CHRIS BARTON
Founder and Creator of Shazam, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Tech Investor
PRESENTATION THEMES
INNOVATION • UNLEASHING CREATIVITY • ELIMINATING FRICTION
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CREATIVE PERSISTENCE • RESILIENCE & ADAPTABILITY
ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE • START-UP CHALLENGES
BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION • CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
SUMMARY
• FOUNDER AND CREATOR OF SHAZAM
• SHAZAM IS APPLE’S 6TH LARGEST ACQUISITION – OVER 2 BILLION DOWNLOADS
• THREE-TIME STARTUP FOUNDER AND ADVISOR/INVESTOR TO STARTUPS
• FIRST EMPLOYEE AT GOOGLE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOBILE
• EARLY EMPLOYEE AT DROPBOX (FIRST 100)
• INVENTOR OF 12 PATENTS (ONE USED WITHIN GOOGLE ALGORITHM)
• TEACHES INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN 4 ONLINE UNIVERSITIES
SPEECH DESCRIPTIONS
BRING IMPOSSIBLE IDEAS TO LIFE
Technology & A.I. are dramatically changing what’s possible in our world. Our challenge as we create new things is to dislodge from the comfort of what we already know. Chris created Shazam after being told by every “expert” that his outlandish idea was impossible. It was an idea far ahead of its time – eight years before iPhone apps even existed. In this presentation, Chris helps audiences imagine and then create new visions for the future. He inspires with jaw-dropping stories about creating Shazam and shows how innovation comes from not just an idea, but from a series of insights to overcome obstacles along the way.
[Audiences learn a new framework of thinking to create change through technology]
OVERCOME OBSTACLES WITH IMAGINATION
A great idea gets you nowhere without tenacity. True disruption requires both persistence and creative solutions. In creating Shazam, Chris faced obstacles many thought were insurmountable. Most would have given up, but he refused. Instead, Chris challenged every assumption about the obstacles he faced. He shares stories and actionable lessons that inspire audiences to pursue their dreams. Chris urges audiences to question the status quo and to sweat the details on the path to redefining the future.
[Audiences learn new mindsets to break past barriers]
ELIMINATE EFFORT TO UNLOCK EXPLOSIVE GROWTH
We all know simple is great, so why don’t all organizations create amazing things just like Apple? The reality is that friction permeates almost everything we do. This “extra effort” frustrates our customers, partners, and colleagues. In creating Shazam, Chris moved mountains to make one thing very easy – identifying any song. Shazam changed the way the world discovers music. Chris combines stories from creating Shazam with his twelve years at Android (Google) and Dropbox to provide concrete examples of how we can all push boundaries to eliminate friction.
[Audiences learn to identify and eliminate friction to drive growth]
BUILD THE VISION YOU SEE (BUT OTHERS DON’T)
Entrepreneurs have passion, ideas, and desire but can get stuck on the difficult journey to achieving their dreams. They want to bring something truly new to the world, but need to learn how to overcome big obstacles, choose their priorities, and convince others of their vision. Chris inspires and teaches entrepreneurs using the story of Shazam’s creation including the scrappy and creative hacks that transformed an idea into a product with two billion customers.
[Audiences are inspired to embrace a mindset to create the next great companies]
Resources
CHRIS'S VIDEO LIBRARY
CHRIS'S ASSETS
Follow Chris on Social Media
FEATURED MEDIA
• “Basic Truths” Thinking and Creative Persistence: An Interview with Chris Barton
• Entrepreneur Middle East: The Story Of Shazam: The Innovation We Didn’t Know We Needed
• Shazam! How To Turn Your Crazy Idea Into A Business | The Tony Robbins Podcast
• The Story of Shazam: The Startup Days
• Entrepreneur: Four Friends Started a Business and Sold It to Apple for $400 Million. Here’s How.
• Tech in Asia: 7 startup lessons the Shazam founders learned the hard way
TESTIMONIALS
“Your presentation at PDW was not just a highlight—it was a visionary revelation. It left us inspired and eager to embrace the future. The way you blended your life and Shazam story with a masterclass in innovation weaved through it resonated deeply with our audience.”
“Chris customized a powerful keynote that delivered significant value for Coca-Cola. His messages sparked action among our executives and inspired our bottler partners toward our goals. Chris’s energy and enthusiasm really stands out. He is an inspiration with truly eye-opening insights and stories.”
“We recently had Chris Barton speak at our 40th anniversary celebration. He delivered what was by far the best one hour keynote that our clients and staff had ever seen. Chris was insightful, energetic, and entertaining speaker with thought-provoking ideas.”
“Brilliant brilliant brilliant speaker! Chris delivered an inspiring and on point presentation tailored to over 7,000 Optus employees to launch our new Innovation strategy. To date, Chris’s talk attracted the highest in real time attendance and engagement as compared to any other speaker we have had on this topic. Chris shed light on how innovation can be a big breakthrough, but it can also be an everyday improvement sharing practical examples from his time at Shazam and Google. The presentation balanced both the mindset that is required to drive a cultural shift for innovation as well as the process to bring innovative ideas to life. Chris delivered a compelling talk that generated talkability across the organization with leaders revisiting the recording later with their teams to help reinforce key messages. Powerful content delivered with an engaging story!”
“Chris embodies inspiration from head to toe. We loved his stories and insights on the core mindsets that lead to game-changing innovation. His delivery was fun, genuine and honest, both during his speech and as our “guest star” at my leadership team’s offsite dinner.”
“Your presentation was beyond unbelievable! So inspiring!! I know you have made a difference in how my team, and I will be thinking going forward. Our customers and sponsors were all reeling from your journey! THANK YOU. Cheers to removing boulders with heart!!”
“You were brilliant – everyone is talking about you! I cannot tell you the positive feedback we’ve had from your keynote! You made the event for us and were so great to work with.”
“That was one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard – the story was incredibly compelling, the messages resonated, the format – slide/music/video – was engaging…just a total home run!”
“It was so powerful. The tech guys today said your presentation is the best they have seen and they do all kinds of events and conferences all over Nashville. It was also so genuine, emotional. I think the audience felt incredibly connected to you and your story. A guy at lunch told me he cried at the end of your keynote today. Inspired tears are the best.”
“Your presentation set the perfect tone for everything that followed. You opened people’s eyes to a new way of looking at solving the inevitable challenges of trying new things in business. That spirit of openness and discovery carried over to sessions throughout the conference. I’m certain people got more out of their time together as a result and that was a priority for us. Not only did you deliver a great keynote, but you were a true professional throughout the process; easy to work with, engaged directly with attendees and showed a genuine interest to learn about our industry and objectives.”