Decoder with Nilay Patel

How the head of Obsidian went from superfan to CEO


Listen Later

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.

              Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

              ...more
              View all episodesView all episodes
              Download on the App Store

              Decoder with Nilay PatelBy The Verge

              • 4.1
              • 4.1
              • 4.1
              • 4.1
              • 4.1

              4.1

              3,107 ratings


              More shows like Decoder with Nilay Patel

              View all
              Explain It to Me by Vox

              Explain It to Me

              7,843 Listeners

              The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

              The Gray Area with Sean Illing

              10,734 Listeners

              Switched on Pop by Vulture

              Switched on Pop

              2,679 Listeners

              Pivot by New York Magazine

              Pivot

              9,522 Listeners

              Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

              Gastropod

              3,646 Listeners

              The Vergecast by The Verge

              The Vergecast

              3,678 Listeners

              a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

              a16z Podcast

              1,087 Listeners

              The Talk Show With John Gruber by Daring Fireball / John Gruber

              The Talk Show With John Gruber

              3,131 Listeners

              Channels with Peter Kafka by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Channels with Peter Kafka

              559 Listeners

              Accidental Tech Podcast by Marco Arment, Casey Liss, John Siracusa

              Accidental Tech Podcast

              2,127 Listeners

              Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED

              Uncanny Valley | WIRED

              477 Listeners

              Upgrade by Relay

              Upgrade

              1,210 Listeners

              Good One: A Podcast About Jokes by Vulture

              Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

              1,484 Listeners

              Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

              Y Combinator Startup Podcast

              230 Listeners

              Tech Brew Ride Home by Morning Brew

              Tech Brew Ride Home

              968 Listeners

              Land of the Giants by Vulture

              Land of the Giants

              2,164 Listeners

              Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

              43 Listeners

              Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

              23,612 Listeners

              A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

              A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

              711 Listeners

              Big Technology Podcast by Alex Kantrowitz

              Big Technology Podcast

              475 Listeners

              Hard Fork by The New York Times

              Hard Fork

              5,472 Listeners

              Good Noticings by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Good Noticings

              6,428 Listeners

              Unexplainable by Vox

              Unexplainable

              2,285 Listeners

              Cover Story by New York Magazine

              Cover Story

              1,220 Listeners

              Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

              Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

              152 Listeners

              On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

              On with Kara Swisher

              3,427 Listeners

              Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

              Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

              1,739 Listeners

              Served with Andy Roddick by Served with Andy Roddick

              Served with Andy Roddick

              1,109 Listeners

              Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Prof G Markets

              1,332 Listeners

              Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird by Sue Bird

              Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird

              413 Listeners

              Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network

              Solutions with Henry Blodget

              35 Listeners

              Version History by The Verge

              Version History

              31 Listeners