Mark C. Webster

Cooking up something new. Prev: Founder of Adobe Podcast, Founder of @sayspring (acq by @Adobe), Founder of @sidetour (acq by @groupon).

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

After more than seven years, I’ve decided to bring my Adobe journey to a close.

A few years after Adobe acquired @sayspring, I pitched the idea for Adobe Podcast. And since that first day, building this product and assembling the team behind it has been one of the highlights of my career. It’s been incredible to see the impact a small, talented group can have inside a large company. Collaborating with Adobe Research to productize and launch Enhance Speech was especially rewarding.

We built most of our own tech stack, ran our own GTM, and even handled customer support. What started as a five-person effort grew into a scrappy 15-person team that delivered:

Adobe Podcast – Current Performance
• 1.1M monthly active users (last 30 days)

Adobe Podcast – All-Time Impact
• 12.9M total users
• 108M exports

What a ride.

Learning Adobe and Macromedia tools 25 years ago shaped the entire trajectory of my career, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent this time here. I don’t have firm plans for what’s next, but I have a hunch there’s a third startup in me. Stay tuned…

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@aviel Some people find obstacles and others find solutions.

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@psantloki But you’re also your own super: you need to bring out your trash and recycling every week, you need to shovel your own snow, and you need to deal with all the insanity of being a building owner in NYC…wait a minute…

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@ledwards We’ve achieved AGI.

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

We’ll eventually see the rise of an “AI Handyman” for individuals. A generalist who charges an hourly rate to take on small projects, fix things that break, etc. People could probably do these things themselves, but it’s easier to just hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

[Varun Rana @the_varunrana]

There's got to be a service where I can pay some kid to build and launch vibe-coded tools for me for my business. I don't want to spend 6 hours of my Sunday prompting and cussing out Codex. I would pay $1000 for that if it turns out great.

Seems like an easy way for young guys to make some extra cash too

Who's already doing that / who would do that

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@dfkoz Congrats!

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@scottbelsky The mere mention of “local” sends shivers down my spine

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@JoeFernandez It’s only ‘gfy then reconsider’ when I don’t agree with the feedback. When it reaffirms my actions or thinking, I immediately see the value and wisdom in it!

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@lessin I was really into standup comedy as a kid, and loved Bob Nelson. I went to see this movie opening weekend with a friend. We were the only ones in the theater. Always been an unappreciated classic.

[Michael Dempsey @mhdempsey]

A few AI-slop adjacent thoughts i'm happy to be told I'm very wrong about but increasingly feel strongly about:

- Sending a claude-designed deck shows a lack of attention to detail or care for craft that might be existential to company building. At a minimum, I am morally opposed.

- Pangram is actually just an IQ/skill test that shows how good someone is with AI.

The fact that it is wildly easy to "beat" means if you can't, you're so bad at editing that you can't edit it out or so lacking taste that you don't care.

Either way, great public good and if your essay gets a 100% read you should be banned from the site temporarily.

- If internally you use AI to write or surface data that you don't contextualize, that's fine, but you should have to disclose it.

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

I worked at a startup called Joost in 2007 during the advent of streaming, and referred to “channel surfing” on traditional television as the ideal form of “serendipitous content discovery.” To this day, no platform has been able to match it.

[New York Magazine @NYMag]

Netflix is considering adding always-on TV channels, like ones that play shows or movies from the same genre, similar to what Tubi and Peacock does. https://t.co/DQXLl7Cva5

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

This entire thread made my day. Starting Adobe Podcast was a highlight of my career and shows what's possible when a large company fully empowers a small autonomous team to do big things. Thanks @fchollet.

[François Chollet @fchollet]

One of the best AI products I've seen recently: (drumroll)

Adobe Podcast

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@adxm246 💪

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@halfkelly @deepvaluebettor Agreed. One of the things we discuss a lot is that we still have Audition/Premiere/Adobe Express for certain audio/video workflows, so we can offer a more opinionated product for a specific type of user than a sole product company can. We'll try and stay "easy to use" forever.

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@halfkelly @deepvaluebettor Yeah, I hear you. It's a constant balance for us to find the sweet spot of being fast/easy to use vs being precise enough for certain folks. Appreciate you kicking the tires and sharing the feedback, thanks.

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@vioanchieta 🫡

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@halfkelly @deepvaluebettor Would love to hear more on your thoughts on Podcast. Do you mean technically editing just works ok in the product, or just that the concept of editing audio via transcript without the precision of waveforms is kinda meh?

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@waren_barber237 🙏

[Mark C. Webster @markcwebster]

@JonathanBobrow @Adobe Got it. Yeah, we'll get there eventually. There's just a bunch of stuff that customers are asking for more that we're focused on now. But we'll get there.

[𝙶𝙰𝙱𝚈 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙴𝙲𝙷 7.o @gabyconscious]

My Instagram is growing like crazy, bruh. All I’ve got is an iPhone, two rectangle lights, and Adobe Podcast. No $1000 mic. No expensive lights. Just vibes and consistency.