Masters of Scale explained

Masters of Scale is a business podcast and media brand owned and produced by WaitWhat, the media company founded and led by former TED executives June Cohen and Deron Triff.^[1] In 2017, Masters of Scale launched as a business and leadership podcast hosted by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock Partners.^[2] Masters of Scale aims to “democratize entrepreneurship” and has since extended into multiple podcasts, a learning app (Masters of Scale Courses), a book.,^[3] and events, including the Masters of Scale Summit.^[4]

Podcast guests have included President Barack Obama, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Huffington Post & Thrive Global founder Arianna Huffington, and Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson.

History

Executive producers Deron Triff and June Cohen approached Reid Hoffman with the idea for the podcast, pitching it as a way of "sharing his ideas on scale in a way that could, well, scale."^[5] The first episode of Masters of Scale, featuring Airbnb CEO and cofounder Brian Chesky, aired on May 3, 2017.

In 2018, Masters of Scale was the first American media program to commit to a 50/50 gender balance for guests.^{[6] [7]} Hoffman told Quartz: "Silicon Valley prides itself on being a meritocracy, but the data shows it's not. [''Masters of Scale''] launched with and maintained our commitment to a 50/50 gender balance of guests on each season. It's important to not just talk about this topic, but to take action ... set an example."

In March 2020, the team behind Masters of Scale launched a spinoff podcast, Masters of Scale: Rapid Response, on the Masters of Scale feed, to cover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business community.^[8] Hosted by Bob Safian, former Editor of Fast Company, the series has expanded beyond covering the pandemic, offering guidance from business leaders making decisions in turbulent situations.^[9] These podcast episodes tackle such issues as managing through crisis, the challenges of rebuilding, and changes to leadership.

In 2021, the Masters of Scale Courses app launched.^[10] The courses are rooted in the experience and insights of Reid and well-known entrepreneurs and leaders. Also in 2021, the Masters of Scale Complete Interviews became available exclusively to members in the app.

In September 2021, the Masters of Scale book was published.^[11]

In October 2022, the inaugural Masters of Scale Summit was held in San Francisco, California.^[12]

Podcasts

Each classic episode of Masters of Scale is rooted in one of host Reid Hoffman's counterintuitive theories on how companies scale. Over the course of each episode, guests share their scale journey alongside insights and additional analysis from Hoffman that support the theory statement. Each episode is scored with original sound design.

A typical episode of Masters of Scale features the scale story of a founder or co-founders. The story is further contextualized through additional cameo guests. These cameo guests come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, and have included Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman, Hall of Fame sportscaster Dick Stockton, National Geographic explorer Andrés Ruzo and Olympic runner Natasha Hastings.^[13]

Masters of Scale: Rapid Response episodes track real-time insights from business leaders who are navigating fast-changing situations, such as global health crises, political unrest, and economic uncertainty. In each episode, host Bob Safian, editor at large of Masters of Scale and the former Editor of Fast Company, interviews a guest with extensive experience and insights related to the topic at hand.^{[9] [14]} Episodes have featured guests such as award-winning chef José Andrés, Las Vegas Raiders' President Sandra Douglass Morgan, Delta CEO Ed Bastian, Leadership Now Project's founder and CEO Daniella Ballou-Aares and Moviepass founder Stacy Spikes.

Masters of Scale Episodes

Season 1! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

1		5/3/2017
2		5/10/2017
3	"Learn From Every "No"" with Tristan Walker of Walker & Co.	5/17/2017
4		5/24/2017
5		5/31/2017
6		6/7/2017
7		6/14/2017
8		6/28/2017
9		7/12/2017
10		7/19/2017

Season 2! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

11		11/8/2017
12		11/10/2017
13		11/15/2017
14		12/6/2017
15		12/13/2017
16	"Build a More Human Internet" with Caterina Fake of Flickr and Yes Ventures	1/24/2018
17		1/31/2018
18		2/7/2018
19		2/14/2018
20		2/21/2018
21		3/7/2018
22		3/21/2018

Season 3! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

23		7/11/2018
24		7/25/2018
25	"How to Make the Star Employees You Need" with Marissa Mayer of Yahoo, Google, and Lumi Labs	8/8/2018
26		9/6/2018
27		9/19/2018
28		10/3/2018
29	"When to Ignore Conventional Wisdom" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & Union Square Hospitality Group	10/22/2018
30		11/5/2018
31		11/19/2018
32	"To Scale, You Must Master The Art of Storytelling" with Scott Harrison of	12/18/2018
33		1/8/2019
34		1/22/2019

Season 4! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

35		2/26/2019
36		3/12/2019
37	"Take Bigger Risks" with Shellye Archambeau of Nordstrom & MetricStream	3/26/2019
38		4/30/2019
39		5/21/2019
40		6/5/2019
41		7/2/2019
42		7/18/2019
43		8/1/2019
44		9/5/2019
45		10/17/2019

Season 5! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

46		10/31/2019
47		11/7/2019
48		11/15/2019
49		11/26/2019
50		12/5/2019
51		12/13/2019
52		12/20/2019
53		1/9/2020
54		1/23/2020
55		2/13/2020
56		2/27/2020

Season 6! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

57		5/12/2020
58		5/19/2020
59		5/26/2020
60	"Build. Measure. Learn." with Eric Ries, author of "The Lean Startup"	6/16/2020
61		6/30/2020
62		7/7/2020
63	"Be a Painkiller AND a Vitamin" with Clara Shih of Hearsay Social	7/28/2020
64		8/18/2020
65		8/25/2020

Season 7! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

66	"How to Build Authentic Connection at Scale" with Trevor McFedries & Lil Miquela of Brud	9/29/2020
67		10/6/2020
68		10/13/2020
69		10/20/2020
70		11/10/2020
71		11/17/2020
72		12/1/2020
73		12/8/2020
74	"How to Master Your Emotion" with Sam Harris of Making Sense	1/26/2021
75		2/2/2021

Season 8! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

76		2/23/2021
77		3/2/2021
78		3/9/2021
79		3/23/2021
80		3/30/2021
81		4/5/2021
82		4/20/2021
83		5/11/2021
84		5/18/2021
85	"How Mentorship Provides an Edge" with Alex Rodriquez of A-Rod Corp	5/25/2021
86		6/8/2021
87		6/15/2021
88		6/29/2021
89		7/6/2021
90		7/27/2021

Season 9! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

91		8/31/2021
92		9/14/2021
93		9/28/2021
94		10/5/2021
95		10/12/2021
96		11/9/2021
97	"Build a better board" with Mellody Hobson, Lisa Shalett, & Shishir Mehrotra	11/16/2021
98		12/7/2021
99		1/11/2022
100		1/15/2022
101		1/18/2022
102		2/1/2022

Season 10! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

103	"How to Harness Risk" with Stacey Abrams of The New Georgia Project	3/8/2022
104		3/15/2022
105		3/22/2022
106		4/5/2022
107		5/10/2022
108		5/17/2022
109		5/24/2022
110		5/31/2022
112	"Improving Human Dignity is an Engine of Scale" with Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins of Promise	6/21/2022
113		6/28/2022
114		7/12/2022
115		7/19/2022

Season 11! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

116		8/16/2022
117		8/30/2022
118		9/6/2022
119		9/27/2022
120	"Think Like an Intrapreneur" with Linda Yates of Mach49	10/11/2022
121		11/1/2022
122		11/8/2022
123		12/6/2022
124		12/20/2022

Season 12! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

125		1/10/2023
126	"When to Seek Advice and When to Ignore It" with Alexa von Tobel of LearnVest and Inspired Capital	1/31/2023
127		2/28/2023

