#257 - Ian Rogers - Ledger - Living in the Future: From Pioneering Music Streaming to Crypto and NFTs

01-05-2022 • 2 heures 40 minutes

“The older I get, the more I realize how skateboarding shaped who I am.”

Ian Rogers definitely knows how to get out of his comfort zone to land a trick. The switch from innovative music streaming services (Apple Music) to taking luxury brands online (LVMH Group) was a bold one.

A strong believer in growing from discomfort, Ian definitely sees opportunity rather than risk.

One thing is sure, the man knows how to roll with the times without ever losing sight of his passions, from working with The Beastie Boys to collecting NFTs.

Even though he’ll tell you that “being early is the same as being wrong”, Ian is always on the edge of things with a unique sense of timing.

The key to it all? Doing things with conviction and focusing on the future. Faster, better, stronger would be a good soundtrack!

In this episode, Ian shares a few lessons from mentors and his time at Apple Music and LVMH:

Get really good at saying no to good ideas, so you can get the important things done. (Apple Music)
Focus on three things that will move the needle. (Tony Belloni, LVMH)
Back creativity with operational efficiency. (Bernard Arnault, LVMH)
Tailor your communication strategy to whoever you are trying to reach.

Obsessed with what’s next, Ian is way ahead of us and practically longs for the day his passport will be an NFT.

In this conversation he tries to catch us up on what we’re missing out on, and his latest big leap: Ledger.

If “living in the future is cheating”, as the man himself claims, then he is damn good at it!

TIMELINE:

00:15:49 : A career lived on the edge of things at the right moment
00:32:28 : Cryptocurrency and digital innovation into a household name like LVMH
01:15:43 : NFTs, building ecosystems and their own economy
01:53:50 : Using data for big groups
02:02:45 : Beats, Apple, LVMH and Ledger
02:22:50 : Being online, quitting social media (except for Twitter)

Episodes of GDIY we talked about with Ian:

Ian's reading recommendations: