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

“On the other side of the wall of assumptions lies the fountain of possibilities.”
- Chris Barton

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

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SPEECH THEMES

ABOUT
CHRIS

2024 Promo Video

CREATING GROUNDBREAKING IDEAS

Creating Magic – An Act of Defiance

START FROM ZERO THINKING

Step One – Build from Basic Truths

GAME-CHANGING INNOVATION

What’s the Name of That Song?

RESILIENCE &
ADAPTATION

Surviving the Ragged Road to Success

DON’T FEAR
FAILURE

Navigating Obstacles

MAKING BIG THINGS HAPPEN

Every Inventor’s Dream Moment

DOING THE
IMPOSSIBLE

Shazam’s Breakthrough Technology

ELIMINATING
FRICTION

User Experience: Boulder vs Pebble

REIMAGINING WHAT’S
POSSIBLE

Guard – Chris Barton’s New Venture With AI

THE MOST COMMON QUESTION CHRIS IS ASKED

Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams

DISRUPTIVE
THINKING

How to Think Like an Entrepreneur

LEARNING DIFFERENCES – DIVERSITY

His Dyslexia Becomes a Superpower

PUSHING PAST
THE SKEPTICS

Shazam Among the Giants

RESISTANCE TO
YOUR INSIGHT

Believe in Your Obsession

iPHONE AD FEATURING SHAZAM

How Shazam Works

AD FEATURING
CHRIS BARTON

Renault TV Ad

AD FEATURING
CHRIS BARTON

Super Bowl Ad

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]

TESTIMONIALS

“Chris’s keynote completely captivated our audience of 1700+ SAP customers, partners, and employees. His talk was truly entertaining and inspiring. Our audience’s perception of entrepreneurial innovation was completely transformed.”

– Managing Director, Switzerland, SAP

“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.”

– VP Customer & Commercial Leadership, Coca-Cola

“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.”

– CEO, Costa Rica, Porter Novelli

“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!”

– Director Innovation Strategy, Optus

“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.”

– CEO, Mexico, L’Oréal

“Every single person loved your presentation. All day people were coming up to me. Loved that there was so much take away. People are still buzzing about your presentation days later. Thanks for making me look good😉”

– Sr. Vice President/Chief Operations Officer, YMCA