like music. Daniel had always been a music buff and enjoyed playing the guitar, piano, harmonica, bass, and even drums.
This was when he met Martin Lorentzon, the co-founder of TradeDoubler, an affiliate marketing company.
Establishing Spotify
At the time when the two gentlemen met, they were both experiencing personal issues in their lives. This probably gave them the right push to combine their passion and technical know-how to form Spotify.
Back then, when the two gentlemen were working on the idea of launching Spotify, piracy ruled the internet. Songs across countries and languages could be easily downloaded for free. Despite the odds, Spotify was able to come out as a clear winner in the music space. Spotify combined music and technology and gave people access to all songs in one place. At a very affordable price, people could listen to music 24 x 7 and share their favorite playlists with friends and family.
It was in 2008 that Spotify signed a deal with record companies to launch the platform in Europe. Although the music industry did not seem to show a lot of interest in the platform at the time, its popularity among users and investors grew by leaps and bounds. The company has made many big deals with leading artists since then.
Other achievements
Having begun working at the age of 13, Daniel has donned many hats. His achievements are not limited to Spotify’s success. He was associated with many other big names in the market at different stages of his life. He worked with Tradera, a Nordic auction enterprise. He also served as the CEO of one of the most popular platforms on the internet, μ Torrent. However, he later quit the post when the company was sold to BitTorrent.
Daniel is the perfect example of a self-made billionaire. His success story provides hope to many budding entrepreneurs to dream big and go after their dreams. His career trajectory also points towards the importance of chasing one’s passions over money.
To sum it up
Daniel Ek’s current net worth is estimated to be close to $2.5 billion, as per a study conducted by Forbes. His company Spotify is believed to be used by over 150 million people worldwide. Almost half of these are premium subscribers. Daniel Ek has surely come a long way from being a kid operating out of his bedroom and high school computer lab to establishing the largest music streaming service in the world.