How AI Is Reshaping Business and Who Will Win | Oscar Höglund (CEO, Epidemic Sound)
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this compelling episode of Silicon Valley Girl, Marina Mogilko interviews Oscar Höglund, CEO and co-founder of Epidemic Sound, the $1.4 billion music platform that powers over 3 billion daily views across social media. (02:02) Oscar shares his frameworks for scaling a global company, including the power of understanding value chains and the strategic progression from feature to product to platform. He discusses how AI should democratize professional tools and explains why the "Three Whys" analysis matters more than rushing into AI products. (35:12) The conversation also reveals Oscar's personal philosophy on work-life balance, his approach to building meaningful business relationships, and the darkest moment that nearly made him quit entrepreneurship. (33:18)
- Core themes include scaling strategies, AI democratization, value chain analysis, work-life integration, and relationship-driven business growth
Speakers
Oscar Höglund
Oscar Höglund is the CEO and co-founder of Epidemic Sound, a $1.4 billion music platform that soundtracks over 3 billion daily views on social media platforms worldwide. He studied at Wharton and previously worked as a management consultant at BCG before co-founding Epidemic Sound with four other entrepreneurs from storytelling backgrounds. Oscar has built one of the world's most successful music licensing companies by revolutionizing how creators access and use music for content creation.
Marina Mogilko
Marina Mogilko is the host of Silicon Valley Girl podcast and a successful entrepreneur who has built multiple businesses including a language teaching company. She creates content about entrepreneurship, business strategy, and Silicon Valley culture, sharing insights from interviews with successful founders and executives.
Key Takeaways
Master Value Chain Analysis for Strategic Leverage
Understanding your industry's value chain is crucial for achieving maximum impact with minimal effort. (19:48) Oscar illustrates this with Epidemic's early strategy in Sweden, where instead of trying to reach 5,000 freelance editors directly, they identified that four major broadcasters controlled the entire ecosystem. By securing deals with these four broadcasters, they automatically gained access to 50 production companies and 5,000 editors through the natural flow of business relationships. (22:19) This approach demonstrates how understanding who has real decision-making power can create exponential results from focused efforts.
Build Crosses to Create Compelling Content
The most engaging content creates cognitive dissonance by combining unexpected elements. (05:03) Oscar shares the story of a Swedish TV show that succeeded by pairing the most commercial entertainment format with an anti-commercial cross-country skier as the host. (07:37) This "crosses" strategy works because humans are naturally drawn to unexpected combinations that challenge their assumptions. In content creation, music can serve as a powerful cross by telling a different audio story than what's happening visually, creating memorable moments that drive engagement and virality.
Progress from Feature to Product to Platform
Successful scaling follows a deliberate progression where you start as a feature (solving one specific problem), evolve into a product (becoming integral to customers' workflows), and finally become a platform (enabling others to build value through your infrastructure). (13:46) Epidemic began as a simple music licensing feature, evolved into a comprehensive soundtracking platform, and now serves as infrastructure for the entire music-content ecosystem. (18:42) This framework helps entrepreneurs think systematically about growth rather than trying to build everything at once.
Adopt a "Give More Than You Take" Philosophy
Building meaningful professional relationships requires consistently providing more value than you receive. (28:08) Oscar's approach involves always asking "How can I help?" when meeting new people and making thoughtful introductions between smart individuals. (29:28) This strategy compounds over time, creating a network of advocates who will recommend you when opportunities arise. The key is making this genuine rather than transactional—focusing on creating value for others because it feels good and scales naturally, not just for personal gain.
Use the Three Whys Framework for AI Strategy
Before implementing AI solutions, dig three levels deep into the actual problem you're solving. (35:31) Oscar learned this framework at BCG, where true analysis requires asking "why" three times to reach root causes rather than surface symptoms. For example, if a company isn't profitable, the first why might reveal increased costs, the second why might show higher unit costs, and the third why might uncover supplier consolidation creating a monopoly. (36:56) In AI implementation, this prevents rushing into solutions without understanding the fundamental challenges you're addressing.
Statistics & Facts
- Epidemic Sound powers over 3 billion daily views on social media platforms, with their music soundtracking approximately 70% of the world's biggest YouTubers. (02:02) This massive reach gives them unprecedented data on viral content patterns and music performance across platforms.
- In Sweden sixteen years ago, there were approximately 5,000 freelance editors working across only 50 production companies, which were commissioned by just 4 major broadcasters. (20:10) This concentration enabled Epidemic's value chain strategy to reach thousands of professionals through four key relationships.
- Only about 1% of the world's population can currently code, making the remaining 99% potential beneficiaries of no-code and AI-powered development tools. (34:23) Oscar sees this as a massive opportunity for AI democratization across various professional tools.
