Ep. 137 Adam Mosseri: What The Head of Instagram Really Thinks About Growth Hacks, Algorithms and Creation

Working Hard, Hardly Working

[email protected]

Ceos, Feminsim, Advice, Self-improvement, Business, Women In Business, Stories, Education, Marketing, Self Improvement, Health & Fitness, Ceo, Women Leaders, Money, Careers, Success

4.4 • 738 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week I sat down with the Head of Instagram & Threads, Adam Mosseri (no biggie).

It was a pretty personal one for me, as I've been on this app since right at the beginning, every update, every logo, every new feature, and I even remember the moment 15 second videos came along, it felt like a whole new world.

So many of us use Instagram every single day, whether that's to build a business, create incredible content or just send memes to your mate. So I knew I had to get answers from Adam on the app's evolution, what 'the algorithm' actually means, the key metrics to tracks, and who he thinks is killing it at the moment.

We also had a great chat about productivity when you're in the top job, and why (in his words) 'not being great at anything' was the key to his success. I hope you enjoy listening!

CHAPTERS

0:00: Introduction

1:22: Working Hard or Hardly Working

2:30 A typical day for Adam

4:00: Adam's non negotiables

6:00: Emails & workflows

7:00: Decisions & delegation

8:15: Getting into tech

9:34: Starting as a founder

11:35: Aspirations for leadership

12:12: The skills that have helped him rise

14:00: How to climb the ladder

17:34: Working with Mark

20:10: How to hone your leadership skills

23:17: How to grow on Instagram

26:24: Keeping everyone in mind with evolution

27:47: Why DMs & stories are most important

28:50: Why he builds in public

32:33: How many times you should be posting

36:00: The new edits app

37:15: The creators that are killing it

38:50: What entrepreneurs are getting wrong

40:40: The most important metric to track

41:30: Productivity non negotiables

45:15: The best piece of advice he's ever received

MY LINKS: https://gracebeverley.komi.io/

FOLLOW ADAM: https://www.instagram.com/mosseri/?hl=en

RETROGRADE, SHREDDY, TALA and THE PRODUCTIVITY METHOD are my own businesses, therefore any mention of them - whilst not being a sponsorship - is obviously monetarily endorsed. As usual, sponsorships do not change my opinions nor my honesty, but I will always disclaim to make sure motives are clear 😊

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by South by Southwest, London. For the first time ever,
0:03.7	the famous South by Southwest Festival is coming to London and let me tell you you really want to be
0:07.7	there. It's a convergence of creativity, culture and technology. And I know that sounds pretty
0:12.3	general, but the lineup is genuinely every entrepreneur's dream. From AI and humanity to the
0:17.2	future of healthcare and the state of the music industry. There is something for everyone,
0:24.7	and I've been stalking the line up like I would a music festival. At the top of my list is the session on how AI agents are going to transform creativity, something that's super relevant to every
0:28.9	single one of my businesses, and especially retrograde to the virtual talent agent I co-founded last
0:33.4	year. I also really love the sound of the session with C-suite execs from Formula One and Lego Group
0:38.1	about how to build immersive experiences. Something I'm thinking about all the time now we're
0:42.4	opening the Tarla Store. It's also an incredible chance to network. There will be over 650 companies
0:47.5	attending with 37 countries represented. You can meet potential clients, investors, partners and peers.
0:53.2	You'll be immersed in new technologies and emerging talent from around the world.
0:56.7	I never thought I could get conference, FOMO, until I saw all the posts coming from the Austin one last year.
1:01.3	It's the first time that South by Southwest has been in Europe, so be the first at the first.
1:05.8	It will be a multi-site event across more than 25 venues in Shortwich running from the 2nd to 7th of June 2025.
1:12.5	Search South by Southwest, London and use code Grace 20 at checkout to get 20% off all passes.
1:34.2	What is up? I'm Grace Beverly and welcome back to Working Hard, the podcast shared guide book on how to improve your own life and achieve what you actually dreamed of doing
1:37.5	because life's too short for boring podcasts and bad advice.
1:49.5	What is up and welcome back to working hard. Today is a very big one. I am speaking to categorically, one of the most influential people in social media across the globe, Adam
1:54.4	Messeri, the head of Instagram and threads. It's safe to say that Adam has helped shape the way
1:58.5	that billions of us communicate, share and create online every single day. And I actually don't think it's an overstatement to say that every
2:05.3	single guest that has been on this podcast has, in some shape or form, used Instagram to build
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from [email protected], and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of [email protected] and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.