Season 13! Episode !! Title !! Airdate

128		5/31/2023
129		6/6/2023
130		6/20/2023
131		6/27/2023
132		7/11/2023
133	"Re-skill for AI, w/PwC's Tim Ryan"	07/13/2023
134	"Prepare for where AI is headed next, w/Reid Hoffman & Bob Safian"	07/18/2023
135	"Focus on the scale that your customers can't see, w/Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford"	07/25/2023
136	"Ron Howard: Evolve your vision"	08/15/2023
137	"Brian Grazer: Scale your curiosity"	08/29/2023
138	"Eileen Fisher: Keep it simple to make it timeless"	09/6/2023

Masters of Scale: Rapid Response Episodes

Episode	Title	Airdate
1		3/18/2020
2	"The wrenching decision to do layoffs" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & Union Square Hospitality Group	3/24/2020
3		3/26/2020
4		3/31/2020
5		4/2/2020
6	"Relief funding and crowdfunding in a crisis" with Karen Cahn of IFundWomen	4/4/2020
7		4/7/2020
8		4/14/2020
9		4/13/2020
10		4/16/2020
11		4/18/2020
12		4/20/2020
13		4/22/2020
14	"Build government back – better" with Jen Pahika of US Digital	4/23/2020
15		4/24/2020
16		4/25/2020
17		4/28/2020
18		4/30/2020
19		5/2/2020
20	"Food security in a pandemic" with Sara Menker of Gro Intelligence	5/5/2020
21		5/7/2020
22		5/9/2020
23		5/16/2020
24		5/21/2020
25		5/23/2020
26		5/28/2020
27	"10 weeks later: How to revive restaurants" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & Union Square Hospitality Group	5/30/2020
28		6/6/2020
29		6/13/2020
30		6/19/2020
31		6/27/2020
32		7/2/2020
33		7/9/2020
34		7/11/2020
35		7/18/2020
36		9/8/2020
37		9/15/2020
38		9/22/2020
39	"Your company is a citizen – it can act like one" with Baratunde Thurston of How to Citizen	10/1/2020
40		10/8/2020
41		10/15/2020
42		10/22/2020
43		11/2/2020
44		11/5/2020
45		11/12/2020
46		11/19/2020
47		11/25/2020
48	"Loneliness at work" with Noreena Hertz of The Lonely Century	12/3/2020
49		12/10/2020
50		12/17/2020
51		1/14/2021
52	"Ten months of pain and hope" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & Union Square Hospitality Group	1/21/2021
53		1/28/2021
54		2/4/2021
55		2/11/2021
56		2/16/2021
57		2/18/2021
58		2/25/2021
59		3/4/2021
60		3/16/2021
61	"The business of democracy" with Daniella Ballou-Aares of Leadership Now	3/25/2021
62	"The trampoline effect" with Alex Lieberman of Morning Brew	4/1/2021
63		4/8/2021
64		4/15/2021
65		4/22/2021
66		4/29/2021
67		5/6/2021
68		5/13/2021
69		5/20/2021
70		5/27/2021
71		6/3/2021
72		6/10/2021
73	"Why business must be a force for good" with Kenneth Chenault of General Catalyst Partners	6/17/2021
74		6/24/2021
75	"Tapping into generosity (via Bitcoin)" with Scott Harrison of	7/1/2021
76		7/8/2021
77		7/15/2021
78		7/22/2021
79		7/29/2021
80		8/19/2021
81		8/26/2021
82	"When you should require vaccinations" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & the Union Square Hospitality Group	9/2/2021
83		9/9/2021
84		9/16/2021
85		9/23/2021
86	"How to scale tech responsibly" with Sridhar Ramaswamy of Neeva	9/30/2021
87		10/7/2021
88		10/14/2021
89		10/21/2021
90		10/28/2021
91		11/4/2021
92		11/11/2021
93		11/18/2021
94		12/2/2021
95		12/9/2021
96		12/16/2021
97	"How to decarbonize your business" with John Doerr of Speed & Scale	1/13/2022
98		1/20/2022
99		1/27/2022
100		2/3/2022
101		2/10/2022
102	"Be confident enough to show your vulnerability" with Kenneth Frazier of General Catalyst Partners'	2/17/2022
103		2/24/2022
104		3/3/2022
105		3/10/2022
106		3/12/2022
107		3/14/2022
108		3/17/2022
109	"Transforming an idea into a movement overnight" with Tokunbo Koiki of Black Women for Black Lives	3/19/2022
110	"Putting an end to hustle culture" with Reshma Saujani of Pay Up	3/24/2022
111		3/31/2022
112	"Inside 'the most radical supply chain shift since World War II'" with Jennifer Bisceglie of Interos	4/2/2022
113	"Supporting Ukraine's tech workers" with Eric Friedrichsen of Emburse	4/7/2022
114	"Lessons from an entrepreneur in Ukraine" with Alyona Mysko of Fuelfinance	4/14/2022
115	"How Chief became a phenomenon" with Carolyn Childers of Chief	4/21/2022
116		4/30/2022
117	"Protecting against the next bio threat" with Charity Dean of The Public Health Company	5/5/2022
118		5/12/2022
119		5/19/2022
120	"A global benefit concert for Ukraine" with Victoria Yampolksy of World United for Ukraine	5/26/2022
121	"Don't wait for the system, build it!" with Kathryn Finney of Genius Guild	6/9/2022
122		6/16/2022
123		6/25/2022
124		6/30/2022
125		7/7/2022
126		7/14/2022
127		7/21/2022
128		7/28/2022
129		8/11/2022
130		8/25/2022
131		9/1/2022
132		9/8/2022
133		9/15/2022
134		9/22/2022
135	"How Covid lessons get tested by inflation" with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack & Union Square Hospitality Group	9/29/2022
136	"Mastering the hybrid workplace" with Priya Parker of The Art of the Gathering	10/6/2022
137		10/13/2022
138		11/3/2022
139		11/10/2022
140		11/17/2022
141		12/2/2022
142	"How Main Street retailers are out-pivoting big-box giant" with Max Rhodes of Faire	12/8/2022
143	"The rise of the 'wisdom worker'" with Chip Conley of the Modern Elder Academy	12/15/2022
144		1/12/2023
145		1/19/2023
146		1/26/2023
147		2/3/2023
148		2/9/2023
149		2/16/2023
150		2/23/2023
151		3/2/2023
152		3/9/2023
153		3/16/2023
154		5/4/2023
155		5/23/2023
156		6/8/2023
157		6/22/2023
158		7/13/2023

App

The Masters of Scale Courses app features exclusive courses, podcast episodes, and bonus content for subscribed members.

The Masters of Scale courses are short-form audio courses aimed at building an "entrepreneurial mindset." According to the website, each course covers an overarching core business topic, e.g. branding, pivots, mission, and consists of multiple Daily Practices. All Daily Practices are approximately 10 minutes long and include relevant excerpts from an interview with an industry leader, along with new additional commentary and insights from Reid Hoffman. At the end of each Daily Practice, an Action Item is provided so that learners can apply what they learned from the course to their own work.^[15]

In 2022, the app received a Webby Award for Best Education & Reference App.

Book

Released in September 2021, Masters of Scale: Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs is based on the podcast and contains anecdotes and learnings gleaned from the hundred plus podcast interviews. The book aims to "tease out and distill the essential attributes of people who start and grow businesses." A review published by Business Insider notes that while translating from a podcast to book should lead to "unsatisfying" results, the book "manages to work" due to the "combined impact of the stories."^[16] It became a Wall Street Journal Bestseller in October 2021.^[17]

Event

The inaugural Masters of Scale summit was held in San Francisco, California from October 18–20, 2022. The audience, who attended in person or via livestream, consisted of a wide range of companies in all stages of growth, leaders across industries, executives of non-profit and cultural organizations, investors, artists, and the media. Stage sessions centered on themes such as, the art of pivoting, technological revolutions, creative innovations, holistic wellness, humanity & culture, diversity & inclusion, and disruption, and “the discussions ranged from the power of psychedelics to the joys of rural life.” The sessions included interviews, presentations, and group conversations, as well as featured live performances by a variety of performing artists. Speakers included 15 Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Tyler Perry Studios founder and CEO Tyler Perry, Turning Red film director and Pixar animator Domee Shi, Microsoft co-founder and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Bill Gates, and Imagine Entertainment co-founder Ron Howard.^{[18] [19] [20]}

Awards

As of January 2023, Masters of Scale has won a total of 32 podcast industry nominations, including 13 wins.^[21] The wins include the 2018 Webby Award for Best Business Podcast,^[22] the 2023 Signal Award for Best Commute Podcast and the 2022 Webby Award for Best Individual Episode, for the episode with President Barack Obama.^[23]

Awards

Award	Year	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
	2023	Best Episode: Business	Rapid Response: Transforming an idea into a movement overnight, w/Black Women For Black Lives co-founder Tokunbo Koiki	Honoree	[24]
		Best Episode: Business	Masters of Scale - Daymond John, Part 1: How to Partner Like a Shark		[25]
Signal	2023	Best Gateway Podcast - Individual Episodes			[26]
		Most Innovative Audio Experience - Individual Episodes	J. J. Abrams Make Room for Magic
		Best Editing - Individual Episodes
		Best Commute Podcast - Shows	Masters of Scale		[27]
		Best Commute Podcast - Individual Episodes	Tyra Banks Personal Brand Power
		Best Episode: Creativity & Marketing	Daymond John, Part 1: How to Partner Like a Shark
		Best Episode: Self-Improvement & Self-Help	Improving human dignity is an engine of scale, w/Promise CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
		Best Episode: Writing	Stacey Abrams How to Harness Risk
		Best Episode: Business
		Best Podcast Ad	Masters of Scale & Capital One: Mama Aunties Vegan Goodies		[28]
			Masters of Scale & Capital One Business: Aparna Sarin		[29]
	2022	Best Technology Podcast	Masters of Scale		[30]
		Best App: Education & Reference	Masters of Scale Courses App
		Best User Experience: Education & Reference Apps
		Best App: Learning & Education		Honoree
		Best Individual Episode - Overall	Masters of Scale Podcast Episode: President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1		[31]
		Best News & Politics Podcast
		Podcasts - Best Individual Episode (Features)		Honoree	[32]
		Podcasts - Best Podcast Ad (Features)	Masters of Scale x Capital One: Village Market	Honoree	[33]
		Best Education & Reference App	Masters of Scale Courses App		[34]
	2022	Best Business Podcast	Masters of Scale
	2021	Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction			[35]
		Best Podcast: Business
		Podcasts - Best Podcast Ad (Features)	Hubspot - The Culture Code		[36]
	2020	Best Podcast: Business	Masters of Scale
		Best Podcast: Live Recording
	2019	Best Podcast: Business
		Best Podcast: Writing
Discover Pods Awards		Business Podcast			[37]
	2018	People's Voice Winner for Best Business Podcast			[38]

Notes and References

1. News: Lunden . Ingrid . June 21, 2021 . WaitWhat Raises $12M to Double Down on What Comes After Podcasting . Jan 21, 2024 . TechCrunch.
2. News: Check Out a New Podcast Hosted by Reid Hoffman. Huspeni. Andrea. April 25, 2017. Entrepreneur. January 1, 2019. January 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190102193411/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293164. live.
3. News: Shaywitz . David . Sep 15, 2021 . Masters of Scale' Review: Make It and 'Blitz' It . Jan 21, 2024 . The Wall Street Journal.
4. News: Lee . Dave . Oct 25, 2022 . Silicon Valley rethinks the corporate conference for the post-pandemic age . Jan 21, 2024 . Financial Times.
5. News: Masters of Scale: Reid Hoffman Tests His Theories of Success. Ramachandran. Anjali. June 8, 2017. Other Valleys. January 2, 2019. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002900/http://www.othervalleys.net/home/mastersofscale. live.
6. News: Reid Hoffman Wishes He Could Go Back to Stanford and Befriend More Women. Fessler. Leah. October 30, 2018. Quartz. January 2, 2019. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101051406/https://qz.com/work/1408421/reid-hoffman-wishes-he-could-go-back-to-stanford-and-befriend-more-women/. live.
7. News: Media Mastermind June Cohen On Why Gender Balance Matters In Storytelling And In Business. McPherson. Susan. February 7, 2018. Forbes. January 2, 2019. January 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190102143157/https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanmcpherson/2018/02/07/media-mastermind-june-cohen-on-why-gender-balance-matters-in-storytelling-and-in-business/#524fbc68dcbf. live.
8. Web site: How all-remote teams work . mastersofscale.com . Masters of Scale . 1 June 2023.
9. News: Lett . Phoebe . Podcasts for the Pandemic Era . The New York Times . May 27, 2020 . 1 June 2023.
10. Web site: Masters of Scale - Courses . apps.apple.com . March 12, 2023 . Apple . 1 June 2023.
11. News: Shaywitz . David . 'Masters of Scale' Review: Make It and 'Blitz' It . Wall Street Journal . September 15, 2021 . The Wall Street Journal . 1 June 2023.
12. News: Lee . David . Silicon Valley rethinks the corporate conference for the post-pandemic age . Financial Times . October 25, 2022 . 1 June 2023.
13. Web site: Podcast Episodes . mastersofscale.com . Masters of Scale . 4 June 2023.
14. Web site: Podcast episodes - Rapid Response . mastersofscale.com . Masters of Scale . 1 June 2023.
15. Web site: Downloaded the Masters of Scale Courses app . mastersofscale.com . Masters of Scale . 5 June 2023.
16. Web site: Knee . Jonathan . A new book provides the antidote for the creeping feeling that the business world is hopelessly out of ideas and awash in get-rich-quick schemes . businessinsider.com . Business Insider . 6 June 2023.
17. News: Bestselling Books Week Ended October 9 . Wall Street Journal . October 14, 2021 . The Wall Street Journal . 6 June 2023.
18. Web site: Brady . Diane . CxO: Nadella, Kanye And The Power Of Pickleball . Forbes . 6 June 2023.
19. News: Lee . Dave . Silicon Valley rethinks the corporate conference for the post-pandemic age . Financial Times . October 25, 2022 . 6 June 2023.
20. Web site: Masters of Scale Summit . summit.mastersofscale.com . Masters of Scale . 6 June 2023.
21. Web site: Masters of Scale entry on IMDB.com . January 25, 2024 . WaitWhat.
22. Web site: NEW Webby Gallery + Index . 2024-01-18 . NEW Webby Gallery + Index . en.
23. Web site: NEW Webby Gallery + Index . 2024-01-18 . NEW Webby Gallery + Index . en.
24. Web site: The Webby Awards . webbyawards.com . Webby Awards.
25. Web site: NEW Webby Gallery + Index . webbyawards.com . en.
26. Web site: Winner Best Episode: Gateway Podcast Chobani's secret to scale: Tap into community . WaitWhat.
27. Web site: Signal Award Winner . Signal Awards . en.
28. Web site: Signal Award Winner . Signal Awards . en.
29. Web site: Signal Award Winner . Signal Awards . en.
30. Web site: Masters of Scale . Webby Awards . en.
31. Web site: President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1. webbyawards.com . en.
32. Web site: How to accelerate expertise, with Mellody Hobson . webbyawards.com . en.
33. Web site: Masters of Scale x Capital One . webbyawards.com . en.
34. Web site: Masters of Scale Courses App . winners.webbyawards.com . The Webby Awards . 4 June 2023.
35. Web site: 2021 WINNERS & NOMINEES . The Ambies® — Awards for Excellence in Audio.
36. Web site: Masters of Scale AD: Hubspot —The Culture Code . webbyawards.com . en.
37. Web site: Goldberg . Kevin . Announcing the winners of the 2019 Discover Pods Awards . Discover Pods Awards . 21 November 2019.
38. Web site: People's Voice Winner, Honoree . winners.webbyawards.com . The Webby Awards . 4 June 2023.